First desi sports car has first desi crash

The first Indian sports car — the slinky Chinkara 1.8 S Roadster — today had its first taste of the hazards of driving on Indian roads in the shape of a Tata 207 truck.

The two collided around midday on a road in Alibaug, taking out the Chinkara’s left rear suspension, smashing the back fender, and leaving one wheel with a nasty wobble. The Tata 207 and its driver escaped unscathed. ‘‘I’m okay, only the car’s not,’’ says Guido Bothe (43), the car’s German-born designer.

The accident occurred as Guido was taking a corner near his house in Alibaug. ‘‘A small truck was reversing left as I was going right. I was going a bit fast and didn’t have time to get out of the way.’’ The crash came a mere three weeks after the Chinkara’s launch at the Mumbai Auto Show 2003 in Goregaon, and two hours before potential customers were due to take it for a test drive.