Tata Motors have launched the most powerful Safari yet. With 156 PS of power at 4,000 rpm, and a significant 400 Nm of torque available from 1750-2500 rpm, the new Tata Safari Storme Varicor 400 is priced at INR 13.52 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai). Sales of the SUV with the updated engine have already commenced.
The existing 2.2-litre Varicor 320 diesel engine has been stoked to produce the aforementioned power and torque outputs, which are 6 PS and 80 Nm higher than the original, respectively. Also strapped to the updated engine is a new 6-speed manual transmission.
Although straight line performance will see a negligible increment, it’s the betterment of overall drivability that the updated engine will bring in. The increase in torque is offset with a negligible increase in weight, with Varicor 400 motored Safari weighing in at 2570 Kilograms (Gross), as compared to 2555 Kilograms (Gross) of the existing model.
To put it in numbers, the Tata Safari Storme Varicor 400 will now accelerate from 0 to 60 km/h in 5.2 seconds, a full 1 second quicker than before. The sprint to 100 km/h will now take 12.8 seconds, making the Varicor 400 half a second quicker.
The Varicor 400 engine will only be available on the top-end VX trim, that too in just 4×2 guise. The rest of the variants will continue to be powered by the existing Varicor 320 engine (150 PS; 320 Nm) mated to a 5-speed transmission. No additional equipment or new features will accompany the new engine, apart from a Varicor 400 badge on the flanks.