Dilip Chhabria

Dilip Chhabria is an Indian car designer and the founder of DC Design.^[2] He designed and manufactured the DC Avanti,^[3] which is considered India's first sports car.^[4] In 2020, he was arrested for running a car scam.^[5]

Dilip Chhabria
Alma mater	Art Center College of Design
Occupation	Automobile designer
Known for	DC Avanti, REVA NXR and DC TCA
Children	2[1]

Biography

Dilip Chhabria graduated with a bachelor's degree in commerce. In a 2015 interview, he said that he had seen an advertisement in a car magazine and decided to become a car designer.^[1] He then studied in the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, US.

After graduating, he worked for General Motors. He returned to India to start a workshop in Marol.^[2][6] His first product was a ring shaped horn for the Premier Padmini.^[1]

In 2002, he was hired by the Kinetic Engineering Limited to design a limited edition scooter.^[7] In 2003, DC Design constructed a prototype for Aston Martin Vantage to be showcased in the 2003 Detroit Motor Show, based on designs from Aston Martin.^[8] In 2004 he designed a car for the film Taarzan: The Wonder Car. In 2006, he tied up with Exim Star of ETA Star Group to form a new company, DCStar. It was set up in Dubai to produce custom cars.^[9] In 2009, he designed a concept car for the Coca-Cola Company to promote the energy drink Burn in India.^[10] In 2011, he designed the REVA NXR electric car for Mahindra & Mahindra.^[11] In 2012, Air Works India tied up with Chhabria to design airplane interiors.^[12] In 2013, he was hired by Siddhi Vinayak Logistics to design the buses for their luxury bus service.^[13] In 2014, he designed custom luxury buses for Girikand Logistics.^[14] In 2015, he launched the DC Avanti.^[15]

In 2010, he launched the DYPDC Center for Automotive Research and Studies with the D. Y. Patil group.^[16]

Car scam

On 29 December 2020, Chhabria was arrested for running a car scam.^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23]} On 7 January 2021, comedian Kapil Sharma filed an FIR against Chhabria for cheating him.^[24]

See also

• DYPDC Center for Automotive Research and Studies
• DC Avanti