Tata Altroz Racer priced at Rs 9.49 lakh

Tata Motors has launched the highly anticipated Altroz Racer with prices starting from Rs 9.49 lakh, going up to Rs 10.99 lakh, ex-showroom India. This is the sportiest iteration of the hatchback yet, and will squarely take on the Hyundai i20 N Line. The Altroz Racer gets the existing 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine in a higher state of tune, and also comes with cosmetic updates inside and out, along with some new features.  

The Altroz Racer is available in 3 trims – R1, R2 and R3 –  and here’s a breakup of the prices:

Tata Altroz Racer: engine, specs

The most notable highlight of the Altroz Racer is what’s under the hood – it uses the 1.2-litre, three-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine that was offered on the iTurbo, but here on the Racer, the engine produces 120hp and 170Nm here, which is 10hp and 30Nm more. In fact, it’s in the same state of tune as offered on the Nexon SUV.

The Altroz Racer gets a 6-speed manual gearbox, instead of the 5-speed manual that was offered with the iTurbo; there’s no auto gearbox option, but it gets a sportier sounding exhaust system. Unlike the i20 N Line, however, the Altroz Racer does not feature any suspension or steering updates.

With the introduction of the Altroz Racer, Tata Motors has discontinued the previously available i-Turbo range of the hatchback. The Altroz i-Turbo was powered by a detuned 110hp version of the 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine, and came with a 5-speed manual gearbox.     

Tata Altroz Racer exterior design

There are also a few exterior updates to mark out the sportier hatchback. It gets a total of three paint options – Atomic Orange, Avenue White and Pure Grey – all of which come with a contrasting black finish with white racing stripes for the bonnet and roof; the completely blacked-out top half does create a nice floating effect. It also has ‘Racer’ badging on the front fenders and a slightly revised grille, but the 16-inch alloy wheels remain unchanged. 

Tata Altroz Racer interior, features 

The updates to the equipment list are more compelling. The Racer gets the larger 10.25-inch touchscreen seen on newer Tata SUVs – it comes with a newer, smoother new operating system – as well as a new 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster. Segment-first ventilated front seats, 360-degree camera, and a voice-assisted sunroof are also part of the package. The Racer also gets six airbags and ESC as standard. On the cosmetic front, there are red highlights around the AC vents and the gear lever on the centre console, and new leatherette upholstery with contrast stitching. 

The Altroz Racer’s direct rival, the i20 N Line is priced between Rs 9.99 lakh and 12.52 lakh; the Maruti Fronx with the 1.0-litre BoosterJet engine is also a close rival and is priced between Rs 9.72 lakh and Rs 13.04 lakh.

Along with the launch of the Altroz Racer, Tata Motors has updated also updated the hatchback's line-up. The brand has added two new higher-spec variants – XZ LUX and XZ+S LUX – and added more features to the top-spec Altroz XZ+ OS trim.

2024 Tata Altroz range: what’s new?

Priced from Rs 9 lakh, the new Altroz XZ LUX variant adds the larger 10.25-inch touchscreen (with a new operating system), a 360-degree camera, and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. For an additional Rs 65,000, the Altroz XZ+S LUX (Rs 9.65 lakh) further adds four more airbags. The range-topping XZ+ OS trim used to be priced from Rs 9.65 lakh, but with the added features – including Tata's in-car connectivity tech and an air purifier – prices have increased to Rs 9.99 lakh; it costs Rs 34,000 more than before.