[TusharK]

The prototype of India's first indigeneously designed and manufactured car - Pingle has gone missing from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore, where it was once on display.



The Pingle was named after Pingle Madhusudan Reddy, popularly known as PM Reddy, who designed and engineered the vehicle back in the 1950s. The prototype was developed in Hyderabad but was built by HAL. It was first showcased at an industrial exhibition in Hyderabad in 1956. Mukkaram Jah, the grandson of Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan had proposed to setup a manufacturing facility to produce the Pingle. However, the proposal was rejected by the central government and hence, the Pingle never went into series production.

Back in the day, the low-cost Pingle was targeted at the lower and upper middle class families. It was estimated to cost around Rs. 4,600 before taxes, given that the company would produce 7,000 vehicles.

A 2-stroke, 2-cylinder, air-cooled petrol engine that produced 7 BHP powered it. Apparently, the engine and transmission had fewer moving parts and were built using highly automated machinery. The body of the car was made from reinforced fibreglass.

After the disappearance of the prototype from display, the family of the designer including PM Reddy's daughter-in-law have demanded that the car should once again be displayed in Hyderabad as a heritage and vintage automobile.

Source: The Economic Times

Link to Team-BHP News

[v12]

How can anything (let alone a car) go missing from a well secured place like HAL? I mean that place is so much secured and definitely must be having a lot of security and CCTV cameras. There is no way anyone can take a car out of there. Sure some insider is involved.

[vamsi.kona]

Originally Posted by TusharK

The prototype of India's first indigeneously designed and manufactured car - Pingle has gone missing from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore, where it was put on display.

[/b]

How can a object of that size go missing, that too from a defence establishment such as HAL??. While losing out on that car is sad, I am more concerned about the lax security, even if it was put up at just administration building of HAL.

PS: If it was moved to some other place by HAL personnel themselves that is fine.

[Doge]

I am surprised that someone managed to steal it at all, 7HP in a 4 door saloon, it would take hours just to get it out of the HAL Hangar. Tracing shouldn't be a problem, the thieves couldn't have got far.

[AMG Power]

This car wouldn't have been stolen AT ALL.

It would have been lying disused, gathering dust and rusting in a corner and must have been sold as a scrap heap 40 years ago.

There would have been no value 50 years ago for a car which had not received government approval and would never see the light of day.

The relatives are pushing this case more than half a century too late!!

[karlosdeville]

I have never seen a more recent picture of this car, always just black and white. When was the car last recorded as sighted? It must have been disposed of decades ago. More reading on another project here

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/vintag...6-hal-car.html

If I'm not mistaken Adil's book carried a piece on the car.

And on a side note, luckily the Aravind prototype survives, as do some more small car projects at the Geedee museum in Coimbatore.

[srishiva]

Funny to read that it was put on display ! How can a display car go missing ? I have never seen one in HAL museum, where did they put it up ?

They say they saw it on display and is missing now. Should be easy to track then. Which one is the true image of the car ? The first one looks compressed or the second one below looks stretched

[sreeharipv]

".. and were built using highly automated machinery." I really would like to know what highly automated machinery they used to make this one fiber-glass bodied prototype.

Feels more like some people were just giving too much credit to themselves.

[Rehaan]

Sounds to me like the car was taken off display without the Reddy family knowing about it.

The only actual information in the source says (emphasis mine):

“During my recent trip to HAL I could not see the car. On earlier occasions it was there. The Pingle was the pride of Hyderabad when it moved on the city roads even during 1970s. The car should be traced and displayed in Hyderabad as a heritage and vintage automobile. I too drove the car,”

- PM Reddy’s daughter-in-law

There's no comment from HAL about what they've done with the car or where it is.

Either there is some misunderstanding, causing this to be picked up as news by EconomicTimes - or it's a pressure tactic to have the car put back on display.


NOTE: Thread title updated.

[anjan_c2007]

Since it is a Govt of India PSU, there is always scope for RTI queries. An RTI request can be sent to the Public Information Officer, HAL, to their corporate office to get the authentic information.

They are bound to give a reply.

[manishalive]

Friends,

Where in HAL Bangalore was this car displayed. There is a museum and in that only the picture of the other prototype is there. I know guys in HAL, I can get more info.

The link provided by Karlos leading to picture is the one. And that is different than this car.