Tata's £2.8m gold-coated Nano

You're looking at the world's cheapest car, wearing 80kg of 22 carat gold, 15kg of silver and an unnamed number of gemstones. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Tata Nano GoldPlus, unveiled this week in Mumbai.

Thirty craftsmen spent many hours ladling the Nano in the shiny stuff, built as a celebration of India's craftsmen, its 5,000-year old jewellery trade and Tata's own GoldPlus jewellery brand. As such, Bhaskar Bhatt, chairman of the Tata Group, said the one-off, golden, jewel-encrusted Nano would be transported and displayed across India.

Of particular interest is the jewel-encrusted peacock on the front bumper. And the gold-plated wheels. It's estimated worth? 220m Rupees (£2.8m), and thus, not really the world's cheapest car any longer. Still, at least it's been tastefully done, right? Right?

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Gold-quilted front valance, gem-encrusted peacock on the bonnet and still only one door mirror.

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Ratan Tata's Ode To Gold. Do not look directly at it for longer than five seconds.

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80kg of gold and a barrel load of gems. And still only 33bhp. 

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Look closely. No, not at Mr Tata. Look closely at the fact that despite its £2.8m price tag, it still only has one windscreen wiper. One.

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Reckon Mr Tata should apply the same golden-paintbrush to one of the Jaguar Land Rover products? Anyone for a diamond-encrusted Defender perhaps?

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