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Pride and passion

Beauties on a roll Some of the cars on display

One out of every four Rolls Royce built in the pre-Independence era were imported to India. During the Raj, the opulent maharajas bought many exotic cars and supported the British automobile industry in a big way then. Some of the greatest internat ional coach builders and designers were specially commissioned to carry out lavish, distinctive and sometimes bizarre specifications to satisfy the whims and fancies and sometimes eccentricities of their prestigious clients. India is home to over 6,000 vintage and classic cars.

The Cartier Travel with Style show in Mumbai showcased sixty of the country’s finest automobiles, celebrating automotive design and coach building of India’s belle époque. Concours d’Elegance is a competition that judges the machines on the basis their appearance. These magnificent cars, owned by Indian royalty and private collectors have never been displayed on the international stage, in fact, many were not even exhibited in India before. “The combination of a brand like Cartier and the immense heritage that India holds can go places,” said Mark Shand, brother-in-law of Prince Charles. The event put India on the international classic car circuit.

Each of the cars had an interesting story to tell. It was the first time that Prince Michael of Kent would see his grandfather, King George the V’s 1936 Daimler Royal Limousine. Only three of its kind were built. It was also the first time since 1931 that three of the six Pierce Arrows brought into the country reunited!

Maharani of Jaipur’s Jaguar XK 120 was a precious gift from the Maharaja after she was amazed and overwhelmed by its design on a holiday to France. The car was commissioned and delivered to her doorstep in London as a surprise a few weeks later. The Maharaja of Bhavnagar showed off his Lagonda 1936. The car is a one off with the chassis and racing engine bought from Lagonda after the Maharaja was impressed with the Lagonda’s victory in the 1935 Le Mans 24-hour race, but the coachwork is a special touring version designed and built in London.

The elite panel of judges included the great Prof. Gordon Murray, designer of the McLaren F1 and Mecedes Benz McLaren SLR supercars, Simon Kidman, Prince Michael of Kent who is passionate about about Bentleys and is a patron of the Bentley Club in England. Mark Stewart, son of F1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart, James Lindsay, Don McCullin CBE, Iranian-British supermodel Yasmin Lebon, wife of Duran Duran star Simon Lebon, automobile design guru Prof. Peter Stevens and cricketer Imran Khan were also part of the judging group. The judges based their grading on factors such as history, originality of parts, and most importantly, styling. Majority of cars are owned by the same family for generations. Keeping in mind the limitations collectors in India faced on import of spares parts until very recently, the quality of restoration of these magnificent cars is impressive, acknowledged Prince Michael of Kent. He was part of a team that set a new 1,000 mile speed record for cars over 5000cc in a 1929 Bentley special in 1999. Three of the six Bentley Mark VI commissioned for the Maharaja of Mysore in 1949 were showcased much to the delight of the prince!

Remember the hit “Pink Cadillac”? Parked tidily in one of the corners amongst numerous elegant Rolls Royces and Mercedes Benz cars was the car that inspired Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Presley!

However, the aficionados’ favourite and the car that quite easily stole the show was Maharaja Duljeet Singhji of Jodhpur’s Goeham designed 1939 Delahaye 135 MS with an electromagnetic gear shift.

Amongst the other exotics winners was a 1939 Daimler DB 18, a rare 1930 Lancia Dilambda 7 seater tourer, an immaculate 1949 Healey Westland owned by P. P. Asher who spends most of his spare time restoring and working on his cars himself. Also posing elegantly were Maharani Chimna Bai II of Baroda’s Rolls Royce Wraith and Dr. Vijay Mallya’s Mercedes Benz 500K!

The execution of the event took almost a year and a half. Hopefully the Cartier Travel with Style show should set the stage for a new era of vintage and classic car events in the country.

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