"Not sure if you remember that funny little penguin that was spotted back in 2009, but it has just been launched as the Tata Ace Zip in India. Together with covered sister Magic Iris, the duo look soft toy cute (to me at least) with their wide open eyes and odd proportions. Eyelashes will work well here, don’t you think?

Wait, it gets funnier. The one with the roof, Magic Iris, is described as a four-wheel, 3-4 seater small passenger carrier, a good alternative to those three-wheelers that are popular in India. The pick-up bodied Ace Zip on the other hand, is described by the press release as a 600-kg micro truck “for deep-penetration goods movement”. By the way, this is not Google Translate playing tricks, the release is in English. Deep penetration goods movement, I like!

Both are powered by a 611 cc, water cooled engine with 11 hp and 31 Nm of torque. Those wheels are 12-inch items. No performance figures are given, but the Ace Zip’s payload is 600 kg. Turning radius is a small 3.5 metres. The body is all steel, including the hard top and double steel sheet doors on the Magic Iris.

The Magic Iris is priced at Rs 1.95 lakh (about RM13,000) while the Ace Zip costs Rs 1.90 lakh, ex showroom Thane without octroi tax. They come with a warranty of 36,000 km or 12 months."

-- Who wants one?!

READ HERE