Tata Nano blinged with £3m worth of gold, silver and gems

How do you pimp a cheap car? Well, you could chuck a pair of fluffy dice on the rear view mirror, add some automotive moustaches or eyelashes. Or -- if you're Tata -- you could go full rap star and pimp it with £3m worth of jewels.

What you're struggling to look at here, car fans, is the Goldplus Nano -- a tricked out version of the 'world's cheapest car' that's been covered in 80kg of 22-carat gold. Oh, and 15kg of silver. And 10,000 semi-precious stones and gems -- all of which gives it a level of bling not seen since Lil Wayne last opened his mouth.

The car was created to commemorate the 5,000th year of jewellery designing in India, but it'll also serve as an impressive publicity stunt for the Nano, whose sales have fallen dramatically in recent times due to safety issues -- not least a propensity to spontaneously burst into flames.

Just 1,202 examples were sold in August 2011, according to TruthDive, which is an 88 per cent dip since 10,012 cars were sold back in April.

Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata was, understandably, quite pleased with the Goldplus Nano and what it represents. "As many as 14 techniques of jewellery making have gone behind the effort," he said, "from the intricate filigree work to the delicate and colorful meenakari work, the stunning kundan to the traditional naqashi, marking the convergence of diverse and culturally distinct jewellery making techniques from around India."

The blinged-out Nano will not go on sale -- not that you could afford it. Instead, it will be kept on by Tata and used as a marketing tool, travelling to various showrooms around the country.

Head over to the BBC to see footage of the car being unveiled.