Maruti 800 through the years

Not too long ago if you lived in India and wanted to buy a car, you could choose any one of two cars. Neither of which was very exciting, but that was just the way things were and you had no choice but to live with it. Then in 1983 a little hatch back popped onto the Indian car scene and changed the game forever. The 800, manufactured by Maruti Suzuki was unlike anything anyone in India had seen before. This little wonder would soon win over the countries hearts become affectionately known as the ‘People’s Car’. Today, practically everyone who has every driven a car, has at some point or the other driven a Maruti 800. And with a new chapter set to be written with the latest version of the car to launch soon, we thought it would be apt to look back at this fun cars storied history.

The Maruti Suzuki 800 is a rebadged version of the Suzuki Fonte. Since it’s launch in 1983 over 2.5 million Maruti 800s have been sold in India.

1967 Suzulight Fronte at the Motorcar Museum of Japan

Over the years, the 800 has undergone many minor face lifts but overall it still remains the same as when it was first introduced in India. Up until 2004, it was the bestselling car in the country, losing market share mainly due to the introduction of the Alto which was essentially an upgraded version of the 800 at a comparable price.

The 799cc engine produced approximately 37 bhp of power and ran on 12 inch wheels. The car seated four passengers (including the driver) in it. Though most of us have managed to squeeze in far more. The 800 could easily reach 125 km/h, but the tiny engine took forever to get there. However the little engine could easily deliver fuel economy better than 20 km/l which is commendable even by todays standards.

First generation Maruti 800DX

The car was to be phased out during 2010 but is still on sale in some cities. Today the main competitor for the 800 is the smaller and cheaper Tata Nano which has an 8 percent smaller exterior size and a 23 percent larger interior space.

A few years ago, Maruti Suzuki had said it would retire the M800 but then changed the script and now is hard at work on a replacement version which should be launched soon.

The 800 and its Alto cousin have always been the bread-and-butter cars for Maruti since their respective launches. The duo has been here for decades and their replacement have been long overdue.

Maruti Suzuki has been developing and testing 800 replacement below the radar for a while now. Rumour has it, that it will be called the Alto 800.

Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 rendering by SRK Designs

We at Garuda Maruti can’t wait to see the 800 back in our showroom, suited in it’s modern guise. Do you think the Alto 800, once launched will be able to continue to generate the excitement as it once did and take back it’s title of the People’s Car from the Tata Nano?