Introduction

“Never say ‘never’!”

Said Sean Connery as he walked out of the villain’s hideout, as it exploded into smithereens, ready to take on the next mischiefmaker. We all cannot be James Bond but 2014, a year that started with the SLK 55 AMG and concluded with another beast, the RS7 – was a challenge fit for the British spy. The team fought hard, like the M16 making a joke out of the toughest challenges. We drove through the scary nights, treacherous jungles, deceiving deserts, almost unscathed to emerge successful (a few scratches and bruises always makes it more dramatic). Well, now that we are through with 2014, I was looking forward to meet 2015 and see if it could match 2014 or if not be better at challenging us!

Well, never say ‘never’! I opened my eyes in to the New Year only to find a mammoth surprise. Though many would call it a nightmare looking at its sheer size and ferocity but the 007 in me wanted to tame that monster. Here I was about to take the helm of a machine, prepped for the track with racing slicks, water cooled brakes and ‘one-thousand-five-hundred-and-fifty’ Newton-metres of torque powering the rear wheels only! Just to add perspective to the erstwhile pointless numbers, the Bugatti Veyron engine generates 1250Nm torque only. So, say hello to the Tata T1 Prima race-truck. This has to be by far the ‘biggest’ race machine I have ever laid my hands upon. A race-truck automatically means a race-track, which in this case is Tata’s own testing facility in Pune.

How fast?

‘I entered a corner at 100kmph and powered out at about 125kmph in a truck!!!’ Now that it is off my mind, I can concentrate better!

Trucks are trucks – huge and somewhat ugly – and this truck is no different. I had to step on to the collared rim hub holding on to the door to step on the climbing step, and then haul myself up over the roll cage side members to get into the driving seat high enough to stir an acrophobe. But then, that is where it all ends. As you get inside the cabin, the surroundings seem familiar to its racing pedigree except for how far things are away from you. The racing bucket seat was set up for a truck racer measuring a tad above six feet and as I reached for the clutch pedal, my missing inches were pretty much evident. As I strapped the 5-point seatbelt on, I could not even reach the ignition switch.

They say race machines are scary and the gear lever was of no help in calming my nerves down. The 8-speed manual needs a man rather two men to slot it in and it doesn’t end there. The two men have to be skilled enough to find the right slot. Also, the OMP steering wheel was positioned at a weird angle and holding it felt like the dinner plates I have to wash every night! And the truck doesn’t have a refrigerator to keep my coffee cold! Pointless right? It is a racing machine and it is pointless to crib about it not being made to suit your tastes. The seat and steering can be adjusted to suit you and the gearbox is actually fun when you get the feel of it and the technique right.

Why fast?

Race machines are purpose built with the sole intention of going as fast as it can and going fast is what this truck does best. The turbocharged six cylinder oil burner is exactly the same as it is found in the Prima 4038 that we see every day hauling up tons of payload. Though the internals have not been changed, the ECU has been completely retuned for the race setup. If you have never driven a lazy big block diesel mill, you will initially struggle to get the truck to drive smoothly. The driving range of this truck is between 1600 to 2400rpm where you have all the horses ready to gallop at tip of your right toe. The fueling in the power band is precise and as the turbo boosts it up, you hit the rev-limiter in a jiffy – time to slot the next gear in! The ‘cacophony’ created by the open exhaust, the turbo blow-off, the waste gate whistle and the wind rushing in through the open windows is the symphony that motorheads could plug in to all day long.

The gearbox is the standard 9-speed unit found on the street trucks with only the final reduction ratio tweaked to help this machine sail over 130kmph as against the 110kmph limit last year. The company test driver claimed to have clocked 142kmph top speed at the Tata test track. With speed comes responsibility and the responsibility here is the ability to stop and stop fast. Racers last year had complained about the fading brakes as the race truck has the same drum brake setup found on the production truck. We would have loved an all disc setup at least on the race-truck knowing that even production trucks sold by some foreign manufacturers have disc brakes. Tata engineers have installed a brake cooling system to negate brake fade. It sprinkles water on the brake drums to take away the huge amount of heat generated.

The truck runs on racing slicks specially built by JK tyres for the racing series that is being held at the Buddh International Circuit since last year. The suspension has been reworked to suit its racing pedigree. The truck we drove had cabin suspension which will eventually be removed before the truck hits the track. I will not be able to talk much about handling though as the track has a really long corner, a bowl and a skid pad and with most of the limited time available lost in slotting gears or rather trying I can say I got a glimpse of what the truck is capable of. It is fairly agile for a machine that tall with minimum body roll, but if you get carried away with its handling prowess, you are not far away from turning turtle – but if you keep it within its limits, the thing can be really fast.

Prima Truck Racing

Tata has continued its pioneering ways by introducing truck racing as a serious sport in India, and is putting efforts into establishing it. The first season has been executed with help and guidance from the FMSCI with rules and regulations inspired from the British truck racing series. I would certainly want Volvo, Daimler Benz and MAN to join the fray and fight it out for top honours. But, in the meanwhile, I will be out there in the gym, strengthening my left hand and building some muscles waiting for an opportunity to actually drive the truck on a bigger racing circuit because you know what – ‘Never say never’.