The Hindu : National : The maharajah's car makes a triumphant return to India

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Monday, May 02, 2005

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National

The maharajah's car makes a triumphant return to India

Soutik Biswas

Businessman's love for Rolls Royces echoes that of Indian royalty

NEW DELHI: The favourite car of the maharajahs is making a comeback in India after half-a-century.

Rolls Royce, the preferred car of the Indian royals, is about to sell its first car in India through a local dealer in almost 50 years.

The customer is a 33-year-old industrialist and stud farm owner from Pune. Yohan Poonawalla will be adding a black and silver Phantom — priced at nearly $ 920,000 — to his existing collection of three Rolls Royces.

He already owns a 1937 Phantom 3, a 1934 seven-seater limousine and a 1992 Silver Spur 2.

Mr. Poonawalla, who runs flourishing horse breeding, pharmaceuticals and engineering businesses, is an inveterate car collector, but says the Rolls Royces have a special place in his collection.

`Best car'

"I think the Rolls Royce is the best car in the world. The Phantom has tremendous road presence, comfort, prestige and now even speed and power — which the Rolls Royce was not known for earlier," he said. The new Phantom luxury car with electronically operated seats and plush interiors has a 6.75-litre, 12-cylinder engine with a top speed of 240 kmph.

Six of Mr. Poonawalla's chauffeurs are receiving special training on how to drive and maintain the car from a representative flown in from London to Mumbai. — BBC News Service/ New York Times News Service

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