microcarfan
  • Prototype
  • India
  • Four wheels
  • Never produced

Meera

Also known as Meera Mini

About 60 years before the Tata Nano, a self-taught engineer from Maharashtra set out to build a car even the poorest Indian family could own. He built it four times over, from 1949 to 1975, and the Meera never went into production.

No photograph yet. The photographs of the prototypes published in 2018 and 2019 appear to come from the family and the press, and none is known to be free to publish. We will never draw one.

At a glance

The spec plate

Meera

Prototypes · Maharashtra

Built
1949–⁠1975Prototypes of 1949, 1951 and 1960; the four-seater meant for production in 1975
Country
IndiaMaharashtra; a factory planned at Jaysingpur, near Kolhapur
Maker
Shankarrao KulkarniA self-taught engineer whose schooling ended at about 12
Engine
Air-cooled twin (1951)A water-cooled V-twin in the 1975 car
Power
19 hpAbout 14 kW, the 1951 car by its placard; 14 hp in 1975
Seats
2 to 4Two in 1949, three in 1951, four in 1975
Wheels
4Engine at the back
Price new
₹12,000Planned for the 1975 car
Production
NonePrototypes only
Top speed
89km/h89 km/h55 mph (89 km/h); 90 km/h by Asianet

Not yet recordedlength and weight.

How big is it?

True proportion

Length unknown

No reliable length has been found. The Fiat 500, the Peel P50 and the adult stay, so the gap is shown, not hidden.

Drawn at true proportion. The track is 3.6 metres long; the adult stands at the same scale. The Peel P50 is the smallest production car, on every page for comparison.

The story

History

Shankarrao Kulkarni’s schooling ended at the seventh standard, at about 12, yet he became a respected engineer (one of the designers on this site).12 In 1945, with India still under British rule, he resolved to build an affordable car for the country. The first, in 1949, was a two-seater, registered with Maharashtra’s transport department as MHK 1906.2

The second, of 1951, seated three. Its placard gives a 19 hp air-cooled in-line twin, about 55 mph (89 km/h) and nearly 50 mpg (US); Asianet gives 90 km/h and 21 km per litre.12 It rode on rubber, which Kulkarni said did away with more than 100 spare parts and kept a jolt at one wheel from reaching the other. He said the ground clearance could be set anywhere from 6 to 11 inches.12

It should be increased when traveling on a rugged road and reduced when traveling in speed on a smooth road.

Shankarrao Kulkarni, on the Meera’s ground clearance, as quoted, apparently from a display placard, by Jalopnik, 20 December 2018.1

A third prototype followed in 1960. About 1970 he settled the final design, smaller than before, wedge-shaped and still rear-engined, with three doors: one for the driver and two on the passenger’s side.12 By 1975 it was a four-seater meant for production, with a 14 hp water-cooled V-twin, four gears and about 21 km per litre, to sell for ₹12,000. Jalopnik puts that at about US$3,500 in 2018 money.12

Red tape

Asianet says Kulkarni submitted the car to the government for approval.2 He drove it to Mumbai for an exhibition, and the municipality of Jaysingpur, near Kolhapur, offered him free land for a factory.12 It came to nothing. His grandson, Hemant Kulkarni, blamed red tape and bureaucracy.12 Asianet adds that Kulkarni built five more cars and spent about ₹50 lakh, but won neither permission to use the roads nor a patent, and in the end gave up; no other source confirms it.2 India’s small-car market was transformed instead in 1983 by Maruti Udyog’s Suzuki-based Maruti 800.2

When the Nano was launched in 2008, the family recalled their grandfather’s dream, and wanted to be among its first buyers.1

What we do not know

Everything here comes from two articles of 2018 and 2019, which rest on the cars’ placards and on the family. No dimensions or weights, no dates for Kulkarni’s birth and death, and no report from the years he worked have been found.

Variants

Four designs in 26 years

The Meera prototypes
VariantYearsWhat differsHow many
Two-seater1949The first car, registered as MHK 19061
Three-seater1951A 19 hp air-cooled in-line twin and rubber suspension1
Third prototype1960Not described in the sources read1
Four-seater1970–⁠75A smaller wedge-shaped body with three doors, one on the driver’s side and two on the passenger’s; a 14 hp water-cooled V-twin and four speeds1 or more

Specification

From the cars’ placards and the family’s account

Engine and drive

Engine, 1951In-line twin, air-cooled, 19 hp, at the back12
Engine, 1975V-twin, water-cooled, 14 hp, at the back12
Gearbox, 1975Four forward speeds12

Body and chassis

SuspensionRubber; ground clearance adjustable from 6 to 11 in (150 to 280 mm), by Kulkarni’s account12
Doors, 1975Three: one on the driver’s side, two on the passenger’s1

Performance and running

Top speed, 195155 mph (89 km/h), by the placard190 km/h by Asianet
ConsumptionAbout 21 km per litre (nearly 50 US mpg), in 1951 and 197512
Planned price₹12,000 (1975)12

Survivors and collecting

Today

Jalopnik’s photographs show prototypes with display placards, which suggests that some of the cars survive, with the family or on display; where they are is not stated.1

Sources

Two sources so far

The Meera rests on two articles, from 2018 and 2019, which draw on the cars’ display placards and the Kulkarni family’s account; no report from 1949–⁠75 and no independent check of the figures has been found. Sources are given as plain text; the links are on the Credits page.

  1. Jason Torchinsky, “Before The Tata Nano There Was The Meera, India’s First Cheapest Car”, Jalopnik, 20 December 2018, read in full.
  2. Asianet News Malayalam, “What we did then to that 7th-standard boy who made a ₹12,000 car” (in Malayalam, content credited to Cartoq), updated 3 February 2019, read in full in translation.