Piaggio NT3 to Take on the Tata Nano

At this week’s 2010 EICMA Moto Show in Milan the Italian scooter maker Piaggio has taken the wraps off its NT3 concept. The small car has three seats, uses a four door configuration and was designed from the get-go to be a competitor in emerging markest like India and China.

Piaggio have made the NT3 as small as possible, measuring only 2.4 meters (94 inch) in length the car should be great for the tight and highly congested streets of cities like Mumbai. The Italian scooter-maker’s experience with luxury features means the three seater will have a lot going for it when it comes to cabin configuration.

The one Achilles' heel of the Nano, its safety rating, will be dealt with thanks to a spaceframe architecture with crashbox. The NT3 could be powered by one of two engines. One is a convectional 200 cc petrol burner, built to be as economical as possible while the other is a 300 cc hybrid variant which will combine decent power with a high level of fuel economy.

Top speed for the NT3 will be around the 80 km/h (50mph) mark, according to Piaggio. The company promises great fuel economy: just 1 liter per every 30 km or 71 mpg (though they did not specify for which engine - we expect this for the convectional 200 cc). Piaggio promise us they will deliver the vehicle sometime in the next three years. We'll remind you that its Indian competitor saw a lot of delays and went over the original budget allocated for its development. Tata is one of the world’s biggest carmakers so we wish the plucky Italian all the best.