Carqacteristic Design ; Facelifted 2012 Skoda Superb and Octavia Snapped Testing in the Alps

While the Volkswagen Group is keeping itself busy with new introductions such as the VW brand's Up! and the soon-to-be launched Skoda MissionL (albeit under a different name), the company has not forget about its current portfolio and is working on improving its offerings in all segments..

This time, our team of spy photographers snagged the 2012 Skoda Superb facelift in sedan form undergoing testing in the Alps.

Skoda's engineers had the front and rear ends of the cars covered up to hide the styling tweaks, but it seems that the Superb will gain a similar front end treatment to the MissionL concept with a slightly longer grille, revised headlamps and a redesigned bumper with a large opening that encompasses the lower set of lights.

Comparable changes are expected at the back with new tail lamps (possibly with LEDs) and a re-sculptured bumper.

In one of the spy pictures, we also spotted a camouflaged Skoda Octavia Combi (that would be the silver car you see in the spy pictures below). Apparently, even though the Czech automaker refreshed the Octavia in late 2008, it is preparing another facelift for its compact model.

The changes that we can see on the Octavia prototype include a revised front end with a new bumper that sports the same styling cues as the MissionL Concept and the 2012 Superb. 

New Design Avanti is India’s First Sports Car, Production Enter in 2013

The Italian automotive industry is renowned not only for supercar-making companies like Ferrari and Lamborghini, but also for its carrozzerias like Pininfarina and Bertone, which design and engineer cars for other automakers as well as manufacture their own limited production models.

The Indian automotive industry, on the other hand, is best known as the country that manufactures the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano, which may or may not lose the title to the Bajaj RE60.

own sport car thanks to DC Design’s Avanti that was launched at the 2012 New Delhi Auto Expo.

Founded by former GM designer Dilip Chhabria, DC Design is mostly known for its one-off prototypes. The Avanti, however, is a production ready sports car that will be manufactured at the company’s brand new plant at Talagon near its existing Prune facilities.

“Every country which has written its name in the pantheon of automobile manufacturing has invariably distinguished itself with sports cars by its own nationals and I thought that India rightly needs to be in this exclusive club”, said Chhabria. “The design is completely our very own as is the engineering and also the production process. Type approval and on-road tests would follow soon”.

Chhabria added that DC Design plans to manufacture 300 units of the Avanti in 2013-2014 and, if all goes well, increase annual production to four figures.

As its creator admits, India’s first supercar “doesn’t reinvent the wheel” as far as its conception and manufacturing process is concerned.

Like all small-volume manufacturers, DC Design will use parts from various carmakers, especially in the powertrain and suspension depaetments.

The prototype that was unveiled at the 2012 Auto Expo is constructed around a lightweight but rigid spaceframe chassis. It features unequal-length wishbones and coil over shock absorbers on both axles, 19-inch wheels with 255/35 front and 295/30 rear tires and 330 mm ventilated disc brakes with AP Racing calipers.

It is powered by a mid-mounted 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder EcoBoost engine sourced from Ford and tuned to deliver 240HP and 366Nm (270 lb-ft) of torque. Thanks to its compliance with Euro 5 emissions regulations it can also be exported, while a slight change in the engine mapping will make it compatible with the oncoming Euro 6 regulation.

Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a Ford-sourced six-speed manual gearbox, while the Avanti will also be optionally available with a dual-clutch PowerShift transmission.

Although 240HP combined with a dry kerb weight of 1,562 kg (3,443 pounds) isn’t exactly supercar territory, the Avanti will be priced at a reasonable Rs 30 lakh, or around US$56,000 at the current exchange rates.

Later on, it may also be offered with a turbocharged Honda V6, which with an output of around 400HP should seriously improve performance (and, presumably, increase the price accordingly). 

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