CHENNAI: Just as the daylight breaks on Sunday, Ranjit Pratap zooms past the broad East Coast Road on his electric blue 1949 Hudson. At 6 am on the dot next week, the car aficionado will promptly soar through with another automobile. With the sound of the waves, and the purring engine in the background, the Chennai-based collector relishes a two-hour ride to Mahabalipuram.
This year, this sleek 1949 Hudson, far from the usual ECR setting, finds a place on the sprawling grounds of Lukshmi Villas palace, during the biannual 21 Gun Salute Concours d’Elegance conducted from January 6-8, after a break of two years. The car, which belonged to Ranjit’s grandfather, bagged a special recognition award at the car rally. “It was in bad shape, it took me three and a half years to four years to restore it. In between, the pandemic hampered our restoration so, it was intense work for over two years,” says Ranjit. He worked on the restoration with a team of 10-14 people.
The beautiful beasts
The Chennai-based collector also brought his 1965 model Ford Thunderbird, and Jaguar Mark 2, 1967, to the car party of 200 automobiles of vintage and classic varieties. The 10th edition of the rally witnessed over 10-15 categories of cars ranging from pre-war European, post-war American, and Edwardian among others.
The Rayala Corporation’s managing director explains, “I learned restoration with the trial and error method. I’m able to come close to professional restorers which is gratifying. My skills are improving year after year.” He says his passion for classics stems from his childhood. “Earlier, I lacked the financial ability and time to devote to my collection. Now, the cars I collect are ones we had in the family or ones with good childhood memories. It is nostalgic to collect cars from the 50s, 60s, and 70s,” he shares.
While Ranjit has been attending the 21 Gun Salute for 10 years, it was the third visit for Rajesh Somasundaram. His first tryst with car rallies was the 2017 Cartier Concours d’Elegance in Hyderabad where he took the 1914 Benz Model 8/20 PS Runabout Tourer car, from his family garage. This year, he took a 1948 Jaguar Mark 4 up to the rally. A highlight, he recalls, was the two-hour drive from the palace to the Statue of Unity, a scenic route spanning around 90 km.
Another standout at the rally was Chennai-based collector Durai Mohan’s 1953 Ford Mercury. A rare model, Ranjit, and Rajesh concur. While Durai couldn’t bring it to 100% level, he brought it to 90% which was commendable in a short period, adds Ranjit. This year’s car rally, which usually draws more Delhiwallahs and Mumbaikars, saw more collectors from South India, namely Coimbatore, Bengaluru, and Palakkad, noted the collectors.
The road ahead
Ranjit compares collecting cars to gambling: it never stops with just one, The addiction is hard to put the brakes on, laughs Rajesh. While Covid-19 brought restoration to a screeching halt, purchases seem to have spiked simultaneously. Ranjit admits to buying around 12-13 cars during the lockdown period.
Asked which of his cars he favoured, Ranjit says, “I can tell you that if somebody asks who among your three children is a favourite, it is difficult to say so, no?” But he concedes that he hopes to welcome a grand Mercedes-Benz 190 SL to his fleet. Rajesh mentions that purchasing his dream car, the Chevy Corvette, might be next to impossible due to import and export restrictions in India.
Apart from the lack of spare parts and long restoration processes, the laws add to the starting troubles of collectors. “The government’s policy doesn’t allow cars to be imported after 1950. That is an impediment and an archaic law. They should allow cars from up to 1970 to be imported by now,” he explains.
Ranjit says he recently submitted a proposal on the matter to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. Indian collectors are at a disadvantage when competing at a global level. In foreign countries, classic and vintage cars over 50 years are exempt from tax and pollution aspects. “The government worded this aspect in the Motor Vehicles Act. But when it came out, there were some grey areas because they didn’t specify what cars are is exempt from the regulations,” remarks Ranjit. He adds collectors pay lakhs of rupees every five years on tax and face steep rates from third-party insurance.
While the rally in Baroda may have just ended, the collectors are already gearing up for their next event. On January 20, around 20 vintage and classic cars will assemble at GST Road and head on a 450-km drive to Karaikudi.
A glorious ride
The 10th edition of the rally witnessed over 10-15 categories of cars ranging from pre-war European, post-war American, and Edwardian.