DESIGN EXECUTION
 Exterior
For DC Design, the project was an exercise in weight
reduction to start with. This was a diesel-powered car
and with a full-fledged five-box treatment coming in, a
good eye on the total weight of the package was given
paramount importance. From the word go, it was decided
that the car would be a seven-seater and not an eight- or
ten-seater. At that time, there were stories that BMW was
planning to resurrect such great British marques as the
Riley and Wolseley.
There were some pics floating around too. This
inspired Dilip Chhabria to pen an SUV with the finish of
a BMW sport-ute and a slightly retro front-end treatment.
Except for the floor and the cowl, nothing remains of the
earlier car. The complete greenhouse of an Esteem, minus
the rear windscreen, was considered to create a working
silhouette for
the Devak.
The front end incorporated matt-black bumper 'studs' and
a matt black section beneath the headlamps. This provided
some relief from the otherwise massive panelling. The
headlamps are from an Opel Corsa, while the tail-lamps
are from an US-specification Ford Ranger. The job of
filling up the seductive wheel arches was given to
15-inch six spoke alloy wheels wearing P300 Pirelli
radials. The paint job is standard DC fare, Standox EK,
this time in Atlantique blue.
Interior
 The customer was in a hurry
and DC Design could only incorporate a stock Esteem facia. That said,
full leather trim and wood veneer panelling were included and an excellent
level of finish matching the modern exterior lines was offered.
What we think: If you compare the BMW X5 concept 4x4 with
the DC Design Devak (the Devak came two years before the
X5), you will realise that the Indian designer actually
had the correct vision as to how an SUV from Munich
should look like. Forget the retro nose-job though, which
we thought was a tad too loud for the otherwise
contemporary, clean lines of the Devak.
We believe it takes an a lot of effort to redo a Tempo
Trax for a design job, even if it is for a one-off
creation. The end result is too shocking when seen next
to the original. DC has indeed turned the Trax on its
head.
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