DC might simply mean two letters of the English alphabet to the uninitiated, but to a motoring enthusiast it could well mean the world. For, these are the trademark initials of the Picasso of Indian automotive designing -- the irrepressible Dilip Chhabria.

But, the story of how this commerce graduate from Mumbai University transgressed the fine line into motoring superstardom makes for some interesting reading. As the saying goes, it all starts of with some passion and so it was in the case of Dilip Chhabria who even as a child was passionate about cars. However, with no counselling available for car designing in India, the man had to look overseas to harness his creative energies. He educated himself in transportation design from a small car designing school in the USA called ARTCENTRE . Currently almost all the design chiefs in the large automotive companies the worldover, are alumnus from this very unique school. And quite like most of the school’s alumni, Dilip Chhabria also took up a stint with the General Motors Technical Centre in the US. However, family compulsions and a burning desire to create unique cars and in doing so exploit the auto design scene, brought the maestro back to Indian shores.

Once back, DC tinkered with the development of automotive accessories , which matured into a good business. However, the itch to create a whole car and the need for an outlet to vent his creativity, led to the establishment of Dilip Chhabria Designs in 1992, in a suburb of Mumbai. This company, staffed by a small core of skilled craftsmen was basically set up to recreate and build cars. An activity which DC says, Mirrors the activities of the early part of the twentieth century, when there were hundreds of small manufacturers and the industry was craft-based, unlike the mass production driven industry of today and a customer would typically order a car as he wished. But, it was the contract of the Mahindra Armada, which was DC’s vehicle to ultimate success, after which there was simply no looking back.

But the Armada aside, perhaps some of the designer’s most acclaimed work, has been designs like the Sierra Karma, the Gypsy Hawk and Viva, the Maruti 800 B.T.S (which is a mid engined rear drive Maruti 800), the Maruti Esteem Convertible and the Contessa Stretch Limo. Ironically, though in this era of economies of scale and mass-produced automotive clones, it were the cars that generated brand awareness for DC. It was a niche product segment like Mobile Homes , targetted at filmstars, politicians and industrialists, which were the designer’s bread and butter.

But now as we enter the new millennium, the age of the designer and consequently, that of the individual automobile is creeping back upon us. In fact, trends indicate the emergence of a production platform technology wherein car manufacturers will soon have four or five different chassis and a higher number of car styles, predicts Dilip Chhabria. Reflecting which is the Smart Car brought out by Mercedes which has one body and number of different body styles, for the door and bonnet. All of which, states Dilip Chhabria, points to the fact that, A customer no longer wants to be one among the hundreds driving the same car, and the car industry is slowly starting to respond to this.

Importantly, this is where the car designer’s company comes into the picture once again. Preying on the human psyche for exclusivity , DC Designs has extended its designing capabilities to automotive manufacturers like Maruti Udyog, Telco, Ashok Leyland, Daewoo and Premier Automobiles.

DC has managed to do this by lending his creativity to producing kits for the mass produced vehicles, which lends the car a sort of uniqueness unlike any other. Dilip Chhabria is said to have formalised agreements with Hindustan Motors and Ford for manufacturing kits for the Mitsubishi Lancer and the recently launched Ford Ikon. In fact, the designer has set up some new infrastructure for just this purpose at New Mumbai and estimates that the kit business could well net him around Rs 40 crore of revenues in the first year and Rs 175 crore in the next.

Interestingly, the kit business says DC is primarily a step-through vehicle for the India market, whereas the ultimate goal is the European markets. Another very interesting plan that Dilip Chhabria has for the future is the development of a Car Prototype , for one of the multinational automotive majors. This, though a very painstaking business, because at last count there were as many as 4,500 prototypes being produced every year (of which only one model is selected), is an extremely lucrative one. More importantly, given his successes and the fact that the designer definitely has his finger on the pulse of the Asian market, anything is possible.