San Motors managing director Milind S Thakker told The Financial Express that initially, the company would soft-launch the car in metros (likely to start with Bangalore) and then gradually move to cover other major cities. The reason for this approach was to ensure a high level of service before, during and after the purchase, he said.

Designed with the help of a French design shop Le Mans Design Group both the versions of Storm (1200cc) would initially be made available in 6-8 shades and later it would have a wide range of shades. The design team comprised designer Gerard Godfroy, developer Christophe Bihr and engineer Phillippe Beloou who have various projects likeAston Martin, Bugatti, Ferrari, Venturi and Peugeot to their credit.

The dyes--mould and master--were also made by the design team. The entire development and design activities have taken 30 months to complete.

On the sports car market Thakkar said,``The market size is adequate to make it attractive for a low cost manufacturer like us but not large enough for bigger companies to jump into.'' Globally, the sports car segment accounts for 5-8 per cent of the total car market.

He said,``We thought about the possibilities in India since the country has no player in the sports car segment.''

He said the product is targeted at the domestic and export markets. The young-at-heart segment would be the main target at the domestic level while the company would follow the roadsigns in the various markets overseas.

``We are actively working on the European market, especially the right-hand-drive pockets like UK, Cyprus and Malta. We are also looking at Middle-Eastern countries like Egypt, Lebanon, Syria andJordan.'' Currently, the company is in discussion with a number of potential overseas buyers.

San Motors would use direct sales as well as a dealer network to reach out to the customers. The company also has plans to enter into strategic service tie-ups to ensure high-quality after sales service to its customers.