Last month, when I tested the ‘new’ Esteem, the one thing I kept saying was how much I love its 1300cc engine, and how I wish Maruti saw it fit to offer that engine in a two-door Zen. Now that would be a hot hatch. And it is. Talk about wish fulfilment. Motoring had been invited to Coimbatore for the Asian Karting Championship and after all the racing was done, the organisers agreed to let me have a go on the track – in one of their 1300cc racing Zens. Yes!
As you’d see in the pictures, the little Zen looks like it means business. With its bulging flanks, flared wheelarches, black side cladding, lowered suspension and front spoiler, it’s an angry looking car. Inside, the car has been completely stripped of anything and everything which doesn’t help it go faster. Bare metal everywhere, a roll-cage, two racing seats, a small, chunky steering wheel and a rev-counter. That’s it. There’s little finesse here – it’s a bare-knuckled streetfighter. And the gruff, metallic rasping of the exhaust only adds to that impression.
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