Its not news that Tata Motors is planning to launch its hot hatchback, the Tata Altroz in the turbo-petrol avatar. The car was rumoured to be launched in the first half of 2021, but new reports suggest that the Altroz turbo-petrol will be launched on 13th January 2021. The turbo-petrol Altroz is also expected to be offered with a new automatic gearbox option and a new shade of blue similar to the one seen on the Tata Tiago hatchback.
The Tata Altroz in the turbo-petrol avatar is expected to be powered by a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol unit that develops close to 110 PS of power and 140 Nm of torque. The powertrain is expected to be equipped with a manual transmission unit as well as a 7-speed DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission) with a wet-clutch system sourced from German automotive component manufacturer Schaeffler. The automatic gearbox is likely to come with a gear-shifter from Lumax, which was spotted in spied images in the past.
The new wet-clutch gearbox will be heavier than the Punch Powertrain dry-clutch unit that was rumoured to come with the Altroz turbo-petrol but it will be more affordable than the Punch sourced gearbox, as per reports. The engine is expected to be the derivative of the naturally-aspirated 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine.
In its standard avatar, the Tata Altroz is powered by a BS6 compliant 1.2-litre three-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine that makes 86 PS of power and 113 Nm of torque matched to a 5-speed manual transmission. The powerful turbo-petrol version is expected to offset the heavier wet-clutch DCT gearbox in terms of power. For diesel aficionados, the Tata Altroz is also available in the BS6 compliant 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine that churns out 90 PS of power and 200 Nm of torque matched to a 5-speed manual transmission. Both the naturally-aspirated petrol and the turbodiesel powertrain are expected to be carried over and the new turbo-petrol with the DCT gearbox is likely to be available in the top-of-the-line trim.
With the new powertrain option, the Tata Altroz will rival the likes of the Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI and Hyundai i20 1.0L Turbo-Petrol DCT.