The tale of regal pride and vintage cars

The 55th edition of The Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally happening on 11 January, Sunday is a live window into the past. Cars like Rolls Royce Phantoms built before 1920 will be present at the rally as well. One such incident happened during the colonial times in the Indian sub-continent.

The maharaja of Alwar, Jaysingh Prabhakar has the famous anecdote on how he turned British pride into street sweepers of their colony, India.

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The history of Indian royalty spending on vintage cars is nothing new, but when the maharaja of Alwar was insulted by a British Rolls Royce showroom in Mayfair, London, in the doubts that he was poor,and couldn’t afford one, the king went on a vendetta to show his influence. It is said that he went back to the store in his royal attire, with his army of entourage, and bought some 7 to 10 cars in the showroom, and had them shipped to India. 6 cars he paid for at the spot, and 4 cars he paid for once they were in India.

What followed was wilder than the frivolous buying habit of the king. The Rolls Royce cars, including a 1920s Phantom were used as street-sweepers, and garbage collectors. The cars were stripped of the aristocracy they boasted, reducing them to everyday objects of use.

It must have been quite a sight to see a fleet of Rolls-Royce cars being used as garbage vans… and the British carmakers were certainly not thrilled to hear about their best-sellers being used in a deeming capacity. Worried about the impact this would have on their reputation as the top car-sellers in the market, and the sales it would stand to affect, Rolls-Royce sent Jai Singh a telegram apologising for their employee’s misconduct, and even offered him about six or seven more Rolls-Royce cars for free.

In response, the king accepted their apology and stopped using Rolls Royce cars for garbage collection, restoring them to their original prestige. He had achieved his revenge and proved his point.

The Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally will commence on 11 January at the Royal Calcutta Turf Club, Hastings. The rally will flag off from 9:10 am, and will be followed by cultural programmes.