JA Motorsport Inde 2.0 review, test drive

A hard left follows a high-speed left-right combination, but all I’m doing is hanging on, trying to prevent myself from falling over Narain. And that’s with my right hand grasping onto a chassis tube on the left of the car, my forearm held across my chest like I’m holding a shield. 
The track-biased gearing of the car also makes it feel quicker the faster it goes. At higher speeds, the more tightly stacked gears multiply the power of the car with greater effectiveness. So, while it isn’t really quick from a dead stop, it can still hit 120kph in just 6.5 seconds. We hit around 180kph on both back straights, which is really quick and not too far off from the top speed of the mid-engined R8 V10, which hits around 190kph in the same places. 
What the Inde lacks in straight-line speed it makes up in other areas. Every time Narain hits the brakes hard, I’m lifted off the seat slightly and can feel the straps digging into my shoulders as the car decelerates. And Narain is going even harder now, attacking corners with an almost demonic abandon. This is a proper track car, and watching Narain on full attack feels like I’m perched on his shoulder during one of his single-seater races. What an experience!  

So, what is it that makes this car so quick? Think of it as a two-seat Formula 3 car and you’ll understand it better. Of course, it isn’t really the same thing. There’s no carbon-fibre monocoque chassis like in a single-seater – this car uses a tubular chassis, and with the Inde 2.0, there’s the added weight of the second passenger too. But otherwise, it is as track car as it gets. The rear half, in fact, is all but identical to an F3 car. The engine, gearbox, transaxle and even rear wing are pure single-seater. Take a look. The different bits start forward of the big roll bar. There’s that heavy roll cage, an FIA-spec crash box and a modified suspension system. JA Motorsport used thicker-diameter springs, thicker wishbones and larger AP brakes due to the extra weight of this car. A Dallara F2000 car, which JA Motorsport also produces, weighs 520kg. This car weighs in at around 595kg, and has the added weight of two passengers. Other interesting bits on the car include bag-type fuel tanks for greater safety, and aerodynamics that channel air past the nose cone, through the radiators and out the splitter at the rear. J Anand says the shovel-type nose should be delivering plenty of downforce; they don’t exactly know how much as the car hasn’t been in a wind tunnel yet. MRF slick tyres, an essential bit of kit, round off the package.   

JA Motorsport’s Inde 2.0 isn’t fully ready; it’s still a bit of a work in progress. Yet it managed to pip MRF’s F1600 single-seater around Irungattukottai with a time of 1:43.3 seconds. That was with no setup and no practice. Narain just got in, did three laps and got out. He reckons the car, once properly set up, is capable of a 1:39, which is bloody quick, even for a single seater. What this Rs 48 lakh car will be like to drive for one of us mortals is anybody’s guess. One thing’s for sure, this one should go straight on your bucket list.