Feature: Vintage car preservation masterclass

Pranlal Bhogilal became famous for being the most prolific collector of vintage cars in India. An aesthete, bon vivant and someone who clearly had a passion for the finest things in life, not only did he help save many old cars, but he also helped save an entire class of vintage cars that are uniquely Indian. 

Of the right vintage

While his collection initially started slow, he later began accruing cars faster and faster. The late 70s and early 80s saw prices of these old cars dipping down to their lowest levels, and not many of the 750-or-so royal families at the time cared for them. Many were impossible to fix in India as it was not possible to import parts. So unless you were an enthusiast and were willing to repair, modify or re-make parts, these cars were non-runners. What also drove prices down was that these old cars were often an encumbrance to royal families. Like a 10- or 15-year-old BMW 7 Series or Merc S-Class nobody really wants, they took up much-needed space in royal garages. 

So Pranlal bought loads of them. And since many went for only a few lakhs, he bought more and more. Sure, at the time, he was paying a premium for these cars over what the rest of the market was offering, but to him, these cars were worth much more than their intrinsic value. They were individual works of art.

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Since he was from a royal Kushtia family and a man of industry, he also had many offices spread across India. And so his managers and employees were told to keep an eye out for old and interesting cars. There were even experts and consultants back in the day. Bhalerao from Indore, for example, was a dealer and had an encyclopaedic knowledge of what was for sale and where. And there were others as well.

Soon, instead of having to put out feelers for cars, he had dealers and people from all over the country offering him cars. Cars of all shapes and sizes, many owned by princely states – just like he wanted. Tailor-made by the various famous coachbuilders of the time, with elaborate instructions and inputs from the rulers of states, these cars were more individual works of art and expressions of their individuality than anything else. 

Custom-made for royalty

While some were limos in the traditional sense, there were also throne cars, open cars for parades, cars built for hunting, others made to carry wives in ‘purdah’ and those made with elaborate bars in them so the ladies of the house could enjoy a drink without scandalising the household.

In fact, what became abundantly clear was that no group of buyers customised their cars more than the princes, nawabs, royalty and large landlords of India. By contrast, the British royal family would have the chrome on their cars painted over in a more conservative black. Think about that. There were even a fair number of boat-tailed cars, and some even configured to represent aircraft. And the fact remains that if it weren’t for Pranlal and a few others like him, the Indian legacy of these individualistic and fantastical cars would have been lost forever. So one of the reasons we have so many around today, in the flesh rather than just in sepia tones and history books, is Pranlal. And we’d like to doff our hat to that.

Far and wide

While many cars came to Pranlal, it’s also true that he travelled to the corners of the country to make sure he could secure the cars from the generally fickle members of Indian royalty,who on one day would want to sell, but on another would flat out deny even having had the conversation.

Travelling at the time must have been difficult. Poor roads, a limited rail network and no MakeMyTrip. Still, he traversed the country. He went to Alwar in Rajasthan to bag a car, across India to Sikkim another time, and once he even waded waist-deep to cross a river that was in spate, according to his close friend and fellow car enthusiast Captain Pestonji Bhujwala. The eight-litre Bentley was bought from Cooch Behar in the east; it was to be re-bodied at Asansol by then coachbuilder Bannerji, or is it Bannerjy? The Maybach was from Jetpur, the Auburn V12 came from the state of Hyderabad, and he bought the aluminium-bodied Rolls from Bidar. Some cars were closer to home, like the Mercedes 540K he bought from Sterling Apartments on Peddar Road in Mumbai, hardly a kilometre  or two from his palatial home, Daskot, near Chowpatty. It, however, had a diesel engine under the hood; the original engine had to be sourced from Jawhar. Luckily, it was found.

To drive is to live

Pranlal also loved to drive. All his cars were to be enjoyed by being driven; he was very clear about that. And he was a naturally fast driver who often drove himself. “He loved to drive American cars. He found they were the best to drive,” says Captain Bhujwala, who he would meet up with every Saturday. The drive often consisted of a run along Marine Drive, around the Taj in Colaba and back.

Pranlal also liked going on longer drives. His house in Mahabaleshwar was a regular run. And he often did it with many cars in the convoy. The highway drive at the time and the challenge of the ghats must have been formidable, and the condition of these cars must have been good to make the arduous uphill journey. Then, he often went to Pune, Shirdi and Nashik. Once, he even drove the Mercedes 300 Sc all the way to his Hyderabad factory. His absolute favourite car to drive, however, was his 1935 3 and ½ litre Bentley, ‘Cleopatra’, and his most-often-used car was the Buick Super Eight.   

And yes, he named most of his cars; a brass name tag affixed on the bonnet above the fenders. He had some really fascinating and very apt names. Like Chetak for his fuel-injected Mercedes 300 Sc that was quick and ran effortlessly, or Durga, his 1931 eight-litre Bentley that sounds like a four-engine Lancaster WWII bomber.

Live to drive

Pranlal was also so involved in his cars and was such a car enthusiast that he would come back from work and go straight down to the garage, staying there for hours. His friend Anji Mehra from ITC was a mechanical wiz, and the pair – along with some help – would tinker around with the cars and work on them, often for hours at a time. He would also send his cars all over to be worked on by super-specialist mechanics, who were very prominent at the time. These weren’t brand specialists but specialised in specific components. There were battery specialists, experts for electric systems, hood wallas, carburettor experts, and, of course, specialist body shops and painters. This industry doesn’t exist anymore.

Pranlal was also partly responsible for stopping the export of vintage cars from India. He went and met the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, and explained that we needed to preserve these cars with an Indian heritage. Luckily, he was successful. However, a lot of cars were still smuggled out at the time.

Auto World and beyond

As his collection grew, Pranlal eventually had cars everywhere and nowhere really to keep them. What do you do when you have upwards of 200 cars?  Where do you keep them? And that’s when the idea of Auto World came to him. Built in Ahmedabad, at what still is his family estate, Auto World houses some of his finest and rarest cars, and is worth spending a day or two at. It has been a while since they were last restored, but to see so many cars of this calibre all in one place is just stunning. Can’t believe some of the cars you have at Auto World! There are 12 Rolls-Royces, four Cadillacs, three Bentleys and three Lagondas – 112 in total. Pranlal had 16 Rolls-Royces and seven Bentleys in his collection.

Pranlal passed away in 2011 and is survived by his daughter Chamundeshwari and son-in-law Brijesh Chinai. The pair is currently in the process of restoring his cars to their former glory. The first two out of the box – Merc 300 SC and 540K – are both icons in their own right. Restored to concourse condition, with the advice and help of international experts as well as some of the finest restorers in India, they will soon be followed by others. Sure, it’s going to be a long, hard road, but if the reception that two Mercs have got is anything to go by, this will be followed by a steady stream of restored cars that are likely to be the toast of the classic and vintage car scene, just like Pranlal’s collection was back in the day. Pranlal would turn up at the Vintage and Classic Car Rally in Mumbai (or then Bombay) with upwards of 20 cars!

To save and protect

What people often forget about Pranlal is that he wasn’t just a collector and connoisseur but also helped save a whole generation of India’s finest vintage cars from the scrap heap. Seeing them alive today, in the flesh, is certainly better than seeing them in old faded pictures. And don’t these cars just transport you to another age,  

when agents from the best and biggest carmakers in the world scurried around the country, order books firmly clutched in their hands? A time when India ordered more customised luxury cars than any other place on Earth. Make for India; it was a real thing. And we have Pranlal to thank for preserving that. That, and the fact that he got the vintage and classic car movement going in India. What a legacy! And the best part? It will slowly but surely be coming back to life again. Can’t wait.

Also see:

Feature: Crossing continents in a vintage 1923 Bean 14

Tata Steel hosts Jamshedpur’s 3rd Vintage and Classic Car & Bike Rally

10th Mercedes Benz Classic Car Rally: The Showstoppers