The words heritage and vintage are synonymous with Hyderabad. But what many do not know, perhaps, is the fact that the State capital also has the largest collection of vintage and classic cars in the country. A good number of these four-wheelers and even bikes of a bygone era were on display and in fact, hit the road too, at the Lumbini Park on Wednesday.
Almost all the vehicles — about 40 cars and 10 bikes — were a feast to the eyes. But a few were simply awesome.
One such was a 1938 model BSA-5HP, a popular military bike of the second world war. Its owner, Mir Hadi Hassan, an old mechanic from the Old City, said with evident pride that he had bought the two-wheeler way back in 1961 for ` 600. He was all praise for its engine, mileage and life span. What’s surprising is that he uses it daily even today! “The war time headlight and adjustable shock absorbers are unique to this bike. I use it regularly and it gives me a mileage of 22 miles per litre which is about 35 kmpl,” says Hassan in a matter-of-fact way.
The vintage vehicles were brought to the Lumbini Park for a rally organised by the Department of Tourism and the Hyderabad Heritage Automobile Association up to the IMax theatre. Another two-wheeler that attracted attention was a 1956 Italian Lambretta LD. Ravikumar, its owner, claimed it was an extremely rare model to find. Also in his collection was a 1948 model 500cc Sunbeam, a classic bike with parallel twin and shaft drive. Some of the other bikes included the likes of Norton, Royal Enfield, Triumph and Java. Among the cars on display were Fiat, Herald Triumph, Chevrolet, Plymouth, Opel Kadett, Morris, Austin, Vauxhall Luton etc.. and world war model (both civilian and military) jeeps of Willys.
Vincent George, a car enthusiast from Red Hills, who owns a 1948 Morris-8, believes it’s much better than many of today’s cars. “There is absolutely no maintenance. The peculiarity is that nothing has got worn out even though I have been using it for the last 32 years!” he said.
The oldest among the lot was a 1920 model Austin-7 owned by city’s Shadan group. It is a majestic colonial vehicle. “We have over 20 vintage cars including cars that belonged to the 7th Nizam. This one in particular has a 15 ltr tank and gives a mileage of 10 ltr,” explained Rashid Khan, a family member of the Shadan group.
The family of Mustaq Hussain of Hashmabad also owns a fleet of vintage cars. 25 to be exact. Standing next to his 1937 model Vauxhall Luton, he said, “this car was brought to Hyderabad by my great grandfather for `6000 in 1937. It took one year for the car to be delivered back then and my son would be the fourth generation to take care of these cars.”
Similarly, Luqman Khan standing beside his 1933 model Fiat 514, (one of the 12 cars he owns) recalled, “my great grandfather bought it for 300 British pounds back in 1932. This is the only car of this make available in the country.”
According to Anirudh of the Hyderabad Heritage Automobile Association, there are about 300-odd vintage cars and 500-odd vintage bikes in the city today. “These enthusiasts take care of their vehicles more than their family!” he said, adding, “most of these cars and jeeps here are very powerful customised machines, yet extremely luxurious mostly of the Nizam's era.”
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