GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Tata Tamo Racemo is go

One of the biggest sports car surprises of the 2017 Geneva motor show wasn't from Italy, Germany, or even the UK.

It was from India, in the form of a tiny rear-drive sports car called the Tamo Racemo.

Powered by a compact 1.2-litre turbo-petrol three-cylinder that bangs out around 140kW, this could be one of the world's most affordable sports cars.

And a senior Tata executive confirmed to motoring.com.au that, via its new sub-brand Tamo, the car-maker will launch the production vehicle in India in later this year – not 2018 as has been reported.

Even more interesting is that Tata, which owns Jaguar Land Rover, is considering launching the car globally – and we can confirm the Indian company is eyeing off Australian and UK markets.

The Tata executive confirmed the sports car shown in Geneva is in fact the road-going production vehicle that's soon to be manufactured ahead of its release towards the end of the year in India.

"What you see is what you'll get," said the Tata exec when quizzed on the exotic dihedral doors.

The all-new Indian sports car has an eye-catching design including those striking McLaren 720S-inspired doors that hinge into the roof, and comes complete with a mid-mounted engine residing behind the two occupants.

Sporting a resolved, angular exterior design, which the company describes as a "perfect blend of Italian sensuality and Indian ingenuity" and gives the compact rear-drive visual purpose, the Racemo was designed at the Tata Motors Design Studio in Turin, Italy.

Based on an aluminium architecture and with suspension via double wishbones at all four corners, it rides on 17-inch front and 18-inch rear alloy wheels, shod with 205/50 R17 and 235/45 R18 tyres front and rear respectively.

The ultra-compact exotically-styled Racemo generates a healthy 210Nm of torque at just 2500rpm, while power of 140kW hits at 6500rpm. A six-speed robotised manual transmission (with paddle shifters) helps propel the lightweight Lotus wannabe to 100km/h in less than six seconds and a top speed in excess of 200km/h.

Not only could this vehicle be more affordable than a Toyota 86, it'll be faster too. That said, safety features extend only to two airbags and anti-lock brakes. There's no stability control.

Tata also showed off a Racemo+ track-only version with more extreme body work.

High-tech interior, connected car features
The Racemo's interior has a high-tech feel and is being pitched at a young Indian audience with some intriguing features thanks to a technical alliance with IT giant Microsoft.

After poking around inside the car at the Geneva show, a trio of high-resolution screens appear to replace both the infotainment system and instrument panel, providing vehicle telemetry and some entertainment features directly in front of the driver.

The Tata executive also confirmed the wrap-around trio of screens will be part of the production car, though it's not clear if only top-spec models will get them.

Nevertheless, the new car will pioneer Tata Motors' new "connected" vehicle push, which in conjunction with technology partner Microsoft could deliver some interesting new features via cloud-based tech.

The Racemo will enable several connected features, including predictive maintenance. Taking a few cues from Tesla, remote vehicle monitoring and "over-the-air updates using Microsoft cloud-based technologies including advanced analytics, internet of thing (IoT) and machine learning powered by Microsoft Azure" are also part of the package.

"Racemo is the first innovation from Tamo, and our emotional, unexpected leap to the future. Symbolising the change that is taking place at Tata Motors, Racemo is the proving ground of the Tamo family of vehicles and will drive the future of India's connected generation." said Tata Motors CEO Guenter Butschek at the car's debut in Switzerland.

From where motoring.com.au sits however, all the techno guff is background noise to this car's dynamic appeal. If Tata can engineer an engaging, fun-to-drive affordable sports car for the masses, it could be on to something with unique, global appeal.