There’s a particular kind of hush that falls over people walking into Auto World Vintage Car Museum for the first time. Rows of cars that look like they’ve rolled straight out of old black-and-white photographs, polished to a shine that makes it hard to believe some of them are close to a century old. Tucked away in Kathwada on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, this museum doesn’t get anywhere near the footfall it deserves, which almost works in its favor: you get to wander through one of India’s most serious vintage car collections without fighting a crowd for a decent look.
The Story Behind the Collection
The museum is here only because one man couldn’t quit collecting the now-current vintage cars. Bombay businessman and antique car fanatic Pranlal Bhogilal spent decades searching for the most storied vehicles, the ones that once carried India’s maharajas, the colonial officers, and the old Indian elite families. And as his passion for acquiring and then restoring them grew, it soon became too big for even his substantial house, culminating in the partial museum, “Auto World Vintage Car Museum,” a pure labour of love.
As you walk through, you can tell this wasn’t assembled by a committee. This museum exists, and you have the feeling of moving through it the way its founder must have as he bought car after car, drove them lovingly, and kept them in good working order.
What will you find inside?
This comprehensive Auto World Vintage Car Museum offers the chance to tour through nearly an entire century of automotive development–from the earliest models of the twentieth century to some great classics. The cars have stories to tell of a pre-independence and post-independence era, from the day of maharajas to the day of traffic policemen and highways.
The most luxurious of Rolls-Royces and Cadillacs sit with other European classics and an impressive collection of vintage motorcycles and horse-drawn vehicles. Every car is accompanied with some background information-its owner, its history.
Why It’s Worth the Detour?
Ahmedabad doesn’t usually make it onto anyone’s “vintage car” radar, which is part of why this museum feels like such an unexpected find. You don’t need to know anything about engines or restoration in order to appreciate it; the craftsmanship should speak for itself, whatever it is, be it the sweep of a bonnet from the ’20s or the brass finery of a carriage lamp from much earlier. Anybody with the slightest leanings towards design, history, and old machinery will feel that an hour or two were well spent. In fact, on a tour of Gujarat, exploring the temples, forts and forests, if you wanted a change, I can’t imagine a more calming alternative: sightseeing that asks very little of the observer.
Planning Your Visit
This Auto World Vintage Car Museum is a fifteen-minute drive out from the heart of Ahmedabad and, if you have a cab, an hour of leisure driving. It should be visited on a weekday if you wish to view everything at your own leisure, although the morning will usually be much quieter. Photography should, mostly, be permitted, although it would be sensible to consult the museum rules displayed at the entrance before doing so, since rules over flashing and certain exhibitions change frequently.
Give yourself more time than you’d expect; what looks like a quick walk-through from outside usually turns into an hour or more once you start reading the plaques and noticing details on each car.
Where the Trip Might Take You Next?
It’s a day at Auto World Vintage Car Museum that is sure to have you longing for more of the dense history of Gujarat and Rajasthan, corners of the region that still hold pieces of past craftsmanship and stories in silent repose, waiting to be discovered. If that’s the type of travel for which you seek, further down the road lie the Goya Hills. Nestled in the heart of the Aravalli hills in Udaipur, this luxurious private villa caters to leisurely living that mirrors the history and landscape of the trip.
Take a look at what Goya Hills has to offer at goyahills.com if a museum full of old stories has you thinking about where the next one should be.
