[karlosdeville]

Another period picture of the convertible that was attending events in Bombay in the 60s - assumed to be the Mysore car that has been on sale recently in the US.

[KartikeyaL]

Cross posting

The Eastern Automobile company, Bombay for Auburn.

[KartikeyaL]

This was shared on old Bombay Facebook page

Courtesy: Mumbai Mirror / BCCL

[KartikeyaL]

Cross posting on this thread as well

The magnificent Holkar Duesenberg J 585, when in India.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by shyml

Here is a treat for Duesenberg fans. Photo credit to Sheikh Mukhtar Sahibs son Mr Moin who has given these very nostalgic pictures of his fathers Duesenberg to me with permission to post these. Handsome man handsome car.

The imposing Duesey makes an appearance in his film 'Do Ustaad'

[v12]

Hello Guys, The information and pictures you guys share are truly nostalgic. I wanted to share pics of these 2 Auburn's and a Cord that I came across at the Pranlal Bhogilal museum.

[karlosdeville]

A 1935 (?) Auburn 4 door convertible is seen in the 1957 movie Aasha.





A similar car was in South India with a Chettiar family, and survives in Indore. I wonder if its the same car.

[karlosdeville]

Here is a lovely find, a right hand drive Auburn Speedster in Bhopal presumably in the 30s. Wrongly identified as a Hispano Suiza.

[shyml]

The following has been narrated to me by the son of Sheikh Mukhtar, the owner of Gurney Nutting Duesenberg:

"Mehboob Khan was a renowned film producer/director ( Mother India, Aan etc.) who gave Sheikh Mukhtar his first break by making 3 films with him (Roti, Ek Hi Rasta, and Behen).

One day Sheikh Mukhtar was seen by him pushing his Mercedes 540K home as its starter Bendix had stuck, a recurring problem. The famous Director made fun of Sheikh Mukhtar, taunting that now that Sheikh Mukhtar had become a star, he should get a brand new car instead of being seen pushing old junks around the streets of Bombay. Sheikh Sahib got irked and said "you know films and I know Cars and I will show you the worth of old cars".
He exchanged the Gurney Nutting Duesenberg with money and a new Chevrolet Impala convertible, allowed import into India against the foreign exchange earned from the sale of the Duesenberg.
He always repented trading the Duesenberg ( on an ego matter)"
Reportedly it was more talk of the town than the Duesenberg as new Chevys were a rare sight.
It gives me an ache in my heart.
Photo of Chevrolet with Sheikh Mukhtar (tall gentleman) and companions in Bombay, shown for posterity and as a reminder of what Duesenberg's were down to in those days, even in USA.

Amer Ahmad
Lahore, Pakistan

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by shyml

Photo of Chevrolet with Sheikh Mukhtar (tall gentleman) and companions in Bombay, shown for posterity and as a reminder of what Duesenberg's were down to in those days, even in USA.

Such a lovely story, thanks for sharing. Do any more pictures of the Chevy exist? Registration number known? Then we can try tracking it down.

[harit]

Originally Posted by shyml

The following has been narrated to me by the son of Sheikh Mukhtar, the owner of Gurney Nutting Duesenberg:
........
He exchanged the Gurney Nutting Duesenberg with money and a new Chevrolet Impala convertible, allowed import into India against the foreign exchange earned from the sale of the Duesenberg.
....... Amer Ahmad Lahore, Pakistan

I don't believe this story because there was no scheme to export old cars and buy a new one with the foreign exchange earned.
The Sheikh had 3 notable cars, the Caddy V 16, Merc 540K and the Duessy. He decided to emigrate to Pakistan. Therefore his property became enemy property. Thus the cars had to be smuggled out. The official export ban on Vintage cars came into effect only around 1971. The rumour is that these cars went out on a Dhow. This would make sense.
There is a clip of an event of a cricket match between Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar teams, a star studded event. It was held at the Vallabjbhai Patel stadium at NSCI Worli Mumbai. The clip starts with different type of vehicles entering the NSCI compound in their fancy cars. Mehmoods MG TC is seen, as is Raj Kapoors Buick 1958 Convertible among others. A 1960 Chevy convertible is also seen if I remember correctly. I has taken screen shots of all the cars sen and posted them somewhere on this forum.

Cheers harit

[travancore]

Originally Posted by harit

I don't believe this story because there was no scheme to export old cars and buy a new one with the foreign exchange earned.
The Sheikh had 3 notable cars, the Caddy V 16, Merc 540K and the Duessy. He decided to emigrate to Pakistan. Therefore his property became enemy property. Thus the cars had to be smuggled out.
Cheers harit

Harit, I deeply admire your knowledge of all things vintage and the tremendous contributions you have made to the cause of the vintage car movement in India.
Having known shyml personally for a while now, I should say that he speaks after having done a fair amount of due diligence. He very likely has the facts behind the export of the Sheikh Mukhtar cars.
I am glad all those fabulous cars have survived

[shahrukh.mateen]

Hello all,

It’s lovely to see all these anecdotes/stories of India’s glorious automotive past with such an iconic American brand.

Being born into a family of several vintage and classic automotive enthusiasts, I too have heard my fair share of these interesting anecdotes.

One day, my uncle (an avid vintage automotive collector) told me a of a beautiful Supercharged Auburn being driven by actress Nadira in the 1952 movie Aan.

What then. I had to find to the movie (fortunately available on YouTube) and scroll through the seconds to finally discover the ever so magnificent Auburn 851 Speedster. We both were in awe of the car and his memory.

At around 38:50 of the attached YT video:

https://youtu.be/WslLYyTc6t8