Sixty-two-year-old Swedish businessman Goran Kynning has lost count of persons who have posed with him and his 1930 Ford Model A for selfies. And it was no different on Tuesday when people entering the Taj Gateway here mobbed him.
“It’s a happy car and really attracts people,” he beams.
Mr. Kynning, a resident of Stockholm, is on a world tour on this refurbished car. “It’s a challenge I took up. The journey has been eventful,” he says. Mr. Kynning landed in Mumbai two weeks ago and has driven down with his wife, Gitte, to Pune and Goa. His wife has now returned and his friend Brannmo Jan Henrick joined him to drive down to Mangaluru on Tuesday morning. They plan to drive down to Chennai where Mr. Kynning will ship the vehicle to Australia and continue his journey.
Mr. Kynning, who has a passion for reconditioning old cars, said a journey in a old Ford along with his daughter before her marriage inspired him to take up the challenging world tour. He got the Ford Model A from a friend two years ago. He hanged its engine to have that of Ford Model B that has better lubrication. He also made other changes that includes removal of rear seat for luggage and have an extra 40-litre fuel tank. He has been riding on this model that consumes 1.5 litres of petrol for every 10 km.
“Every penny I am spending on this journey is worth it,” he says. After Stockholm, Mr. Kynning covered European countries, Turkey and Iran before shipping the car to Mumbai two weeks ago. Being his first visit to India, Mr. Kynning said his journey so far has been memorable. “Being a racer myself, I have safely covered the distance. I did rely on my co-passenger for vehicles that are passing by (as this is a left hand driven car),” he said. Mr. Kynning took off from his ride to make a quick visit to Taj Mahal along with his wife and a short stay in Goa.
