Immortalizing Porsche vintage 356 SC: Saga of objet d’art on wheels through the streets of Mumbai
Mumbai July 19:To quote Ferdinand Porsche “I couldn’t find the sports car of my dreams, so I built it myself”.An everlasting classic which enthralled generations of sports car fanatics as a image cult following. Porsche.In Mumbai ,a grindhouse city the never sleeps ,where individuality gets lost in the thrum ,cacophony and rumpus of bustling life in the streets near the Ballard estate port,one might pause and observe in bewilderment, the hedonistic prowl of an iconic low-slung Porsche 356 SC, belonging to Rajendra Kumar Jain , an objet d’art on wheels ,misplaced out of time.
The Porsche name is synonymous with sports cars and race-cars, the classic car is something completely different: one of a kind and probably the only 1965 Porsche 356 SC ,still to be found in India. Everyone who sees this white Porsche stops what they are doing.
The gesticulating traffic cop.The jaded driver of a black-and-yellow taxi. The harried housewife. The stressed-out executive.Even the busload of noisy schoolchildren falls silent.
Belonging to an Overseas citizen from London,Rajendra Kumar Jain,recalls the day he was wandering through the halls of Christie’s, the famous auction house. He happened to walk into the wrong room. “And I saw this beautiful, immaculate car.”
It was on auction for no reserve, meaning no minimum bid.He was not looking for a car .but the car found him .It was karma.The car ,lying there ,was meant for him.
A art dealer , antiques, collector’s watches, and valuable curios with a shop on Bond Street in London’s upscale Mayfair neighborhood, Raj Jain is no stranger to rare and beautiful objects.
His business makes him travel the world and yet, being unable to stay away from his Porsche, he finds the time to visit Mumbai every now and then.
Instead of parking the vintage car near his home in South Kensington, he shipped it to Mumbai. There it lies awaiting him in the garage of his spacious southern Mumbai apartment with an impressive view of the sea.He usually goes there twice a year on business and to visit his family—and now to visit the Porsche too.
Keeping the Porsche in good pristine order, Raj used to have it thoroughly checked every two years by Barry Curtis, a renowned British specialist in 356s. Curtis would stay in Raj’s home and work on the car in his well-equipped garage.
Having installed an air condition in his garage to allow Barry to work in hot climates .”Barry used to overhaul the engine, strip every part, every nut and bolt, and rebuild it,” says Jain.
Two years ago, Barry passed away. The car still seems to miss him. Sometimes it refuses to start, on occasion it misfires, and it generally seems a bit sullen these days. Like any exotic bird that thrives on attention, the car throws the odd tantrum. But mostly it runs smoothly through the disarray of chaotic Mumbai traffic .
With a smile on his lips, Raj dives right into the organized chaos of Mumbai. For anyone new to this melting pot of religions, languages, and cultures, the city can seem bizarre and bewildering.
Raj guides the car and its 95 horsepower through the slalom course of lanes with evident pleasure, while attracting no little attention in the process. He leaves the noisy main streets and enters a series of tree-lined lanes with small, ornate tea shops. Only when darkness falls do heads stop turning, and shortly thereafter the Porsche 356 SC returns to its garage.
His home and his garage are separated by a distance of 7,192 kilometers. Rajendra Kumar Jain lives and works in London. But his Porsche 356 SC with license plate number MH 01 P 626 lives in Mumbai—a long-distance love affair.
Text first published in the Porsche customer magazine Christophorus, No. 376
