The Chevrolet Optra has been reasonably popular - a car which does not excel in any one field but is overall a nice package. But it has been growing a bit long in the tooth, and the diesel Chevrolet Optra will hopefully extend the car's lifespan in the market by a bit.

Today, General Motors India announced that the company will launch a diesel variant of the Chevrolet Optra in June first week. "The common rail diesel variant would be powered by a 2.0 litre engine and would be competitively priced to take-on competition," GM India Vice President P Balendran told PTI.

There is no word at this moment about the possible price, features, specifications or power output of the upcoming diesel Optra.

It was said that the diesel Optra would position itself against the diesel Skoda Octavia - but we think that is not likely. The diesel Skoda Octavia costs above Rs 11.35 lakhs ex-showroom Delhi. The costliest Chevrolet Optra model currently in the market, the Chevrolet Optra Platinum, costs Rs 8.25 lakh ex-showroom Delhi. The diesel Optra is likely to cost, at most, Rs 1 lakh above this. We shall post more details about the Optra diesel the moment we get hold of some; keep this page bookmarked for updates and a possible photo gallery.

Update:

The company also has said that the Optra TCDi diesel extends the value promise of Chevrolet by providing exceptional performance that has never been experienced before. The company has come to a conclusion that diesel cars currently in the market do not perform as per expectations of luxury car customers.

GM plans to beat this by unveiling the Optra Diesel, promising maximum performance. According to a top official, the Optra Diesel will far exceed the expectations of the customers and will be an absolute delight.

The new Optra, which will come with a turbocharged common rail direct injection engine, will have diesel fuel injected at a very high pressure of 1,600 bar through a multi-step injection process, a report said. The company had earlier expanded its line-up of vehicles with the roll out of its mini car Chevrolet Spark. It had launched the Aveo sedan, SRV and Aveo U-VA hatchback as part of the Chevrolet India Revolution in 2006.

Rumours:

120 bhp, 2000cc, price between 10-11 lakh. To be confirmed

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