[karlosdeville]

Awini has this picture to share of the bhogilal LG6.

[karlosdeville]

Ive recently gained access and permission to post many pictures my friend took during his recent visit to the Bhogilal collection. Here are the 2 Lagondas he saw.

[speedy]

Originally Posted by DKG

Without a doubt the logistics of managing such a vast collection is to say the least mind boggling. Not to mention the massive costs involved. But then a collection of this calibre and size does consume truck loads of money and monumental efforts. I hope he is able to figure out how best it can be managed and improved over time. I should think one would need a full team of highly competent staff with a full fledged inhouse workshop to be able to do justice to the cars.

Speedy along the lines of what Steve has done for the PIII's would it be possible for you to attempt doing that (time permitting) for the RR's in Mr. Bhogilal's collection? Coupled with pictures I can see that as material for a fabulous coffee table book, not to mention the contribution toward educating people and preseving factual information on the provenance of the RR's in his collection?

Infact there should be so many tales to tell by Mr. Bhogilal himself on how every car was acquired etc. I wish someone actually documents it all. I once heard an interesting story (not sure how true it was) that often he'd send his staff in a brand new Fiat to the Maharajah as inducement to exchange an old Roller. Sounds too fanciful eh??? Never know what people may have needed to do to acquire these beauties. Those Maharajahs definintely were an eccentric bunch.

the cars as you see them today in the museum would remain in the same condition as he does not intend to restore them back to their hey days. his concern like i mentioned earlier is the trusted men that he once had and now at his ageand also health not permitting cannot be on the floor as he once used to. he used to have his own workshop and a staff of 20 people to look after the cars.

i would love to compile and document all his cars not only the RR's. the only thing is that his cars are not limited to only one city or even one location in a city. the cars that are in the museum are not to be fidled with so not much can be done about them, except from memory or old pictures that we have.

Mr. Bhogilal when in the mood would tell us alot of stories of the cars, especially when i would sleep in the back seat of some with my shoes on or he would catch me jumping off the fenders. alot of his cars were bought by my father for him and there are plenty of stories that my father could also share.
there was a certain maharaja whom my father had met in regards to some antiques that were to be bought for Mr.Bhogilal. my father was taken into a room next to the garden where the goods were waiting to be inspected before being loaded onto a truck. my father noticed something that looked like a car in the covers. on inquireing, it turned out to be a Hotch Kiss. he was told that the car was of no use and more of a gardeners use. my father took all the antiques plus gave two motorcycles dont remember the makes now for the car. he had picked up a RR phantom by handing over an ambassador because the Maharani had developed a fancy for it.
some cars and bikes were given with the victorian carriages that he bought and vice versa.

[Julian UK]

Originally Posted by speedy

the cars as you see them today in the museum would remain in the same condition as he does not intend to restore them back to their hey days. his concern like i mentioned earlier is the trusted men that he once had and now at his ageand also health not permitting cannot be on the floor as he once used to. he used to have his own workshop and a staff of 20 people to look after the cars.

i would love to compile and document all his cars not only the RR's. the only thing is that his cars are not limited to only one city or even one location in a city. the cars that are in the museum are not to be fidled with so not much can be done about them, except from memory or old pictures that we have.

Mr. Bhogilal when in the mood would tell us alot of stories of the cars, especially when i would sleep in the back seat of some with my shoes on or he would catch me jumping off the fenders. alot of his cars were bought by my father for him and there are plenty of stories that my father could also share.

Speedy, write all the history down and one day write a book. "The Largest Car Collection in the World"
Do it now

[karlosdeville]

More Lagonda anecdotes and priceless pictures from Harit.

Attached please find pics of the 3 Bhogilal Lagondas in one post. They look quite nice in their colour combination. These are old Photos. Since you beat me to it, I have added 2 more photos of the Indore Lagonda while it was on a farm in Thane. Can you believe, this photo Lagonda 1 was taken in Thane about 1978. This is between the highway and Wagle estate. Can you believe the openess of that area? An attempt was made at restoration, see the unfinished mudguards. The photo got slightly spoiled. Lagonda 2 is when the cars were shifted to another place, a factory without a roof. The car next to it is a Ford A, it survives and got a new body while being restored. I got all the bits and have made a car.





Now to Speedy's comments.
It is true that Bhogilal does have some weird choice of colours, just see the Airflow. The Parsee gentleman he bought it from would be horrified. On the other hand, when you have so many cars you do tend to get lost about the colours. Today when you look on the road into traffic, the colours mostly seen are silver and white, with a few spec of other colours thrown around. Almost every vintage tourer is red/maroon and black, so I avoid this combination on my cars at all costs. But a formal limousine like a Rolls, Packard, Buick, Mercedes, they look very nice in black with perhaps some pin striping. But if you have 10 Limo's, do you paint them all in any sober or black colour? Certainly not. The other choices are white, cream, grey, green & blue (sober shades) etc. So once in a while one does freak out. Have you seen his light green Bentley? Basically, when you have few cars try to keep the paint combination original and sober. When you have too many, then freak out. I will paint one Austin 7 in pink for my daughter, light pink, not the dark pink currently seen on a new Amby in Mumbai. Please remember, ugly freaky paint jobs do bring down the value of a car! So I agree with speedy that it is Pranlal's perogative to chose the colour combination but we certainly have the right to comment on these.


Now for Speedy's stories.
Maharaja and Hotchkiss. To my knowledge, Bhogilal has only one Hotchkiss. I came from a Mr. Samson, a Jewish gentleman. Was he a Maharaja at one time?

Then, does Bhogilal really have an SS 100 and a Merc 500K 1928? I have asked around and really would like to see some pictures. I am aware that Bhogilal has a reserve collection, but these cars?

Then Bhogilal's 540K. Why does Speedy not check his facts? The car was dieselised. Go and confirm with Anji Mehra! The car belonged to a Maharaja who lived in Sterling Apts, Peddar Road, so close to Speedy. The car was in the basement, the old red number plate tied on a pillar. On the radiator grill a very prominent Mercedes Logo with the word 'DIESEL' of about 8" in diameter was placed. One fine day I saw Pranlal and his people driving this car on Altamount road. He had bought it. At the next Rally I met Mr. Anji Mehra, he used to work for Pranlal and has his own Ford T, and asked him about the original engine. He told me that they all went to the Palace, turned it up and down and with some difficulty found all the parts, even the supercharger. This 540K is rarely seen but used to lie in Daskot Walkeshwar. The price for this car in 1978 was Rs 15000/- which I did not have. By the way, Pranlal has another Rolls, a Cloud/Phantom silver grey regd MRJ... This car was with STC, Pranlal went to bid, lost, it came to a businessman on Malabar Hill. Pranlal subsequently bought it from him.

These are real stories, can be verified and no imagination. If only Speedy verifies his facts before commenting. Since he visited VS in Jaipur, could he not have asked VS? I picked up the phone and asked Doc. So simple and the matter was clear for me. We would like to share stories (correct to the best of knowledge) discuss them, build up on them but we do not want to discuss tales.
By the way, Pranlal also has a pre Rolls Bentley 4.5 Litre.

[DKG]

Originally Posted by Julian UK

Speedy, write all the history down and one day write a book. "The Largest Car Collection in the World"
Do it now

Julian his collection apparently goes well beyond automobiles. His collection of art is, some say, unrivalled. While most people cherish mascots and little pieces of Lalique crystal I once read somewhere he has a room full of chandeliers by Lalique!!

Someone in his family/friends must document all the stories with pictures and publish a book. I feel given the scope of his collection and efforts in saving these treasures it deserves a book.

[speedy]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

More Lagonda anecdotes and priceless pictures from Harit.

Harit uncle i said they were purly by memory and not from any documentation. My father was telling me over the phone when he went through the site. so the car marque could be wrong.

the other cars do exist and not everyone would know of them. My father does and has seen them. he is making a list of the cars through his records and memory so we would have to wiat for that. he has made a list of Maharaja car and that goes to around 600 odd till now. i am sorry if this has caused any inconvinience to anyone.

Originally Posted by DKG

Julian his collection apparently goes well beyond automobiles. His collection of art is, some say, unrivalled. While most people cherish mascots and little pieces of Lalique crystal I once read somewhere he has a room full of chandeliers by Lalique!!

i would vouch for this DKG. Art, Antiques, Jewelry etc. i dont know about a room full of chandeliers, never got to see that, but yes there are quite a few.

[Mohsin]

@Alvis
the Lagonda in Lahore was sold to a gora who took it out. I heard about it good 20 years ago. It would be great to see pictures of this car if anyone has them.

[rdcm1985]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

This is the car I was talking about. Any idea on its whereabouts? Pic courtesy Xoticars.

This is a 3.5 litre I bought sometime 1982 in exchange..... for my modified PP !!! I was restoring my '49 Silver Wraith WGC 31 at home, and as there was no place for both sold it to Vijay Mallya. So, the Lagonda in his garage is probably this one. The body was perhaps modified by the Parsi gentleman including the 'boat tail rear', the relocation of the lights, shocks, etc;.

[Julian UK]

Another photo of the well known Lagonda V12 taken during the 80s courtesy of Andrew Blake.

[Lagonda12/24]

Hi all,

There seems to be a 11.1 Lagonda in Dehli.
As I try to get all surviving 11.1 11.9 and 12/24 Lagondas on one site, I like to find out more of this pretty car. Does somebody has pictures of the car, that I can use. I also look foor the engine and chassis number.
More cars found at:
http://www.myspace.com/pre1926lagonda

Thanks,

Patrick

[DKG]

Originally Posted by Lagonda12/24

There seems to be a 11.1 Lagonda in Dehli.

Patrick was this a 1914 tourer or a earlier 2 seat coupe?

[Lagonda12/24]

Originally Posted by DKG

Patrick was this a 1914 tourer or a earlier 2 seat coupe?

Hi DKG,

It seems to be a coupe what will be somewere in Delhi. Is it still there?
Who knows.
But info about other 11.1 11.9 and 12/24 is very welcome !

Patrick

Quote from AWINI:

Lagonda 11.1 hp coupe in delhi
possibly an LG45 in the same collection in delhi

[wasif]

Here is a picture of a Boat Tailed Lagonda. Don't know anyting about it. Can someone fill in the blanks on this car.

DKG.

Is this the Boat Tailed Lagonda you remember seeing at an event in Secundrabad.

I too recolect seeing a Boat Tailed car at a event at the Gymkhana Ground Sec Bad but dont remember when it or what car it was.

This event also featured the Lancia Racer, entered by Kumar Varma, which subsequentlly was sold to Harith, who still has it.

Ranjit Malik had also entered two RRs in this event.

[harit]

Originally Posted by wasif

Here is a picture of a Boat Tailed Lagonda. Don't know anyting about it. Can someone fill in the blanks on this car.

DKG.

Is this the Boat Tailed Lagonda you remember seeing at an event in Secundrabad.

I too recolect seeing a Boat Tailed car at a event at the Gymkhana Ground Sec Bad but dont remember when it or what car it was.

This event also featured the Lancia Racer, entered by Kumar Varma, which subsequentlly was sold to Harith, who still has it.

Ranjit Malik had also entered two RRs in this event.

maybe, just maybe it would be good to read the whole thread. When I came across this site, I read ALL the posts, it took about 1 month. Then I started giving posts through Karl.
This Lagonda, when in Mumbai was green in colour, for sale for about Rs 30K, lying at the Nepaean Sea Road/warden Road junction. Then she went to Hyderabad, was sold to Chennai, resold in Chennai again and then on to Mallya.
The two RM RR's, one came to Mumbai and is still here, the second went south, probably Coimbatore.
This Lagonda is air cooled!