Sipani

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sunrise Automotive Industries (SAIL)
Sipani Automobiles
legal form
founding 1973
resolution 2000
Seat Bangalore , India
Branch Automotive industry

Sipani Automobiles Ltd. was an Indian automobile manufacturer that mainly produced small and micro cars . After initially producing its own designs, it switched to manufacturing or copying British vehicles under license in the 1980s. Sipani's cars were not exported. The brand names were Badal and Sipani .

Company history

The company, based in the southern Indian city of Bangalore , was founded in 1973 by Danesh Sipani under the name Sunrise Automotive Industries Ltd. (also: SAIL) founded. Some sources report that the British automobile manufacturer Reliant provided financial and logistical support for the establishment.

In the first few years, “very simple” three- and four-wheeled micro-vehicles with plastic bodies emerged whose sales were limited to the state of Karnataka . In the early 1980s the company was renamed Sipani Automobiles; the new name followed the family name of the company founder. At this time, the company began licensing the Reliant Kitten , which lasted for almost ten years, but did not prove to be commercially successful. Sipani regularly made losses during this time. In the 1990s, Sipani finally assembled British mid-range cars at short notice. The company was dissolved in 2000 after it became insolvent.

The individual models

Badal

The company's first two models, which came from Sunrise, were called Badal. They were two different vehicles that had nothing in common in terms of construction.

Badal

The first Badal, introduced in 1975, was a three-wheeler that had a steered front wheel and two driven rear wheels. The vehicle was based on a Y-shaped steel frame on which the kombi-like body was mounted. A single-cylinder two-stroke engine of Italian origin with a displacement of 0.2 liters, which was mounted above the rear axle, served as the drive . Its power was 10 hp. The fuel tank was located above the engine. The brakes only worked on the rear wheels. The Badal had a three-door body made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic . There was only one door on the driver's side, while there were two doors on the passenger side. The lower part of the rear fairing could be folded up completely. The curb weight of the 3.1 m long car was given as 400 kg, the maximum speed of 75 km / h. Some sources claim that the car was structurally "loosely related" to the three-wheeled Reliant Robin ; others see it as a fully disguised version of an Indian auto rickshaw .

The volume of production of the three-wheeled Badal is not known. Some sources claim it has had no success in the market.

Badal 4

The second Sunrise model, the Badal 4, was introduced in 1981. It was a four-wheeled vehicle with a four-door plastic body. The engine - again a 0.2 liter single cylinder that developed 7 kW (10 hp) - was installed above the front axle; he drove the rear wheels. Coil springs were installed on the individually suspended front wheels, while the Badal used a leaf-sprung rigid axle at the rear. In terms of style, the angular design had no resemblance to the earlier three-wheeled model, which was sometimes described as ornate. The curb weight of the vehicle was 500 kg and the top speed was 60 km / h.

The four-wheeled Badal did not sell well either. It only stayed in production for a year.

Sipani Dolphin

Sipani Dolphin in motorsport

After the company was renamed, Sipani presented a new model in 1982 that reached a higher technical level than its predecessor. The Sipani Dolphin was a license production of the British Reliant Kitten, which in turn was the four-wheeled version of the Robin tricycle. Like the Kitten, the Dolphin had a steel frame on which a two-door plastic body was mounted. It was completely like that of the kitten. A 0.8 liter four-cylinder engine from Reliant, which delivered 29 kW (39 hp), served as the drive. The Dolphin had neither disc brakes nor brake boosters and was considered technically out of date. The top speed of the car was 108 km / h.

The Sipani Dolphin was only produced in small numbers. According to observers, the reason for the low success of the car is the fact that it was initially only offered as a two-door, while the Indian market preferred four-door cars. In addition, it was significantly more expensive than the larger and more powerful Padmini from Premier , which had a four-door notchback body.

Sipani Montana

Sipani Montana

The Montana introduced in 1985 was a five-door version of the Dolphin. It was only offered at very short notice.

Sipani Montana D1

The Montana D1 presented in 1987 was a further development of the Montana. From a technical point of view, the car was still based on the British Reliant Kitten, but had its own body. The front section was deliberately designed based on the Daihatsu Charade , which was successful in India . In addition to the well-known four-cylinder gasoline engine from Reliant, a three-cylinder diesel engine was now available as a drive, which was obtained from Mitsubishi . The 0.9 liter engine, which was originally designed for use in small tractors, developed 15 kW (20 hp). With it, the car reached a top speed of 80 km / h. Production of the Montana ended in 1994.

Sipani Montego

Montego Saloon

In 1995, Sipani began production of the Austin Montego , which had been discontinued in Great Britain the year before. It was manufactured using the CKD process: the cars were assembled in Bangalore from parts that were delivered from Great Britain. Sipani offered both the four-door sedan and the five-door station wagon. Only a 1.8 liter diesel engine with an output of 81 hp served as the drive. This model was also unsuccessful: Sipani only produced 259 units of the Montego in 1995, and only 51 more vehicles were added in the following 15 months. Production ended in 1996. Sipani's plans to also manufacture the Rover 400 and Land Rover in India could not be realized.

literature

  • Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 , chapter Badal and Sipani.
  • Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader: The great automobile encyclopedia. BLV, Munich 1986, ISBN 3-405-12974-5 , p. 304.
  • George Nick Georgano (Editor-in-Chief): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Volume 1: A – F. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , p. 125. (English)
  • George Nick Georgano (Editor-in-Chief): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Volume 3: P – Z. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , p. 1464. (English)

Web links

Commons : Sipani  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 , chapter Badal and Sipani.
  2. ↑ George Nick Georgano (Editor-in-Chief): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , p. 125 and p. 1464. (English)
  3. ↑ Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader: The great automobile encyclopedia. BLV, Munich 1986, ISBN 3-405-12974-5 , p. 304.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f History of the company on the website http://histomobile.com (accessed on March 12, 2014).
  5. ↑ a b Auto Catalog No. 23 (1979/80), p. 88.
  6. ↑ Auto Catalog No. 25 (1981/82), p. 97.
  7. ↑ a b Description of the Badal on the website www.3wheelers.com (accessed on March 12, 2014).
  8. ↑ Rear view of the Sunrise Badal on the website www.team-bhp.com (accessed on November 12, 2015).
  9. ↑ Auto Catalog No. 23 (1978/79), 212 f.
  10. ↑ Auto Catalog No. 25 (1981/82), p. 88.
  11. ↑ Auto Catalog No. 27 (1983/84), p. 97.
  12. ↑ a b Auto Catalog No. 30 (1986/87), p. 104.
  13. ↑ Auto Catalog No. 28 (1984/85), p. 98.
  14. ↑ a b Auto Catalog No. 34 (1990/91), p. 113.
  15. ↑ a b Auto Catalog No. 40 (1996/97), p. 158.