They make a style statement like nobody else in Technopark with their primped up rides. Forget indiscernible performance modifications, going just by the number of vehicles with visual modifications [read, decals on the body, sporty stickers, profile upgrades for tyres, front and back spoilers that reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency, and the like], which can be spotted aplenty across campus, there seem to be quite a few auto modification enthusiasts on campus. These men, we understand, think nothing of spending hours, not to mention, serious money, on their cars and bikes as easily as they would on themselves.
“The primary aim of modification is to have a unique ride and create a visual impact in the process. I want my car to be recognised everywhere, as easily in a metro like Bangalore as you would in the city. For example, I had a primped up Mitsubishi Lancer with custom suspension and 17-inch alloys with low profile tyres, aluminium pedals and gear knob, blue head lamps...the works, which many automobile enthusiasts here in the city said they recognised from my Bangalore days!” says Aneesh J.P., who works in infrastructure support at an MNC on campus.
A self-confessed ‘petrol head’, he currently drives a Honda Civic, which has, among others, been outfitted with an F1 strobe brake light, stub antenna, day-time running lights and a seven-inch touch screen unit. “Not all of us can afford high end cars such as Ferrari or BMW or a Mercedes, which have superior performance. Mods are a way for us to achieve a higher segment of car quality and ride. Besides, they are also crowd pullers, are a great way to meet people and to improve your technical knowledge on automobiles,” adds Aneesh.
Binoy S. is another techie who is “crazy” about cars and bikes. He has a flashy Maruti Zen that’s the talk of the campus for its performance and visual upgrades, a superbike and also a Maruti Gypsy that he’s currently customising to the inch to go off-roading. “I’ve air-conditioned the cabin of the Gypsy, added a storage compartment in the boot, installed a steering column box from a scrap 2006 model Baleno that I brought specifically for the purpose…,” says Binoy, who has already spent a couple of lakhs on the project.
“I have been into auto modification ever since I started earning for myself; since 2002, to be exact. It’s not about the money, it’s about the pleasure of the ride and the joy it comes with improving the car and tinkering with it when you have free time. In fact, if you want to sell your mod car, you would not necessarily get back the money that you pumped into the stock,” he adds.
Another automobile enthusiast Abhilash Jayapal, an HR executive, at McFadyen Solutions, believes in keeping his vehicles in stock condition. “I don’t like flashy, in-your-face approach to modifications. It should be tasteful and in keeping with the innate aesthetics of the vehicles,” he says, in between explaining the “small but significant changes” he’s made to improve the looks, power, balance, handling, and dynamics of his Ford Figo and his Bullet.
The techies say that increasing numbers of modified vehicles on campus may have something to do with the improving the auto-modification scene in the city. Says Binoy: “While the mod scene in the city is not as vibrant as it in Kochi or Thrissur, it is definitely on an upward swing. Nowadays, there are a couple of specialised shops and garages where we can get spare parts and there are mechanics and automobile engineers here in the city who have enough knowhow to come up with knowledgeable solutions to specific car and bike-related issues.”
Manu Madhavan, a senior manager at McFadyen Solutions, who zips around in a sprint yellow Skoda Laura VRS and is one of the Park’s main automobile buffs, adds: “It’s true, but the scene here is still very much nascent. My car comes with a 1.8 litre turbo charged petrol engine with a 160 bhp power and 250 Nm torque and I am planning a stage one performance upgrade shortly, probably a power bump-up to 220 bhp and also an increase in the low-end torque, all for a better city drive. For these sort of pure mods, I still have to depend on garages in Kochi. In fact, there are a few cars on campus that could have – I am assuming – been tuned by Pete’s garage in Kochi as they had the garage’s signature ‘J’ on them.” Sweet is the ride.
