[Thar4x4]

Hello Friends,


I found a nice article on a passionate collector of rare vintage cars in today's Pune Mirror, so thought of sharing this with all of you.

Please find the original article here

Here’s a stiff upper lift!
If you see a blue London Taxi on the road, don’t hail it. This is Subhash Sanas’ personal dream come true at `50 lakh

In case the cab’s not enough...

BMW 5 Series ` 37.60 to 58.00 lakh
Audi A6 ` 38.41 to 46.40 lakh
Mercedes E Class ` 40.61 to 59.20 lakh
Skoda Superb ` 18.47 to 26.68 lakh
Honda Accord `19.61 to 26.00 lakh

City businessman Subhash Sanas is evidently bored of seeing Audis and BMWs on the streets of Pune. He’s gone and got himself a cab all the way from London. The metallic blue London Taxi, the first of its kind in the country, was bought from the company’s London headquarters for Rs 50 lakh. We calculated that if you’re slightly poorer, you could buy two Honda Accords for that price.

Sanas has been a passionate collector of rare vintage cars since his youth. The taxi, known for its iconic status in the United Kingdom, is used by the Queen and top politicians of the country.

Bringing the taxi to Pune was no easy task. Sanas had to conduct a number of meetings with company officials before purchasing the car. “Speaking to Pune Mirror, Sanas said, “I sought a special and rare audience with company MD Nigel Walter and convinced him that I wanted this car at any cost.

Walter was reluctant to sell it on grounds that there is no service centre in India. The meeting was followed by a lot of negotiations, talks and a number of emails following which Walter finally gave the green signal. I even went to Coventry where the factory is located and met the officials there before bringing the car to Pune,” he added.

According to Sanas, government policy and tough import restrictions made it difficult for him to bring the car to India for the past several years. “I have been going to London since 1973 and have known the car since then. The first time I saw it, I was in London with movie star Rajendra Kumar and his brother Naresh.

I saw the car and was an instant fan. It is unique and has a class entirely of its own. I made up my mind to purchase one in the future and today, I am proud to own it,” he said. The car now sports an emblem reading SBS which stands for Subhash B Sanas.

Sanas further said that the taxi was robust enough to withstand long journeys. “The car has been driven as far as Spain and other places in Europe when the airlines suspended operations due to volcanic ash. The manoeuvrability is such that it can negotiate sharp turn even in congested localities like Sadashiv Peth and gives a mileage of 12 kms per litre.

My experience has been simply exhilarating and gives me a new high,” he said. And he’s not the only one keen on the taxi. Bollywood star Dharmendra has requested Sanas to lend him the taxi while Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan are interested in knowing more about it and took rides in it when Sanas was in Mumbai recently.

Talking about his driving experience in Pune, Sanas said that Puneites are often surprised when they see the car passing on the road. “They stop me, make discreet inquiries and even take photographs of the car. The car has acquired a celebrity status in the city, and so have I,” he added. Well, snobbery does rub off.

People stop me, make inquiries and take photos. The car has a celebrity status and so do I

- Subhash Sanas, businessman and london taxi owner

Thanks,
Vishal.

[selfdrive]

I have seen this cab waiting outside the Le Meridien entrance (not the road, but up the ramp near the entrance point/ parking area) a couple of months ago. IIRC I was there to drop someone and was wondering if the hotel had bought it as an 'attraction'

[ajmat]

I think the story is a bit padded out

1: The London Taxi manufacturer - Carbodies (or sounds similar) are desperate to sell taxis so will sell to anybody. They have been forced to sell out to the Chinese. Besides, the London taxi is being outsold by modified Mercedes Viano's

2: A gentleman in Mumbai, Mahendran (who made lots of money selling out his mosquito repellent business to Godrej) had a maroon one

3: The taxi ain't as durable as you think. A classmate of mine, Edward Kelly drove one from London to Sydney in 1989 for charity. Taxi had inumerable problems.

4: New York authorities evaluated a petrol version, it could not take the hammering and bad roads of New York traffic

[moralfibre]

This could be his second London Taxi. He had one for quite some time unless this is the same one. Most of his car collection is parked in the open outside his hotel Beverly Hills in Lullanagar.

[Swanand Inamdar]

Nice! Agree with Ajmat though. The story does seem to be a bit exaggerated. Why would a company not want to sell their car? Especially in todays times?

That said and done, the car sure would have a unique status and probably one of a kind on Pune roads.

[frankmehta]

There is already a BLACK coloured London cab running in Mumbai with a WB-xx-xxxx license plate!

[ariesonu]

London cab has been in our country since as old as 2004 & I believe was brought here by the same "GOOD KNIGHT" guy:

Our friendly mod V12 had infact posted pics too, not sure if they are of same car. Here's the link:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super-...i-replica.html

Raab Rakha.

[harit]

Originally Posted by Thar4x4

Hello Friends, I found a nice article on a passionate collector of rare vintage cars in today's Pune Mirror, so thought of sharing this with all of you. Please find the original article here
Thanks, Vishal.

Please read the article, it says "is used by the Queen and top politicians of the country".

What happened to all her Rolls's and Daimlers? The British tax payers still pick up her bills.
At the last VCCCI event there was such a blue cab, supposedly made in China. Was that the same? Picture taken from the relevant t-bhp thread.

Cheers harit

[Cyrus43]

Why would someone pay 50 lakhs for an outdated, noisy and overall not very advanced pile of slow, heavy and hideous metal!! I dont see the point!! Please take the article with a pinch of salt btw as no one outside the motoring press can really write a good motoring related article!

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by Cyrus43

Why would someone pay 50 lakhs for an outdated, noisy and overall not very advanced pile of slow, heavy and hideous metal!! I dont see the point!! Please take the article with a pinch of salt btw as no one outside the motoring press can really write a good motoring related article!

Because they have that kind of money to spare for snob value? or what they perceive as snob value!
There are a lot of people these days who want to be talked about for their money than their deeds. As long as they are noticed and folks like me and you are discussing them, their objective is achieved

I agree with your point about writing; not sure who is worse the writer or the person who approves the article. In any case most of the media articles these days ate PR/ paid for unless it is "breaking news"

[imperial.s.a]

hi guys there are two london taxis in indis one belonged to good night mohan and the other is from goa in vasco its lying with an clearing agent with an dismantaled gear box white in colour as ajmat mentioned its not an great car the good night car went in circles for selling every time the car belonged to some new car dealer selling second hand cars

[Thar4x4]

Hi All,

What I gather from some of the post here is people are thinking that this is waste of money.

This is not a matter of money this is all about passion. and thats what this man is doing with his money.

if some one give me or if I save in future a 40 lakhs, I will buy things which I like and not the things people appreciates.

Yes, I know writer have exaggerated article but that is there trick to make article readable.

btw I like a Tata 407 from my childhood, if money and parking space permits I will buy one sometime.

Thanks,
Vishal

[killjoy]

Last I heard, these cabs were being outlawed to be driven on London roads, so you might get them for a steal, only problem will be, they would have been driven for more than 2 lakh kms

[hkanitkar]

One such London Cab in Red colour, stands at the Marriot Hotel in Pune. Saw it yesterday night - Looked brand new and was unregistered.

[h@r$h@l]

My cousin saw this "LONDON TAXI" at McDonalds in Vapi on NH8. It had 3 chaps in it who were on a road trip from London to Sydney and are in India for a few days. This pic was taken today afternoon.