The idea was to gather the very unusual, the best preserved and the most historic automobiles that survive in India today, in one book and comment about their impact on contemporary culture and civilisation. So, the cars in The 101 Automotive Jewels of India are a careful selection of ones that stood out as some of the more interesting, historically relevant, beguiling and the most fascinating. And of course, accessible, and in a reasonable condition to be photographed for the book.

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Despite the fact that a significant number of India's important and vintage automobiles have made their way abroad, there still remains some truly rare milestone cars that deserve to be featured. By featuring these in a book, it encourages the preservation of the ones that can be preserved. In a certain way, the book recounts the story of the automobile (as the cars have been featured chronologically), as well as of the owners and their fascinating personalities and interesting anecdotes on these cars. These owners preserve motoring heritage and provide the public with a free museum of our motoring history and culture by using and showing their vehicles on public roads and special events. This tradition must continue.

To that end, it is important for all concerned – the collectors, the owners, the enthusiasts – to unite and collaborate, at both national as well as international levels, so as to effectively address increasing legislation designed to keep historic vehicles off the roads, by spreading awareness and educating the 'non-believers' that historic vehicles are as much an intrinsic part of India's cultural history as the visual arts. Hopefully, this book will contribute to uniting the movement and enlightening the powers that be.

1935 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental

This model is considered to be the best pre-War Rolls-Royces. The very last of the Phantom II Continentals to come to India, this Streamline coupe was, in fact, one of the last Continentals ever built. Featuring sublimely beautiful coachwork from J Gurney Nutting, this car has a perfectly documented history, and is driven regularly.

1931 Lancia Dilambda

This model is one of the oldest designs extant (in India!) from the design house of Pinin Farina, which, since December 2015, has been under Indian ownership, when the Mahindra Group took a controlling stake in it.

1930 Bentley 8-Litre

One of the most powerful cars of its period – a late 1930s equivalent of today's Bugatti Veyron – it was specifically commissioned by a Mumbai-based Bentley enthusiast J S Vatcha. Both its subsequent owners, P D Adenwalla and Roni Khan, were true-blue enthusiasts, with the Bentley sharing garage space with other extraordinary cars – an Invicta S Type, a Type 44 Bugatti and a Lancia Flaminia Zagato – at one point.

1936 Lanchester Straight 8

Only six of these special Daimler-based Lanchesters were made for King George VI (four stayed with him, of which one was gifted to a very young Queen Elisabeth) and the Maharaja of Nawanagar, Digvijay Singh. Of these, this particular bolide – Lanchester-enthusiast Digvijay Singh – is the only sports drophead coupé, which makes it a very unique piece, with a beautiful, touching history.

1948 Bristol 400

Less than 500 ever made, and an estimate of 60-odd survivors now, this Bristol 400 is the only one in India. Refurbishing the car seemed impossible until Mumbai-based enthusiast Amit Sapre convinced the Engineer brothers, Kaizad and Nekzad, of Niki Garages, to take up the challenge of restoring the Bristol to its former glory in a record time of eight months! Current owner of Bristol Cars is an Indian-origin, UK-based entrepreneur, Kamal Siddiqi, who also owns the Frazer Nash brand.