Ain’t Mo Sunshine When She’s Gone
Do you remember the Tamo Racemo? Be honest if that cartoony name is the only reason it bubbled up to the surface of your mind, as it did ours (kind of). But if not, it’s a small mid-engine sports car that premiered at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.
Built by Tata and the first to bear the Indian automaker’s new Tamo badge (Tata Motorsport, get it?), the Racemo was due to continue development and arrive at the production floor closer to the end of this year if not in early 2018, ostensibly giving cars like the Mazda MX-5 and Toyota 86 a good fight. Heck, it might have even kept pace with an Alfa Romeo 4C.
In spite of, but more likely due, to its small dimensions, the small 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged engine could propel it to 100km/h from rest in roughly 6 seconds with 140kW/210Nm underfoot, something neither of those aforementioned would-be Japanese competitors could match. There’s no way they could top its dramatic butterfly doors either.
Turns out, though, that they need not worry about being out-accelerated by an oddly named - if exclusive, with 250 examples planned - Tamo, as Autocar India reports that aggressive cost-cutting measures have essentially stopped the Racemo’s development in its tracks.
These cash saving measures extend further into Tata’s near-term plans. In addition to halting the nearly $50 million planned investment in the Tamo brand, they have slowed development on several conventional production models as well as pulled out of an appearance at 2018’s Geneva Motor Show.
The report continues, pointing to Jaguar Land Rover as the only brand under the Tata umbrella to have turned a profit, selling more than 500,000 cars in 2016 (a first for the British marque) and building plenty of confidence in their future with the Range Rover Velar as well as the upcoming Jaguar E-PACE crossover and I-PACE full EV, both expected to further increase growth and shareholder confidence.
Shortly after the Racemo made its first appearance in Geneva those months ago, it materialised in digital form as a free downloadable car for the Forza Horizon 3 video game on Xbox One. After this shelving, it’s unclear if Tata will be keen on reviving the Tamo brand or the Racemo project, possibly leaving the in-game version as the closest anyone will get to driving one.
