Travelling with Style

Cartier provides a glimpse into the world of the high & mighty, and the style with which the elite travelled in the days gone by. We take a peek into this world – when travelling was glamorous and vehicles were custom-built to individual whims and fancies.

- Ishan Raghava

History can be a wonderful thing, and a thing of amazement for those of us who revel in the past and how things functioned back then. I should make a confession here, I’m an unabashed history buff and lover of all things classic and vintage – even more so when it happens to do with cars and bikes. So, every two years, I wait with bated breath to see what the Cartier Travel With Style Concours d’Elegance has in store for us in India.

Curated by highly respected automotive collector and restorer Manvendra Singh Barwani and his son Siddhraj Singh, the Cartier Concours, with each edition, strives to showcase the finest vintage and classic cars & bikes in India. And this year was no exception. In fact, the grandeur started with the location for the event, the magnificent Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad – which made for a stunning setting. And the tempo to the event was set right as one entered, with two stunning, one-of-a-kind cars on display right at the entrance. One was the unique “Throne Car” of the Nizam of Hyderabad, a 1912 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP custom built to his requirements in order to reflect the grandeur of his estate. The second was an equally remarkable car, known as the “Gold Car,” due to its gold-plated fittings and shade of paint. Ordered by the Late Sir Seth Hukumchand in 1919, this Daimler 45HP “Special” has been owned by his family for almost a century now!