evo India is now a Mag-Book! 150th special issue throws back to the 1980s, with the most significant cars and bikes from that era

evo India Magazine has undergone a massive transformation for its 150th issue. No longer is it just a magazine, but a highly collectible Mag-Book. The magazine will now feature a wider format with more lavish spreads, premium paper and a focus on being a timeless piece of automotive memorabilia rather than being a monthly magazine. Think somewhere between a coffee table book and a magazine. The writing remains the best in the business, more focus is being paid to imagery than ever before and a new design direction ensures the Mag-Book stands out. Our radical new cover design is the finest advertisement of this new direction.

The first issue of the evo India Mag-Book is a dedication to the 1980s. How do you remember the ’80s? Some people will remember it as an era of simple, albeit limited choices. Some may define it as the era which democratised the joy of motoring for the Indian masses. The rest may simply recall the ’80s through a faint shadow of commuting on the single front bench of iconic models such as the Hindustan Ambassador or the Premier Padmini. India’s car scene hadn’t exploded just yet, but it was on the precipice of doing just that: Maruti Suzuki set up shop in India and the first real people’s car – the SS80 – laid down its roots. Internationally, the scene was very different with turbocharging and direct injection going mainstream, and the keen driver had plenty of choice: from flat-12 Ferraris to air-cooled Porsches. Not to be forgotten are our beloved bikes – two-strokes were still buzzing at full chat, with the likes of the RX 100 and RD350 thrilling enthusiasts, while scooters like the LML Vespa and Chetak were keeping the masses mobile.

Coinciding with our colourful throwback, we also have our first-hand, real-world impressions of the new-age marvels on wheels – Mercedes-Benz CLA Electric, Volkswagen Tayron R-Line, Toyota Urban Cruiser Ebella, BMW X3 30 and the Tata Punch EV facelift. Our Ed, Sirish Chandran went on a Finnish ice break, to get a taste of the India-bound Audi S5, along with a particularly interesting co-passenger. Keeping the Thrill of Riding livelier than ever, we spent a day at Royal Enfield’s Slide School to hone our flat tracking skills. We also make our case for how the VF 6 mid-size electric SUV can be your go-to ‘first car’ choice. From the open-wheeled world of motorsports, the Buddh International Circuit hosts former F1 driver, Karun Chandhok as he ceremoniously takes Sebastian Vettel’s glorious RB8 F1 car for some hot laps. Round 4 of the Indian Racing Festival turned the quaint streets of Goa into a technical race track. We also touch base with the rebirth of Bugatti Veyron, that’s built from the bones of the Mistral. Ferrari is re-writing the rules for electric mobility with its upcoming Luce EV, and Jony Ive, former design chief at Apple Inc. has been tasked with redefining the cabin of this prancing-horse studded automobile. We also take a peek behind the scenes at Porsche's battery factory in the Slovak country, which manufactures the power source for Porsche Cayenne Electric.

Grab your copy of the 150th issue of evo India Magazine – with an all-new look and feel, one that is sure to find a spot in an enthusiast’s cherished collection!

Evo Eras: The 1980s

We dive head-first into the era which birthed the greatest driver’s road cars, that were a proving ground for innovations such as four-wheel-drive, turbos and bodykits

Evo Eras: Cars of ’80s India

India’s cars in the ’80s weren’t as performance oriented, but we had a fair few from the ubiquitous Ambassador and Padmini to more desirable metal like the Standard 2000 and Contessa. The ’80s also saw the introduction of the Maruti SS80 which snowballed into the modern day behemoth that Maruti Suzuki is.

Motorsport in the ’80s

A story about the era of motorsports which was the breeding ground for numerous technological breakthroughs, forging legendary drivers and cars that we still revere

Evo Eras: Bikes of ’80s India

Like the cars which made the decade colourful for the motoring scene in India, bikes such as the Yamaha RX 100 and Enfield India Bullet introduced many to the Thrill of Riding

Mercedes-Benz CLA 250+

This electric sedan turns a new page and exorcises range anxiety as it promises to deliver a claimed WLTP range of 792km

Ferrari Testarossa 849

Ferrari brings the tried and proven twin-turbo V8 formula and arms it with electric motors, cradled in a neo-retro package which bears a celebrated nameplate

Volkswagen Tayron R-Line

VW beelines back to the three-row, 7-seater SUV segment to contest its sister brand’s offering with a resurrected idea of the old Tiguan Allspace in an enlarged Tiguan R-Line derivative

Audi RS 5 Avant

We conduct a proper shakedown of the latest go-fast wagon from the brand of four-rings, and it promises to go sideways. No more understeer!

F1 returns to India

A championship-winning F1 car hits the BIC for the first time in over a decade with Karun Chandhok behind the wheel, while rumours of F1 making a return make rounds on the internet. Is this the start of the perfect storm?

Audi Ice Driving Experience

The latest Audi S5 sedan is on its way to India, and Audi invited us to Finland for some ice driving to sample the mettle of its Quattro AWD system, in the company of India’s golden Olympian

Bugatti F.K.P. Hommage

An ode to Piëch, father of Bugatti’s resurgence – the Veyron gets a second life as a one-off build with the underpinnings of the elusive Mistral speedster

Porsche Battery Factory Tour

We bring you insights from our tour of Porsche’s battery facility and Cayenne assembly line in Austria and Slovakia

Indian Racing Festival: Round 4

Goa streets turned into a fast and narrow race track for the high-octane fourth round of the Indian F4 racing scene with the rumbling 1.3-litre turbo-charged engines

Special Feature: VinFast VF 6

VinFast is driven by its pursuit for simplifying EV shopping decisions for the Indian car buyers and is confident that its VF 6 has the potential to be the default first car choice – we investigate

Catch all this and a tonne more in the March 2026 issue of evo India Mag-Book – with words that move you, photographs that stop you — the 150th issue of evo India has never looked – or felt this good!