The Nano team

It's a car that has made history. A few weeks after the unveiling, however, its business as usual at the Engineering Research Centre (ERC) at the Tata Motors plant in Pune. Here is where it all began and here is where the Nano team, after the euphoric unveiling, is now quietly gearing up for the next phase: putting the Nano on the road.

"The execution of the project is the real challenge", says the self-effacing Girish Wagh, who heads the 500-strong Nano team. "While we are happy and proud at the reception received by the Nano, we also know that we have a long road ahead." This statement sums up the Nano team philosophy.

It was an incredibly tough journey - filled with challenges, questions, detours and self-doubts. But the Nano team developed and delivered a car that exceeded the world's expectations beyond their dreams.

The team, as one, acknowledges the tremendous support and guidance from Ratan Tata, Ravi Kant, Prakash Telang and the senior management. Tata, they say, not only brought a sense of cohesiveness, but also provided a number of vital inputs - information, guidance, encouragement and the motivation to keep looking at innovation.

Image: The design team - Siva S Aittili and Nikhil A Jadhav

Text & Images courtesy: Tata Motors

Also see: A big burden for Tata