The Delhi Auto Expo 2016 is currently underway in India, with more than 80 new vehicles being launched and thousands of visitors attending the event each day. The bi-annual motor show commenced for the public from February 5 and will go on for five days.

The vehicles are being displayed at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida (which is actually on the outskirts of Delhi), while the ‘Components Show’ is taking place at Pragati Maidan in central Delhi. GTspirit was present at the two media days in Noida and below are some of the highlights from India’s largest car-related event:

Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar celebrated the Indian debut of the XE sedan, which will compete with the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and the BMW 3 Series. It will be offered with only the 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine that comes in two states of tune: the 197 hp motor which costs INR 4 million and the 237 hp motor costing INR 4.65 million.

The XE will go on sale at the end of February and will be locally manufactured at JLR’s Pune facility. Also at Jaguar’s booth we saw the 2016 XF, the 2016 XJ (which was launched in January), the F-Type S and the F-Pace S (left-hand drive variant). Moving on to Land Rover, it showcased a plethora of vehicles, from the likes of Range Rover Sport SVR to the Evoque and the stunning Range Rover SV Autobiography.

BMW

The new BMW 7 Series appeared in front of the Indian public for the first time and it is available to order at the company’s dealerships now. Customers can opt for the 265 hp 3.0-liter diesel engine or the 450 hp 4.4-liter petrol motor. The 730Ld is the cheapest model, with a starting price of INR 11 million. It has been locally manufactured along with the 730Ld M that costs INR 11.9 million. The 730Ld Design Pure Excellence, the 750Li Design Pure Excellence and the 750Li M will be imported as CBU and are priced at INR 14 million, INR 15 million and INR 15.5 million respectively.

The new X1 was also showcased, with the crossover getting a 2.0-litre diesel engine churning out 190 hp and 400 Nm torque. It will go on sale in April 2016, with prices starting from INR 2.9 million.

Aside from the X1 and 7 Series, the BMW pavilion had the recently-launched 3 Series facelift, the 5 Series, Z4, the i8, the M6 Gran Coupe, the M4 Coupe, the X6 M, the X5, 3 Series GT and the X3.

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz unveiled the GLC-Class crossover and the S-Class Cabriolet at the Auto Expo. The specs for the GLC weren’t announced but regarding the S-Class Cabriolet, India gets the 455 hp S500 model.

Mercedes had displayed 10 more products, which included the Maybach S600 Guard, the G500 4X4, the AMG GT S, the recently launched GLE 450 AMG Coupe and the F1 W04 Hybrid AMG Petronas.

In its presser, the company announced that after a hugely impressive 2015 that saw it piping Audi to become the highest selling luxury car brand in India, Mercedes will come up with 12 new products and 10 new dealerships in 2016.

Volkswagen and Audi

Audi launched the R8 V10 Plus for INR 24.7 million. Powered by a naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 that produces 610 hp, the supercar can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds. Alongside the R8, the new A4 was spotted. The sedan will make its official debut in India later this year.

Audi also brought the Prologue Concept, the A6 Allroad, S3 Cabriolet, the SQ5, the RS7 Performance, the A8L Security, the new Q7 and the TT. Of those, the Q7 and TT are already in showrooms, the A8L was also making its debut, the RS7 Performance is likely to be launched in 2016, while there are chances of the S3 Cabriolet coming here.

Furthermore, Audi’s parent brand, Volkswagen, launched four new products at the Auto Expo: the Tiguan, the Passat GTE, the Ameo (a compact sedan exclusively made for India), and the 21st century Beetle. Also at its booth was the 190 hp Polo GTI, slated to go on sale in the second-half of this year.

Nissan

Nearly a decade after it first came up on the horizon, the Nissan GT-R has arrived on the Indian shores with the Japanese carmaker confirming a September 2016 launch for the sportscar.

Powered by a 3.8-liter biturbo V6 motor generating 554 hp and 632 Nm of torque, it can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in under 3 seconds. Although it won’t sell in huge numbers owing to the possible price tag in excess of INR 10 million, the GT-R will help Nissan India improve its brand image as it aims to conquer five percent of the country’s automotive industry by 2020.

Chevrolet

The Chevrolet pavilion had the left-hand drive variants of the sixth-generation Camaro SS and the C7 Corvette Stingray. When asked whether any of the two would make its way to India, one of the officials stated, “not in the foreseeable future”.

Ford

The Ford Mustang was officially launched in the run-up to the Auto Expo. It will go on sale in the second quarter of the year, with the customers getting only one engine option: the 5.0-litre V8 which produces 435 hp and 524 Nm of torque. We have no idea about the price, but rumors suggest it will be somewhere between INR 5-6 million, making it as expensive as the BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Honda

No performance vehicles from Honda, but it displayed the McLaren MP4-30 F1 car driven by Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button last year and the Honda Project 2&4 concept, which is powered by their RC213V MotoGP engine.

Toyota

Toyota brought the TS040 hybrid racecar, which competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2014.

Renault

Renault showed the EOLAB prototype that consumes just 1 liter of fuel per 100 kilometers. We also saw the Renault Sport RS 01, defined as one of the most ‘efficient’ GT racers in the world at the moment.

Abarth

Abarth showcased the 595 Competizione and the Punto. Both are selling in decent numbers in India.

Hyundai

Hyundai showed the new Genesis, which made its global debut at the Detroit Motor Show 2016. Sadly, there are no plans to bring it to India as of now. Meanwhile, we also grabbed a couple of pictures of the N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo concept.

Mahindra Racing

Mahindra Racing showed the SRT_01E race car that will compete in the upcoming Formula E season. It gets a 270 hp powertrain, a 0 to 100 km/h time of three seconds and a top speed of 225 km/h.

PHOTOGRAPHY BYArjun Bhatia Photography
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