This Modified Maruti Alto With Gull-wing Doors And Red Demon Eye Headlamps Looks Absolutely Menacing
The digital render imagines an Alto hatchback that petrolheads would swoon over
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Although pricey new SUVs had our attention all through August 2021, seeing this render got us thinking about a simpler, more driver-focused car that was affordable to modify -- the Maruti Suzuki Alto. Think of it, how would you redesign an Alto if money was no bar? Would you lower it, add a turbo? Would you give it gull-wing doors?
Mridul, the digital artist behind the Instagram page Bimble Designs, rendered this concept to showcase the Car Guy’s Alto: 3 doors, sports seat with racing harnesses, and a wide, squat stance. It appears to be a track-build, and the roof rack tells us that it’s ready to be a regular daily car, too (although the ground clearance doesn’t seem India-friendly). In this HA23 Suzuki Alto (facelifted first-generation Alto in India), the lack of rear doors makes the monocoque body shell stiffer for better handling.
Those gull-wing doors are a delightful complexity -- the stock Alto was an infamously boring car. We can’t imagine the yoga poses you’ll have to do to get in this car in the real world, but that’s a price to pay for street credibility. Demon eye headlamps replace the stock halogen headlights, and at the rear, the taillight comes with new LED elements.
Notice the large centre-mounted twin exhaust tips. We imagine they would make this a loud car, but it’s loud even when the engine’s off since it’s finished in matte black with monochrome red decals. Lowering springs, body cladding, and fender extensions accentuate that extra-wide ground-hugging stance. In comparison, the stock Maruti Suzuki Alto had the width of a tiny city car and puny 155-section tyres on steel rims. But this hatchback has deep-dish alloy wheels and grippy low-profile racing tyres.
Check out the shiny intercooler peeking from behind the front bumper -- it’s the only hint of what’s under the bonnet. Interestingly, the HA23 Alto was never offered with a turbocharged engine, even in Japan, although its pre-facelift version did get a 660cc turbo-petrol engine in its home market. In India, this generation of the Maruti Suzuki Alto had a 48PS 800cc petrol engine that powers the BS6-spec Alto even today. Petrolheads all across South Asia and Europe have been known to swap the wheezy old motor with the peppier and more powerful 67PS K10B engine, even turbocharging it in some cars!
Government regulations restrict engine modifications in India. Besides, good-quality aftermarket parts are often made in other countries, so you have to pay hefty import duties to bring them home to your Alto. For these reasons, even though the venerable Alto is an accessible and ubiquitous modification platform, you won’t see a car such as this in your neighbourhood anytime soon.
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