When you meet Dr. Khodu Irani, it is easy to forget that he has done his Ph.D in material science. And that is only because his passion for vintage cars is so visible that all other facets of his personality pale in comparison. Despite a debilitating bout of osteoporosis, the man was at the microphone, raising the old cars lined up for the Indian Express VCCCI rally from their vintage status into objects of desire.And such ardour would not have been possible were it not for his deep knowledge of vintage cars. Says Irani, ``I love all things old, rare and beautiful, and going by that definition, vintage cars fit in.'' And how.The man is almost a walking encyclopaedia on vintage cars. He tells you how Mercedes-Benz got its name. ``Daimler and Benz created the first liquid fuel engine for a car in 1860, and at that time, Mercedes was the name of the daughter of the agent of Daimler cars. She was extremely beautiful, so an inspired Benz named his company after her in 1901.''Then he provides some more information. ``The first engine was created in 1765, followed by a steam-driven one, invented by Stevenson, an Englishman, in 1822. Later, German Rudolf Diesel invented the first diesel engine in 1892.'' It is precisely this knowledge that helps him with his compering. Says he, ``I have been compering vintage car rallies for the past 40 years. The first one was held in the early 1950s at the Lohegaon Airport. When war broke out in 1965, there was a lull, but the 1980s saw a revival of the rallies because they were so popular with the people.''How did his love for vintage cars begin? Says Irani, ``My love for old cars comes with my love for all things old. I also love machines, so vintage cars were a natural fall-out.''Though Irani loves all old cars and has no particular favourite, he prefers the Mercedes to the Rolls Royce. ``The Rolls is a classy car, but for a mass-produced one, the Mercedes-Benz is better.'' He talks about the days when the erstwhile Nizam of Hyderabad was the owner of the largest fleet of Rolls Royces. ``He had about 80 to 90 of them!''And though the Rolls is a status symbol, the erstwhile Maharaja of Kutch actually ``used these cars to ferry his garbage. He had been insulted by the Rolls Royce company when he had asked them for something. So, to get even, he used the one he had to transport his garbage.''What Irani loves about these vintage beauties is their safety features and reliability. ``I do not own a vintage car because I cannot afford one, and though any modern car is definitely superior to a vintage one, seeing a 1919 Wolseley or a 1924 Rolls go on these roads without getting overheated or their brakes failing is nothing short of a miracle. If you ask me, none of these modern-day cars will last as long as these beauties have.''
