Ahmedabad: Nearly a century after it was commissioned by the Maharaja of Alwar, a 99-year-old Hispano-Suiza from Ahmedabad has driven away with the highest honour at an international vintage-car event in France. The 1927 extended-wheelbase H6C from Pranlal Bhogilal’s collection, housed at Dastan Autoworld Museum, was named Best of Show at the inaugural Concours d’Elegance International held at the Musee National de l’Automobile – Collection Schlumpf.It was one of two cars from the collection invited to the June 27-28 event in Mulhouse. The Hispano-Suiza and the 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K will now remain at the French national automobile museum for a two-month exhibition.
99-year-old Hispano-Suiza from Pranlal Bhogilal’s collection, housed at Dastan Autoworld Museum, was named Best of Show at the inaugural Concours d’Elegance International held at the Musee National de l’Automobile – Collection Schlumpf
The Hispano-Suiza was originally commissioned by Jai Singh Prabhakar, the Maharaja of Alwar. It later became part of the Ahmedabad-based collection, which comprises historically significant European and American automobiles.According to a release issued by Dastan Autoworld Museum, the two cars are the first historic vehicles from Asia to be exhibited at the French museum. The display, it said, marks international recognition of India’s motoring heritage.The two cars were chosen for their royal provenance, rarity and remarkable restoration stories. The Hispano-Suiza, one of only two extended-wheelbase H6Cs built for the Maharaja of Alwar, was restored in 100 days following a promise by Brijesh Chinai, custodian of the Pranlal Bhogilal Collection, to the French Hispano-Suiza Club president to bring it back to France.
The Mercedes-Benz 540K (above) and the Hispano-Suiza will now remain at the French national automobile museum for a two-month exhibition
The Mercedes-Benz 540K was selected after being sent to Europe for mechanical work and earning a special display at FIVA’s Rétromobile stand in Paris, where it received a FIVA ID Card.Representatives of the Ahmedabad museum met Bruno Fuchs, board president of the French museum, during the visit. Fuchs is also chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the French National Assembly.The two sides discussed closer cooperation through exchanges of historically significant vehicles, joint exhibitions, and other initiatives centred on the automotive and industrial links between India and France, the release said. It did not specify whether a formal agreement had been signed or announce a schedule for the proposed programmes.“This emerging partnership reflects the growing international recognition of India’s rich motoring heritage and represents an important step towards strengthening the longstanding cultural ties between the two countries through the preservation, study and celebration of historically significant automobiles,” said Chinai.
