[shankar.balan]

The Valparai Job - A Cooper Caper!




Prelude:

An Informal gathering of Mini Cooper Owners.


The Germ of a Gem of an Idea - A Mini Cooper Drive:
Around 6-7 months ago some enthusiastic Owners came up with an idea for a Mini Cooper Drive, our own little private Mini Cooper Targa-Florio, if you will. Thoughts flew fast and furious, up and down, as to where and when. And we narrowed the whole thing down to December 2023, being roughly the holiday season and somewhere in Southern India, preferably with some nice “twisties” and enjoyable driving roads.




Raison d'être:
The prime motivation was just the enjoyment of being amongst nice people and the feeling of Man and Machine being one with each other, for the duration. The low growl, pops, bangs and crackles of our cars on their exhaust overruns, were what all of us most wanted to hear, while roaring up and down the hills. And of course, to take lots of photographs.

There is a deep and visceral pleasure to be had, in the deep “Growl” of the engine and “Burble” of the Cooper’s exhaust, when bowling up and down a series of twisties and switchbacks/ hairpins, while sitting within the overall speed limits.

It is NOT, repeat NOT at all necessary, to Drive Fast and Furiously, in order to truly enjoy finely-engineered, well-tuned machines such as these. This is not to say that we don’t enjoy a bit of spirited driving too, which we did of course indulge in, but only when it was absolutely safe to do so.

For me personally, it was a long-time dream come true. A enjoyable drive on lovely, long winding tarmac roads in a pleasant part of India, with relatively sparse traffic, in an iconic trio of cars. It was a lot like making our own little tribute as it were, in our own India, to so many evocative icons of Motoring; The various hill-climbs, endurance-drives, the Targa-Florio, the Mille-Miglia, Goodwood and of course one of the most iconic “Caper” movies of all time, the Italian Job. That has always been one of my favourite films. The old 1969 version with Michael Caine and Noel Coward and Raf Vallone and all. And of course the 2003 remake with Donald Sutherland and Mark Wahlberg and Edward Norton and Charlize Theron and Jason Statham and all, which too was a very nice film. Can also take a cue from the lovely Disney film Cars, especially that long drive along the old winding Route 66, with Sally and Lightning McQueen.

And absolutely right on point, what better cars to do all of this in, than the diminutive and plucky little Gem of Graeco-British-American-Teutonic ancestry, the modern day BMW Mini Coopers!



(Paying an Honest Tribute to Sir Alec Issigonis, the visionary designer-inventor-engineer, the Oxford Mini Plant, Frank Stephenson the Designer of the New Mini, John Cooper and his legendary “Works’” for their wonderful tuning work through the ages and the good folks at BMW for having kept and nurtured this lovely iconic Marque and indeed taking it to greater and newer heights!)



Tenets:
The ground rules that we collectively established for our trip were very simple indeed.
1. No more than 3 days in total
2. Over a weekend preferably.
3. A hill-station.
4. Not too far away and Relatively untouched.
5. Great driving roads.
6. No racing, performance or endurance testing.
7. Stay together in Convoy as much as possible.

The Destination:
The destination (for me anyway) was a no brainer. Valparai, nestled at about 4000feet above mean sea level, in the clean, green hills of the Anamallai Hills, near Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu, with its delicious tarmac roads and 40 plus hairpin bends to enjoy, just simply leapt out of the Map and into my Head and luckily, my suggestion was met with a resoundingly positive response. Hence the thread title too…The Valparai Job, it was!


The Motor Cars and the Motorists;
There were originally supposed to be 8-9 Participants with their cars. In the actual event we had several dropouts for various reasons. Finally there were only 3 cars and 6 participants. Here they are. Spanning across 3 Generations.

(A HUGE THANK YOU to all of them for having made this Drive a most enjoyable and memorable one. Capt. Ajay! It was super to meet you in person after all these years interacting on the Forum and owning and appreciating some of the same cars! Omer - Thank you for all the lovely photos. Vyshnav and Sravan thanks for your company. And Dad! Well, Thanks for being my Dad!)

Motor Car 1.

Origin: Palakkad, Kerala.
Description, Colour and Year: Black Mini Cooper JCW (F56) with Red Roof (2022)
Engine and Gearbox: 2 litre Petrol BMW Twin Scroll Turbo engine with the 8 speed gearbox. (And some serious enhancements)
Tyres - Michelin Pilot Sports 4

Motorists A and B.
1. Vyshnav
2. Sravan

Motor Car 2.

Origin: Calicut, Kerala.
Description, Colour and Year: Volcanic Orange Mini Cooper S (F56) with Black Roof (2016)
Engine and Gearbox: 2 litre Petrol BMW Twin Scroll Turbo engine with the 6 speed Aisin Warner gearbox. (And many other serious enhancements)
Tyres - Michelin Pilot Sports 4

Motorists C and D.
1. Capt. Ajay ( ajaypjayaraj on team bhp)
2. Omer Sharif (Ace Pro Photographer)

Motor Car 3.

Origin: Bangalore, Karnataka.
Description, Colour and Year: Chilli Red Mini Cooper S (R56) with Black Roof (2012)
Engine and Gearbox: 1.6 litre Petrol Peugeot-BMW PRINCE N18 engine with 6 speed Aisin Warner Torque Converter gearbox.
Tyres - Michelin Pilot Sports 4

Motorists E and F.
1. Self
2. My 80 year old Dad as Navigator.

We were the oldest amongst the gang and were driving the oldest car amongst the gang too!

The Broad Plan.
We did not really ‘plan’ this like an expedition. We kind of just ‘winged it’.
Bangalore to Coimbatore on 15 Dec.
Visit the Gedee Car Museum where Suresh the friendly GM and Curator was keen to welcome us. (I ve been visiting off and on and am in regular correspondence with him. In the event of fact it was only me and my Dad who ended up going because the other two cars clocked in much later.)
Check in to our Hotel - the Taj Vivanta where we got some very good prices from Booking.com.
Coimbatore to Valparai via Pollachi, Aliyar, Attakatti and all on 16 Dec.
Lunch and a bit of rest at the Stanmore Bungalows. (Again one of my good old friends and classmate from School, knows the present owners very well and had made arrangements there for a sumptuous lunch for us itinerant motorists!)
After lunch, some photography and driving about around Valparai.
Back to Coimbatore by night.
Coimbatore to Bangalore on 17 Dec.

Preparing the vehicles:
As I have written elsewhere on some other thread I had carried out a comprehensive servicing just a week or so ago, with all fluids changed and all before the trip. Also had installed brand new Brake Disc Rotors and Brake Pads and Wear Sensors from Brembo. Fuelled up the Car and added its Green Kryptonite Jamba Juice and made ready to make off!

Ajay had also done a thorough prepping on his car and so had Vyshnav.

Operationalising the Plan.

My Dad and I left at the appointed hour on 15 Dec.
The other two cars had a much later start since it was one of the Boys’ birthday and they had been out with friends the previous evening. Anyway Dad and I reached Coimbatore after an enjoyable drive and checked in. All the while we were exchanging messages with Ajay, who had hung back to “shepherd” the other car along. The Black Car went to its home in Palakkad to spend the night while Ajay checked in to the Hotel in Coimbatore. His friend Omer joined us in Coimbatore. He is an Ace Photographer whose work on Automobile Photography has appeared over the years in EVO and AutoCar and other magazines. A real talent. And because he is Ajay’s friend, and loves cars, he came along with us for the ride and gave us his photographs as a gift.

Dad and I visited the Gedee Car Museum which is now completely re-designed with a classy new facade and comprises a world class collection of cars. And they have even opened a whole new section upstairs, on the Automobile in India! That is truly lovely. There are some real classic gems sitting there and thankfully they are carefully preserved and cared for. And of course, no visit to Coimbatore is complete without at least one meal each at Annalakshmi and Annapoorna, which my Dad and I enjoyed. (Saw some eye candy too, in the form of an Aston DBX)


The Heart and Soul of the Trip!
On the 16th, it was time to DRIVE!
Ajay’s Orange car and mine set off together after a nice breakfast.

We wound our way through the roads of Coimbatore to get to the nice new highway they have built up to Pollachi.

That was a nice quick drive on good roads which were pretty empty (surprising because it was a Saturday after all).
We stopped at Pollachi to rendezvous with the Black Car and then we were all together, ready to roar up the hills and enjoy the trip.



As can be seen, we took plenty of rest and photo stops. Reaching Valparai at about 1230 we took some more time to take photos and then make our way to Injiparai Bungalow - Stanmore Gardens for our lunch and more photos. The Stanmore Staff deserve a special mention here - Abhishek the Manager, Ramakrishnan the Chef and Prabhu the Catering Supervisor. They looked after us very well. And they loved it when Dad talked to them about his days in Valparai.





My 80 year old Dad is a retired Tea Planter who spent his entire career from the 1960’s, ‘70’s, 80’s and 90’s upto the year 2000, planting Tea, Coffee, Cardamom and Pepper and managing various Company Estates, in various Plantation districts around Southern India. Munnar, Valparai, Nilgiris, Coorg, Chikmagalur and all. A goodly portion of the 1970’s and 1980’s were spent in Valparai and even my own earliest memories are of Valparai, since I arrived on the scene when the folks were based there. So there are a lot of old nostalgic memories involved here as well. Indeed, we visited the Old Valparai/ Varattuparai Bungalow, in which they lived, when I appeared for the first time in the early 1970’s. And that Bungalow has a circular drive-way all around it. Even the Garage and its Green Gate have remained the same. Dad used to park his Battleship Grey Fiat 1100D there and his Black Royal Enfield Bullet too. I remember all that quite clearly. The parents had gifted me a little Red Pedal + Electric Car which came all the way from India’s Hobby Centre or Paragon Toys in Calcutta (a British Import), when we were in that Bungalow and I vividly remember careening around and round the driveway, pedaling furiously, at what seemed to me at the time, to be a rather high speed, in that little red car. It had lovely rubber white wall tyres and working headlamps and a little “paarp paarp” horn like Noddy’s car. I absolutely LOVED it and cared for it until I outgrew it. My lifelong love for all things related to Automobilia must have been born right then.

It was, as one may say, a sort of mixed set of feelings, to go back to that self same Bungalow, a half-century and more later, in my present day, life-sized little Red Motor Car and stand there and take a few photos along with my Dad. He planted all that Coffee there as a young man in 1970-1971 - more than 125 acres of it. And he was happy to see that those plants are still doing well after all these years. (Memories like these are truly priceless!)




We then drove back out of Valparai on a different scenic route, and passed the Carver Marsh Statue (the visionary who Founded the Anamallai Hills as a Tea Planting District in 1858 or thereabouts.) where we stopped and had a nice cup of hot local Tea. And then as the day drew to a close with the grey mists rolling in, around Rottikadai and Iyerpadi, we started the journey down the hills to Pollachi and Coimbatore in the gathering twilight.


(As can be seen, when out on a drive in my little Mini, I usually take my little Mini Mini too along!)
An uneventful drive back, a brief stop at Pollachi to bid good bye to our friends from Palakkad in their Black Cooper and the rest of us in our Orange and Red Cars drove back to Coimbatore to rest prior to going our separate ways the next morning.

The EndGame.
December 17th, Dad and I left for Bangalore and there was sparse traffic which was pretty disciplined so we made good time back to Bangalore. Later, exchanging messages and photos with the others, I decided that I would pen down this experience, as one of those records of “Life’s Happy Memories.”

Farewell, but Not GoodBye.
I have received a number of Photos of our trip from Ajay - all taken by Omer. And while I am certainly no “Cartier-Bresson”, I have added some of my own too. I shall also invite Ajay to add his contribution and comments as well to this thread.

I have tried to curate the small stack of Photos in a topical manner: Hope you Enjoy them and Thank you for reading this.

[Sheel]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[rajeevsulu]

Beautiful cars and a very beautiful place to drive to. Those roads are where a car like your little darling would be a perfect fit. Immaculate roads, not much traffic and three very able cars, a recipe for a lot of fun. I am sure you guys had a lot of fun. Lovely photographs too.
Cheers

[ajmat]

Nice, wish I knew about this, I might have added another Mini into the mix but again, I have been pretty busy this quarter!

[robimahanta]

Great report Shankar. Perfect road for the mini too. Thanks for sharing. A short wheelbase hatch with reasonable power along nice winding roads is every car enthusiast dream.

[ajaypjayaraj]

Thanks for the write up Shankar. Loved the snippet! Those who missed the drive felt the experience going through the travelogue. Have mentioned every detail without dragging it too long.

Coming to the drive, it was the right mix of highways, twisties and cars. Was the best experience. Different generation of cars as well as drivers/co-drivers, all things mixed but one common passion… motoring! Thanks to all those who made it happen and special thanks to Omer for the awesome clicks. Sharing a few more snaps here.

[keroo1099]

Lovely nostalgic story Shankar. Glad your dad had such a great time.

Once a planter always a planter

[Jeroen]

Great report, thanks! This is what road trips should be like. Just some friends enjoying their cars, the scenery and their company!

Jeroen

[rhsakarp]

Thanks for sharing @shankar.balan. Nice clicks, 3 minis looking awesome, very Italian Job vibe coming through !

That little Mini

[RAHS]

@shankar.balan,

Excellent travelogue and some great pics out there

What a coincidence! We were in Valparai last weekend (Dec 15/16/17) and we saw this convoy on Dec 16th (Saturday). I don't remember the exact spot but for sure we spotted these Mini Coopers

We stayed in Waterfall Estate (Tennis Court Bungalow). It was really nice. Here are couple of pics for viewing pleasure.

Cheers,
RAHS

[megazoid]

That was an enjoyable read and the photographs are a delight. The nostalgia that one gets visiting such places is unbelievable.

[RollinWheels]

This thread was a joy to read. Hope you had a fun time and its heartwarming to see three minis in a single frame. I was in Malakkapara nearby Valparai recently and its a beautiful place with roads perfect for a drive. Planning to go with my riders gang early next year.

[motorotor]

Such a wonderful writeup! Thanks for sharing. I am now inspired to do this same stretch. Hopefully will happen soon.

[crazy_coyote166]

Great report. Beautiful cars and such scenic roads. Was wondering where you procured your "little Mini Mini"?

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by rajeevsulu

Beautiful cars and a very beautiful place to drive to. Lovely photographs too. Cheers

Thanks Rajeev. Indeed it is a great place.
Lucky for you you are very close to it.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Nice, wish I knew about this,

Indeed Ajit I also forgot you had that Cooper.

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Great report Shankar. A short wheelbase hatch.

You said it Robi. Nothing like a powerful little hatch on a twisty road.

Originally Posted by ajaypjayaraj

Those who missed the drive felt the experience going through the travelogue. Sharing a few more snaps here.

Thanks Ajay - Indeed Omer is a very talented photographer.

Originally Posted by keroo1099

Glad your dad had such a great time.

Yes Kedar. Dad and Mum used to drive all those roads on those old Fiats and Ambys and Mahindra CL550’s.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

This is what road trips should be like.
Jeroen

Absolutely. Small groups make for much more fun. And very easy to manage the group and stay together.

Originally Posted by rhsakarp

Italian Job vibe coming through ! That little Mini

Ah yes indeed that's why I named this thread The Valparai Job. I also love that little red Mini Mini. I collect scale models and this is a MatchBox Mini bought a fair while ago. (There is one more mounted inside the car.)

Originally Posted by RAHS

@shankar.balan,
What a coincidence!
We stayed in Waterfall Estate (Tennis Court Bungalow).
RAHS

My folks friends used to be on Waterfall. And their children are my friends. Used to be owned by Kotharis those days. Now owned by Watawela Plantations of Sri Lanka.

Originally Posted by megazoid

That was an enjoyable read and the photographs are a delight.

As you know very well, driving powerful little cars on hill roads bring a whole new level of enjoyment.

Originally Posted by RollinWheels

I was in Malakkapara nearby Valparai recently

My Dad also planted on Malkiparai Estate in 1977 or so. It actually comes inside Kerala and the jurisdiction is Trichur even though it is contiguous with Valparai. My Dad used to drive down the other ghat to Chalakudy and thereon to Cochin if needed. And we used to also use that route to go to Guruvayoor and Kalady and all. I remember all that very clearly from my childhood memories.

Originally Posted by motorotor

I am now inspired to do this same stretch. Hopefully will happen soon.

The time is NOW. Carpe Diem!

Originally Posted by crazy_coyote166

Was wondering where you procured your "little Mini Mini"?

I too love ‘little cars’ - can’t remember exactly where I bought it from but it was a fair while ago.

I also have this other ‘little-r’ ‘cartoon-ey’ mini mini mounted permanently on the dash area where I can see it all the time. This one was bought at BMW along with a host of other Mini Merchandise like sunglasses and water bottles and coffee containers and caps and pouches and luggage tags and multiple scale model cars and all.

(Can’t help it, Im kind of Mini - Mad. Been that way since I first saw a couple of the original Minis in Madras and Calcutta in the early 1970’s at the Clubs when going along with my GrandDad.)

Cheers!