The Vintage & Classic Car Collection at Udaipur

Spotted this beauty at the Udaipur Vintage Car Museum

From horse-driven carriages to gasoline-powered wraiths, from gasoline-powered wraiths to whisper-soft solar-powered miracles, you have them all at the Classic Vintage Car museum at Udaipur!

The Vintage Classic Car Museum is a feast for classic car aficionados. From horse-driven carriages to classic vintage cars, from classic vintage cars to solar-powered prototypes;  you have them all!

The Rolls-Royce car photographed above was awarded best of class vintage in the Cartier Travel Style Concourse, Mumbai in 2008 and the winner at the Lucious Beebe trophy at the Concourse d'Elegance in Pebble Beach USA in 2012.

The Fabricator, Mohanlal Lohar, is on the right.

A visit to Udaipur would be incomplete without a visit to the Vintage Car Museum in Udaipur, Rajasthan. It was a joy to take a peek at some of the classic cars of the past. The Rolls-Royce cars and Cadillacs were in pristine condition. Out of the 23 or so specimens, 19 were in running condition. I came across the fabricator and guide who not only took us through a guided tour, but also described his foray into solar-powered vehicles back in the early years of the century, specifically 2003.

Rolls-Royce Silver Phantom II 1934

One of the Rolls-Royce cars won a first prize in an international exhibition in the USA and one in Mumbai. I was especially thrilled to spot a Standard Herald car, a vehicle that I had spotted quite often in the 1980s. The Standard Herald had a bonnet that opened backwards. Precursors of the present-day Jeep, the Thar were present in the form of the Willys Jeep of the Second World War, made by Ford.

Opel had once made a foray into the Indian Market.

Morris Garages or MG was once a famous British brand of carmaker known for its exceptionally well-made cars. Seen above is an MG Roadster. Morris was a car manufacturer while MG or Morris Garage started as a sales and service centre for Morris cars. MG focused on building sports cars after the two companies parted ways and became distinct identities.

Apart from the Rolls-Royce cars there were a couple of Cadillac vehicles in the collection. The green Cadillac was driven by the Maharaja, while the black Cadillac was driven by the Maharani. The latter had partitions between the driver and the passenger and shades/curtains for privacy!

His

Hers

Mohan Lal Lohar, the fabricator cum guide, also showed us a few horse-driven carts, and guess what? Present on display was a cart drawn by a Black Buck! This cart was for the children of the Royal Family. The Black Buck was trained to draw the cart around the Palace Grounds. But then the Vintage museum has some distinct horse carriages that were used for the members of the Royal family of Udaipur.

However, long before the entry of EVs in India, a movement had started in Udaipur to experiment with solar-powered vehicles. At the forefront of this movement were none other than the Royal Family and Mohanlal Lohar. While the inspiration and funds came from the Royal Family,  Mohanlal used his experience and skills to create Electric vehicles that ran with the help of Solar Panels. A few parts had to be imported from abroad, such as brushless motors. Shared below are a few prototypes of Solar-powered cycles and tricycles. Although the prototypes ran successfully, they were never taken up for mass production.

Mohanlal Lohar with one of his solar-powered prototypes

 

Last but not least, one should not ignore the multi-purpose Jeep that helped turn the tide against the Axis powers. Today, the Thar and the Land Cruiser are built on the philosophy that made the Ford-manufactured Willys Jeep a great success. The museum in Udaipur has a couple of prime examples of the Willys Jeep.