It was touted as a the world's cheapest car at £1,400, but a new version of the snub-nosed Tata Nano will soon be available at a price closer to that of a top-end Ferrari or Lamborghini.
The souped-up Nano, code-named DC490, will go on sale in the next four months for at least £133,000 the same price as a Lamborghini Gallardo.
Its Mumbai-based maker DC Designs is refitting the 10.23ft (3.1 metre) five-seater hatchback, doing away with its plastic seat coverings, small wheels and single-dial dashboard.
Ferarri price tag: The redesigned Tata Nano will look something like this - but expect to pay at least £130,000 more
The standard two-cylinder 624cc, 33-horsepower engine will be replaced by a 1600cc engine and the car will roll on bigger 20-inch wheels.
To accommodate the new muscle under the bonnet, the back seats will be stripped out.
'Our hallmark is high-technology products,' said Dilip Chhabaria, head of DC Designs, a specialist car refitting group that has worked for Bollywood stars and other wealthy drivers.
'We would like to keep the cost low but with the technology and the amount of work we will be putting into the car, the 10 million rupee price tag will be justified,' Mr Chhabaria said.
'There will be a lot of tech wizardry in it, plenty of IT-enabled equipment.'
Budget run-about: The Tata Nano hailed as the world's cheapest car has a top speed of 62 mph
'We will be reworking the brakes and suspension systems to take the load off the engine. The idea is to give the world a feel of what India's IT and automotive industries are capable of when working in synergy,' Mr Chhabaria said.
Given the luxury car price, DC Designs intends to work on just two to five cars a year ordered by the wealthiest resident and overseas Indians capable of paying more than 100 times the price tag for the basic car.
'I would expect people from Bollywood to be interested in this project, but I think generally it will be people who have a passion for cars,' Mr Chhabaria said.
The Nano, christened to connote the combination of small size and low cost, is the showcase product of India's diversified Tata group, which bought Jaguar and Land Rover from U.S. giant Ford Motor for $2.3billion two years ago.
