Godse car wins Statesman rally

Godse car wins Statesman rally
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, MARCH 4: Nearly 54 years after Nathuram Godse shot Mahatma Gandhi, the assassin's car walked away with the trophy for the most elegant car not manufactured in Britain at the 35th Statesman Vintage Car Rally today.

A pointer to its infamous past, the 1930 Studebaker was nicknamed Killer by its present owner, Mohammad Parvez, who was participating in the rally for the first time. The rally, however, was not a first for the car, said organisers and other participants

The made-to-order car which was a Maharaja's gift to his son in 1945-46 was seized by police as the car which dropped Godse outside Birla House on January 30, 1947. The seizure has also been mentioned in the FIR, a record of which is till today the Tughlaq Road police station's claim to fame.

Talking to Express Newsline, Parvez said, "The car was with the police till 1978. It was then put up for auction where it was bought by an Anglo-Indian. Subsequently, it was bought by Kamal Khan of Bareilly from whom I bought it."

A student of computer applications at NIIT with a marble trading business in the Trans-Yamuna area, Parvez said, "When I bought it, the car was just a showpiece and was shut up in the workshop. I have a 1935 Austin and wanted to buy this car."

"I take care of the mechanics," he says, proudly adding that it took him seven months to restore. The paintwork is not original because when Parvez bought it, the car had been painted a few times over. Besides, as it was a custom-made car, there were no records to go by, he said.

A 1958 metallic green and white Chevrolet Corvette owned by K.C. Anand of Purolator India was one of the other show stealers. "I saved this car from Bhuj. This car would have been devastated in the earthquake," he says. Known for his vintage stable, Anand explains, "The car was owned by Prithviraj Singh, the prince of Kutch, and was a wedding present to him. He is a great man because when the quake came, he chose to stay with his people instead of leaving like the others."

In the classic section, the 1928 Minerva owned by Ranjit Malik was the critic's choice. "I have only heard my father talk about the Minerva. This is the first time I have seen it and this is a really classic piece," says Gyan Sharma, a vintage car restorationist and a participant.

The Minerva which won the Restoration Trophy also bagged the trophy for the most elegant car not manufactured in Britain. "There were only 33 of these cars made in Belgium. Of these, 10 survived and this is one of them," said an organiser, "It was rumoured that Minerva made such good cars that they went into liquidation."

If there was a prize for the windfall of the day, it would have gone to Vijendra Gupta's 1933 Austin 6 which won the Brijender Challenge Trophy. The car which originally belonged to a Rai Bahadur who migrated to Calcutta was found locked up in the garage of a newly bought house by Gupta's friend.

As the car had been forgotten by the Rai Bahadur when he sold his house, Gupta's friend gave it to him saying, "Since I got it for free, you can have it for free." Interestingly, the Austin was one of the few cars with its original papers and handbook intact, says Gyan Sharma who helped Gupta restore the car.A veteran of vintage car rallies, R.N. Seth's 1934 Lagonda was a gift from the Maharaja of Bikaner to Dr Himmat Singh in return for his handling of a complicated delivery in the family. "It was in terrible shape when we bought it. My friend, who is now dead, and I worked on it and brought it to its current shape," he said.

As none of the cars dating to the first decade of the 20th century participating in the rally, Seth said, "This time, cars of 1907 or 1908 have not participated because they are quite old and they cannot take the distance anymore."