A List of Luxury Vintage Car Collectors in India

For plenty of collectors, collecting cars is definitely more than just pastime. It's the ardent for such vehicles as well as to preserve their history that more often than not it's greater than a hobby. On the other hand, there are car collectors who collect for fun, to modify or to make it a profit-generating business. Whatever the case may be, it is an exhilarating endeavour. As a matter of fact, there are numerous kinds of car collecting, ranging from antiquities to modern cars. From what has been observed over the years these collectors become more inclined and develop a certain focus in the process when they start collecting cars. These types are mostly based on the types of cars, car time-line, or visual style and themes-logos. Hence, I am gonna list down some of the most well-known car collectors in India who are still keeping the vintage cars alive.

When it comes to collecting vintage and classic cars, Parsi's are never behind. One of the best examples, in this case, would be the Parsi brothers Kaizad and Nekzad who have an engineering background but best known for collecting and restoring cars. Their passion for vintage cars came into existence under their grandfather's influence who loved collecting such cars and therefore helped to carry forward the family business. They studied different eras and culture, specifically American and European culture post which they restored some fantabulous cars into their collection like the Chevrolet (1928 model), Beetles, Austin (1930 model), Fiat (1954 model) to become reputed restorers in the market. One of their most famous works include working on client Amit Sapre's Bristol 400.

Rana Manvendra Singh Barwani

Rana, the son of an elite family was born in an era where India just got its independence and was just in the beginning of its transforming phase. It was a time when the automotive industry didn't exist at all. So, his family was bound to expect from him to pursue a career in medicine or law.  But clearly, Singh had different plans altogether as a reason for which his passion for cars made him open his own car workshop in Madhya Pradesh. Rana has lent a helping hand to reinstate several crucial historic cars of the Indian automotive industry, which includes the 1911 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Dome Roof Limousine. He was also approached by Cartier to host a vintage car event in India which was named as the Cartier Concours.

Arihant Talera

Next on the list is this 17-year-old gentleman who became the youngest participant of Vintage and Classic Car Club of India. He is an automotive fanatic who has collected over 20 historic cars as of now. His passion for such vintage cars developed under the influence of his father and grandfather. He was able to restore the RR silver shadow, which is his favourite model to date and made necessary customizations to meet his requirements. According to him the model literally describes the essence of luxury driving. He loves the car and feels that it gives him an exotic sensation of a yacht when he drives it and doesn't shy away from driving the car in different rally's happening around the country. He is the future of the restoration industry in India as said by many.

Viveck Goenka

One of the most common faces to be witnessed at the Cartier Concours event is none other than Viveck Goenka who is the Managing Director and Chairman of the popular news media publishing Indian Express. He was eight years old when he was gifted his first car- a Fiat from the year 1961. He hates the lastest technology Landrovers to a great extent but his love for the vintage Landrovers is at par with the same as his collection consists of all the classic landrover of the 1900s. Along with that, he has collected cars like vintage RR's. He along with his wife participated for Mark Shand Adventurer competition and ensured to win the trophy by driving the classic 1951 Standard-Vanguard Phase 1 to victory.

Marespand Aspandiar Dadachanji

This gentleman is a pure perfectionist in the field of restoration. Apart from being a priest at a Parsi temple, he has guided the likes of car collectors like Kaizad and Nekzad and several others. Dadachanji was able to cars which went on to win two Concour events like Cartier and Pebble Beach. He feels that he won't be able to match the level and precision of work that is being done by the current generation of restorers and that speaks volumes about this industry's potential. After working in the industry for more than 25 years, he often jokes about the fact that the clients are always behind him when he pays a visit to such Concour events, but he can not just be churning out cars like he is a factory.

Amir Jetha

Amir Jetha is the owner of Jetha properties and was born and bred in Mumbai. He managed to grab the award for the best car in the Cartier Concours event by showcasing his RR phantom (1935 model). Living in Mumbai he ensures that he never hits the road with the vintage car during overcast seasons mainly due to his observation that the car starts developing rust very early and it's hard to get it off. He feels that such cars have to be handled very delicately and ensures that he brings out his car on the road only during the dry season. One of the problems he has faced during his time restoring the award-winning car in 2012 was sourcing its tyres. The car was 85 years old and is the last ever manufactured in the "continental" category. His sheer determination to keep the car intact over the years with immense research on car specifications is highly commendable.

Conclusion

In the past five years, there has been a surprise development that has been observed with new generations taking a new approach to restoring the classic cars by modifying and matching the colours and accessories to the original, a trend which was missing for a long time. But, what the current generation of Indian collectors wants is a slight relaxation from the Indian government because these restored cars have to be sent back to the respective countries within eight months as a part of the import policy. However, the speed and efficiency at which the restoration is being done have gone up several notches. This has thrown India into the limelight of becoming a global car restoration market in upcoming years.