If you think the Nano, priced at Rs 100,000, is a cheap car, the showcase product at the IIT-Madras technical event Shaastra 2009 will make you think again.
A group of mechanical engineering students at IIT-M have designed and created a car for just Rs 25,000. Not only that, this car can be converted into a bike if and when the the need arises. And the manufacturing time of the car? Just four days!
The idea to make the twin-purpose Shaastra car came thanks to the recession.
"When it was suggested that we should build a 'recession car', we needed to innovate since the Nano is already in the market. Suddenly the image of the Bat-mobile came to mind. We thought why not make a Bat-mobile that can be used as a car or a bike as needed?" explains Adhokshaj Bellurkar, coordinator for the project.
Since it is a 'recession car', the cost is what the recession-hit can manage. The Shaastra costs only Rs 25,000 to produce.
The raw tubes for the frame are cut according to the need and the engine is taken from an autorickshaw. The students also used the rear of the rickshaw chassis. The car converts to a two-wheeler when you detach the front (which is also fitted with an engine) from the rear part of the car.
Abhiram Railkar, Kaustubh Dawande, Adhokshaj Bellurkar, S Rajesh, S Rakesh -- the students involved in the project -- are not too clear about the scope of the car and its future.
"No one really thought that we could pull it off," they say. "But we did it in just four days with Rs 25,000. We are extremely happy."
