[famousshoes]

haha great find rajeev, and that too in coimbatore of all places!
and such strong personality these cars have! so sorely lacking in todays ones.

[ameet_pv]

Thanks for the wonderful virtual tour of the museum. Surprised not to see any fiats

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by travancore

My maternal Grandfather's Wolseley shown above. Nice of the Mr.Naidu to put his photograph on the windshield

Original registration was MSP-9311 (Grandpa made the cutout Aluminium number plates himself); original colour was black.

The car spent most of its life in Aruvankadu (Nilgiris), since he worked at the Cordite factory, later retired to Nilambur (hence KLZ).

The Lucas winglamps and (handcranked) passenger side wipers are missing.

Thank you for that piece of history. Yes, the photograph along with the name was displayed on the windshield.

Originally Posted by bejoy

Thanks Rajeevraj for the report and the pictures!

GeeDee was in news a couple of weeks back when they built a 1886 Benz replica and drove all the way from Coimbatore to Chennai. The trip involved 6 drivers changing every 30kms.

I think the same replica is the one that is now displayed there. The first one at the entrance. The lady doing the explanation did talk about this trip.

Originally Posted by sen2009

What is that BMW car with the front side open? Is it a 3 wheeled vehicle?
I have never seen a car like that ever.

Yes, this particular one is a three-wheeler. As per the display board behind, they belonged to a class called bubble cars which were popular immediately after world war 2. Kind of a cross between a motor cycle and a car. Most could take only the driver and 1 passenger. Cost and ease of driving in the post war rebuilding era were the drivers behind popularity of these cars. They existed till ~late 1950's.

Originally Posted by ameet_pv

Thanks for the wonderful virtual tour of the museum. Surprised not to see any fiats

There were a couple of Fiats. I think I missed uploading 2-3 images. 2 Fiats and a Citroen Dyane.

[anvara]

Nice pics Rajeev.

A few years ago, I had been to the Mercedes-Benz vintage Museum in Stuttgart and was amazed at the way they had preserved their beauties.

These cars though not maintained in quite the same way are great no doubt.

Originally Posted by famousshoes

haha great find rajeev, and that too in coimbatore of all places!

Sir you would be amazed to know that Coimbatore has quite a legacy what with a long list of car lovers / racers / tuners hailing from the region like GD Naidu, Kari, J Anand, Leela Krishnan, Naren, Narain Karthikeyan to name a few.

[famousshoes]

Originally Posted by anvara

Sir you would be amazed to know that Coimbatore has quite a legacy what with a long list of car lovers / racers / tuners hailing from the region like GD Naidu, Kari, J Anand, Leela Krishnan, Naren, Narain Karthikeyan to name a few.

Not really anvara, having studied in the city i'm familiar with the list of names. But the place itself was pretty dull back in the day, talking about the late 90s. I guess things have changed, albeit slowly

[Gosu]

Thanks for the lovely share. Very interesting car collection and it's always intriguing to know of cars I never heard of till now (Lloyd and DKW) ! This definitely is the latest entry to my to-do list

[sen2009]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Yes, this particular one is a three-wheeler. As per the display board behind, they belonged to a class called bubble cars which were popular immediately after world war 2. Kind of a cross between a motor cycle and a car. Most could take only the driver and 1 passenger. Cost and ease of driving in the post war rebuilding era were the drivers behind popularity of these cars. They existed till ~late 1950's.

Thanks Rajeevraj for the nice explanation.
This is surely an unique piece of technological history. Wonder what kind of problems these cars came up with so that this 2 wheel up front and one in the back 3 wheeler design never caught up.

[Senna4Ever]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Overall, it was an enlightening visit.

Thanks a ton for the pictures Rajeev. It took exactly 6 months from the museum's inaugration (27 April) for a full report to appear, but I'm not complaining.

It was a delight to see all the rare and uncommon. But, the RX8 is the surprising participant for me, besides the Nano. Not just because its relatively new, but also because I distinctly remember gazing that particular MP 44 reg. RX8 in Gurgaon about 5-6 years back. I was seeing an RX8 for first time in flesh; didn't imagine that particular car would end up in a museum and that too so early!

Pictures from 2008 in this thread

[neelemail]

G.D.Naidu was called the "Edison of India". He is one of the primary auto enthusiast in India and has even built a petrol car all by himself. And mind you, he was thrown away from school at primary level!

Proud to be from the same place where this legend lived. Never had the opportunity to visit this museum though.

[BopsKA12]

Good to see such an amazing collection down south,Definitely in the to visit list.
Had seen those three wheel cars in the Mr Bean series and probably on Wheeler dealers or Top gear.

Not sure if BMW were the first ones to manufacture or if they copied those British cars.!!

[batterylow]

Here are a few from my side, taken back in 2008.

[bobchaphalkar]

Thank you for the numerous images and the detailed explanations.
If I visit Bangalore, I ma sure to visit it. I am curious as to the source of their restoration technicians. Where did they learn to restore cars? Wonder if they will restore cars for outsiders?. Merry Christmas and happy new year!