Rolls-Royces to Fords: How collectors are preserving India's motoring soul

From handcrafted parts to million-rupee rebuilds, the people reviving India's automotive past

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Diljeet Titus

 

Collector’s collector   

1939 Dodge, seven-passenger convertible; 1929 Chevrolet Bus, previously owned by the Kolhapur State; Diljeet Titus with his 1930 Stutz Series M, four-passenger speedster, Dual Cowl

 

The Titus Museum, founded by lawyer-collector Diljeet Titus in Delhi in 2003, is a shrine to motoring heritage. Its 23-year-old collection spans pre- and post-war classics, military vehicles, fire engines, and even period film cars once owned by maharajas and Bollywood icons.

 

Among its crown jewels is the 1933 Minerva AL Landaulet de Ville by Van Den Plas, Belgium’s answer to the Rolls-Royce. “Minerva was the finest car Belgium ever produced,” Titus says. “Its clients included the king of Belgium and the nizam of Hyderabad.”

 

Every vehicle in the Titus collection is driven regularly, participating in rallies and concours d’elegance events across the world. It’s not just a museum; it’s a living archive of India’s automotive grandeur.

 

Tarun Thakral

 

Museum maker 

Tarun Thakral’s 1962 Dodge Dart 8 440 Station Wagon; 1938 Buick Series 40, two-door convertible

 

For Tarun Thakral, founder and managing trustee of the Heritage Transport Museum in Haryana, vintage cars are milestones. His fascination began during his years in France, where he studied hospitality. “The first vintage car I bought was a 1932 Chevrolet,” he recalls. Today, his museum houses over 85 vintage and classic automobiles — 90 per cent personally owned — alongside motorcycles, scooters, and transport memorabilia. The oldest in the collection: a 1928 Rolls-Royce. Each car is maintained meticulously, with a monthly upkeep budget of about ₹1 lakh. “Every vehicle is started and driven three times a year,” he says. “Restoration is handled by a dedicated team, and for major projects, we work with experts like Tutu Dhawan and Pandit & Co.” Thakral’s favourites include a 1957 Ford Fairlane Skyliner, a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air, and a 1935 Buick 90L Limousine. 

 

Abhishek Raniwala

 

A legacy restored 

Abhishek Raniwala with his 1928 Austin 7

 

For Abhishek Raniwala of the Raniwala 1881 jewellers, vintage cars are a link to family history. His great-grandfather, Rai Bahadur Champalal Raniwala, once owned a 1932 Aston Martin convertible — sold decades ago. In 2019, Abhishek Raniwala bought it back. “It was my tribute to him,” he says. “We even recreated his old ritual of driving to the temple in that car.”

 

The Aston Martin was non-functional when he found it. It took 25 days to bring it back to life, with custom wheels, new upholstery, restored paint, and modernised ignition. “We converted it from self-starter to electric, but kept the original engine,” he says. The car, now driven every two weeks, is a modest four-seater that caps at 40 km per hour. “It’s not about speed, it’s about sentiment,” he says. “When my 90-year-old grandfather sat in it again, he was lost in memory.”

 

Arjun Khosla

 

Road reclaimer 

Arjun Khosla’s 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280S; 1965 Mercedes-Benz 220; 1965 Volvo Amazon; and 1965 Jeep Wagoneer

 

For Delhi-based Arjun Khosla, vintage cars are not museum pieces — they’re meant to move. His passion began at Doon School, tinkering with a 1926 Chevrolet. Decades later, his garage boasts 10 restored marvels, from a Mini Cooper (1965) to a Jaguar Sovereign. “Cars back then were mechanical, not electric,” he says. “If you’re determined, you can fix anything.”

 

A former bicycle parts manufacturer, Khosla spent long hours crafting components by hand. “It’s expensive. Restoring a Rolls-Royce can cost ₹2 crore, and a Beetle ₹15 lakh, but it’s worth every bit.”

 

Delhi’s National Green Tribunal restrictions now limit him to driving his cars within enclosed spaces or transporting them by truck for rallies. “It’s a dampener,” he admits, “but the joy of hearing an old engine roar again — nothing compares.” 

Tutu Dhawan 

Restoration artist 

A 1946 MG-TC; a 1967 Mini Cooper; Tutu Dhawan working on a 1937 Ford V-8

 

For Tutu Dhawan, the man who has spent decades rebuilding motoring history, the passion for vintage cars began while he was studying history at Kirori Mal College in New Delhi in the late 1960s. Barely 20, he was restoring a 1959 Beetle without any formal engineering training. “It took me 25 years to understand automotive parts,” he says. “I built them by hand, from scratch.” Over the years, he’s restored more than 30 cars, including for Shah Rukh Khan, and once owned a fleet that included a Lotus, Porsche, and Rolls-Royce.

 

Today, his collection has been pared down to a dozen classics: Jaguars, a Ford Mustang, the British sports car MGB, each a story in itself. “With age catching up, I can’t maintain them all,” he says. “But I’ve rebuilt cars from the ground up.”

 

Before the internet, every restoration was an act of ingenuity. Dhawan would build sand and wooden moulds, then cast them, and finally machine the parts by hand. “Nothing was available. You couldn’t order parts; you had to make them,” he says. Today, restoration is big business, with replica parts made in Taiwan, China, and Vietnam. His Ford Mustang cost ₹1 crore, with restoration adding another ₹50 lakh. “Back when privy purses were abolished, many maharajas sold jewellery and cars to survive,” he recalls. “If you were at the right place at the right time, you could find treasures.”

 

Among those he has restored are a 1913 three-wheeler Morgan, which goes up to 30 km per hour at most, a Lotus Esprit (50 km per hour), and Porsche (300 km per hour). His 1962 Jaguar Mark X 4.2 arrived in two pieces, rebuilt from pressed steel body panels and an overhauled engine, with the original carburettors repair kits imported from England. Once restored, it hit 165 km per hour on the Delhi-Agra highway, he says. From custom leather sourced from Kanpur and Madras tanneries to intricate wood trims and rewound motors, every detail is hand-restored.

 

Through his firm, Engineers Corporation, founded in 1967, Dhawan has worked on everything, from Bentleys and Rolls-Royces to pre–World War II Chevrolets, Mercedes-Benzes and Ford V8s, building his legacy one piston at a time.

 

Syed Sahil Agha

 

Storied garage 

Syed Sahil Agha with his vintage Rolls-Royce; and with his Austin Torpedo

 

A National School of Drama graduate and founder of Dastangoi, which has revived the 13th-century oral storytelling art form, Syed Sohail Agha brings a narrative flair to his cars. “People collect jewellery or art. I collect stories on wheels,” he says.

 

His first car was a Volkswagen Caravan, followed by a 1962 Buick, later bought by noted collector Rana Manvendra Singh Barwani of Indore. Among Agha’s rarities are a 1919 Standard Royal Roadster, a 1926 Austin Torpedo Convertible, a 1926 Morris Cowley, and a Standard Coventry Sports.

 

When he began collecting, vintage cars were sold as scrap. “I taught myself to fix them, one bolt at a time,” he says. His prized possession — a 1929 Singer Big Six Saloon — was originally a royal gift to the king of Buria from the British. “When we sent details of the car to the company in England, they wrote back saying it was a piece of art.”

 

His Mehrauli garage is a museum of memories, home to a 1948 Lincoln Continental V12 (one of 452 ever made), a 1967 Chevrolet, and a regal Hudson 8 (1938) that belonged to the queen of Buria, Haryana. Restoring a car can take anywhere between ₹10 lakh and ₹50 lakh. At times, it cannot be salvaged despite best efforts, he admits. But he stays at it. “These cars,” he says, “are our heritage. Some drive, some don’t, but they all tell stories of opulence, craftsmanship, and time.”