Tata Motors introduces 'Impact' design language for future models

Tata Motors has announced a new ‘Impact’ design language for its upcoming passenger vehicles, with the recently unveiled Zica being the first new product under the design language.

Speaking to Autocar Professional earlier, design head Pratap Bose had said that the Zica marks the beginning of a new design philosophy. The car has a sculpted look with sharp lines that run around the body and a redesigned three-dimensional Tata logo. It is the first Tata car which has been fully designed in-house with inputs from the company’s design centres in Pune, UK and Italy.

According to Mayank Pareek, president, passenger vehicle business unit, Tata Motors, “Today, the automakers are developing innovative technologies to cater to the needs of the new generation of customers. Design is among the key factors for car purchase decisions. Tata Motors recognizes this and presents IMPACT Design – as a key focus for the company’s passenger vehicle strategy.  The new, youthful, energetic and bold character of the passenger vehicles by Tata Motors is sure to make a lasting impact on our customers and on the Indian roads.”

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“It is after keeping the media-saturated customer in mind that a new design language had to be created. Something that could break the clutter and reinvent the wheel every time it was applied. And thus, the Impact design philosophy was created,” said the company in press release.

A team of up to 250 engineers worked on the Zica project. The access to technology at Jaguar Land Rover also helped, especially to improve perceived quality, surface finish and validation of the car. The Zica is also the first Tata car to be validated digitally to a great extent. “Around 60-65 percent of the product is validated digitally before we built the prototype. It pays off massively in terms of the focus you can bring in the quality of the way the car comes together,” Dr Timothy Leverton, president and head, advanced and product engineering, Tata Motors, told Autocar Professional.

The Zica, which is set to be launched on January 20, 2016, comes equipped with safety features like driver and front passenger airbags, speed-sensing door locks and an engine immobiliser, plus ABS and EBD.

Speaking about the Impact design, Pratap Bose concluded, “You can either win or lose a potential customer within the first 20 seconds of them seeing a car. However, the customer stays with you based on the long-term experience they have with the product or service. Impact design is exactly about an immediate and a lasting impact, design has in our lives, and environment. From ‘intelligent’ use of space, ‘inviting’ interiors and connectnext features that make you feel ‘intouch’ with the world inside to expressive, exciting’, and extraordinary exterior features. With the Zica we have started this journey.”