Exploring India’s timeless love for vintage cars and the collectors who keep their heartbeats alive.

1. First Glimpse: Diljeet Titus’ Museum in Delhi
2. The Show Ring: Cartier Concours D’Elegance
3. Goa’s Vintage Bike and Car Rally: Coastal Cruising
4. Sandeep Katari: The Art of Jugaad and Dedication
5. Keeping the Heartbeat Alive

It felt like a punch: Rs 20k for a replacement remote car key! The cleaner’s carelessness had landed me with a huge dent in the pocket. Maybe I should just forget the convenience of a remote key and stick to the manual one. How much does a broken remote matter, anyway? After all, the car is old and will soon be vintage. But I’ve a special place for cars in my heart.

Driving was always a dream, going wherever, whenever, and however! My love for cars isn’t about speed or luxury; it’s about freedom on wheels, the ability of man to travel far into unexplored lands. It’s Star Trek on wheels!

Cars have changed; automotive innovations come out so fast. Petrol prices are sky-high, and electric vehicles are becoming the norm. Driverless cars are being tested, all AI and sci-fi.

My car is old, manual, and without a sunroof, but I can’t bring myself to part with it. It’s been my saviour, my music companion, my cargo carrier, and my emergency handler.

I can’t ever imagine owning a driverless car; I like being in the driver’s seat. Yet, my knees and legs might not like that with progressing years. And I wonder: how long before my car too earns the coveted title of vintage?

Of course, daydreaming and memories are linked. My wondering became wanderings, and I travelled back to 2009 or maybe it was 2010.

First Glimpse: Diljeet Titus’ Museum in Delhi

Way back in 2009, while working for Air India’s in-flight magazine, Swagat, I visited a huge farmhouse space in Mehrauli, Delhi, where the known lawyer, Diljeet Titus, kept his fleet of vintage cars. He founded the ‘Titus Museum of Transportation and Collectibles’.

I’d never been that passionate, but Hollywood had introduced me to those long cars, more striking than the heroines. I still remember the pink, immaculately maintained Cadillac that Titus owned.

His fleet taught me that every car thrives on care, respect, and devotion. I don’t know why I didn’t make that museum a photo feature then. Well, maturity changes preferences. Vintage cars aren’t just fancy collectibles; they are serious valuables.

The Show Ring: Cartier Concours D’Elegance

My next invitation to experience automotive heritage was the Cartier ‘Travel with Style’ Concours D’Elegance in March 2015 at Delhi’s Jaipur Polo Grounds. This was another level, featuring jeeps, open buggies, motorcycles, and royalty incarnate.

The day shone with Cadillacs, Mercedes, Rolls Royce, Imperial, Minerva with their grand exteriors, curved bonnets, huge headlamps, shining glasses, long bodies, roofless, old Harley Davidsons.

What I discovered here was inspiring: Every car with an Indian history, restored in India, was allowed to participate. Indian collectors were competing on the world stage.

The Cartier show had an award ceremony as well: Best Car was 1933 Minerva AL 40HP owned by Diljeet Titus; Best Motorcycle was 1936 Royal Enfield 500cc owned by Parvinder Singh. Mark Shand Adventure Trophy was awarded to 1952 CZ-Jawa 250cc. The 1920 Moon Model 6-42 owned by Shrivardhan Kanoria was awarded the special Resurrection Cup.

The takeaway was clear: Vintage is a smart investment, and the younger generation was proving that these automobiles are rolling works of art.

Some interesting vintage car concours events include Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy, the St Moritz International Concours of Elegance in Switzerland, and the 21 Gun Salute International Vintage Car Rally and Concours d’Elegance in India. But I haven’t been there!

Goa’s Vintage Bike and Car Rally: Coastal Cruising

My next encounter came in September 2016, during Goa’s first-ever ‘Vintage Bike and Car Rally.’ I experienced the dream firsthand, riding in Saby D’Souza’s white Fiat. With its sunroof and old-style bhopu (horn) on the driver’s side, the ride felt like Noddy puffing along in his toy car.

We chugged along the Panjim coastal road, surrounded by the chugs of engines and the beautiful coastal air. This surviving white Fiat, maintained by D’Souza since the 1980s, exuded dignity, grace, and old-world charm—pure Italian craftsmanship surviving the odds.

I felt like a 1980s heroine standing through the sun roof, for D’Souza rented his car for movies as well. I enjoyed a ride from Paryatan Bhavan to Miramar and then back to INOX cinema where the rally culminated in jazz and wine in the evening.

There were awards too: Long Distance Travelled Vintage Cars to a 1946 Ford Jeep, 1965 Mercedes Benz, 1965 VFJ Jonga and 1964 Standard Herald. Awards for the Long Distance Travelled Vintage Bike was a 1965 BMW RSO.

Awards for Best Restored Vintage Car went to a 1921 Citroen, Best Restored Vintage Bike to a 1942 Norton 16H, Best Restored Classic Car to a 1961 FIAT 500 D and Best Restored Classic Bike to a 1965 Lambretta LI 150 series.

Awards for the Most Unique Car went to a 1941 Ford Artillery Truck, Most Unique Bike to a 1962 Escort Runabout, Most Original Classic Car to a 1959 Morris Mini Manor, Most Original Classic Bike to a 1958 BSA shooting star.

Each car was a story, an era in itself, and each restorer echoed pride:

Milind Angle lived in Panjim market, Goa. Angle’s one love is preserving all that he has inherited from his parents, be it a grandfather clock or the rotating musical couple. His old Mini from 1959 was gifted to his mother, and now he kept the little red one running. It had travelled over a lakh kilometre, and could drive do up to 10 km at a stretch.

Dressed in a traditional dhoti, kurta, headgear and bright red stole, Sanjeev Bhiwandkar smilingly and unabashedly twinned with his shiny red limited edition 4-Speed 1963 Vespa. It was gifted by his uncle, and he had come to the rally on that very scooter, driving for 12 and a half hours with his friend Rahul. He also owned four other Vespas and a bike.

The owner of the palace of Pernem, built in 1693, Jitendra Deshprabhu showed us his two Austins, a Mercedes and his workshop. Inside this huge palace with majestic gates we discovered a treasure trove of artefacts, vintage artwork, tiles with Portuguese work and more. With 400 rooms, it housed a Dattatreya temple with the god’s feet.  

Sandeep Katari: The Art of Jugaad and Dedication

My deepest dive into the restoration world came in August 2018 when I met Sandeep Katari for an article in the (now defunct) Harmony magazine.

A lawyer by training but a restorer by heart, his world of grease and gears began in 1987 with a humble Hindustan 14, bought for Rs 4,500, which took a year to refurbish.

Restorations are time-consuming, taking between one to three years for models like the three Rolls Royces he was working on. This process inculcates patience and precision, demanding that restorers embrace jugaad, as original spare parts are often unavailable.

His favourite resurrection project was a 1937 Buick, which arrived in tatters and took 18 months to bring back to life. His treasures also included a 1926 Harley Davidson, a 1918 three-door Fiat, and even a World War I petrol generator.

Katari’s so-called studio was a treasure mine: old General Motors advertisements in Gujarati, a 1928 Ford ‘Doli’ used for brides, grandfather clocks, and photographs dating back to the 1790s.

Keeping the Heartbeat Alive

It’s been almost six years since my last vintage encounter. My own car is a long way from vintage status, but it’s heritage in the making.

I’ll eventually have to shift to an electric vehicle, but the beauty and glory of vintage cars lies in the craftsmanship, the ability to slow down, and the sheer dedication required to keep them going. Old cars really carry heartbeats. My first car, a Maruti Zen, visits me often in my dreams.

What piece of personal history are you carrying in your heart?

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2025.

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This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.