Fabled Fiats

Wanting to sell his mother’s 1963 Fiat which was lying unused for a few years, Cyrus Wadia approached the Fiat Classic Car Club (FCCC) of India for that purpose. But the members of the Club convinced him otherwise, recommended a mechanic and the car is now being refurbished. The two-year-old Club is a gathering of like-minded people coming together for maintaining and preserving their precious Fiats which have been in their families since years.

"We hold two fixed rallies every year, on Independence Day and Republic Day. Mostly all events are coupled with a social cause, be it a tree plantation drive at the Poona University or collecting funds for the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, from where we flag off our rallies. Last year we collected a sizable sum as donation for the Centre. Besides this, out of Poona rallies are regularly conducted, with one to Wai being the most recent,” informs 21-year-old Karl Bhote, FCCC’s current lead member since the Club does not advocate any kind of hierarchy.

From left: Pundole, Dorabjee and Bhote with their prized vehicles

There is no membership fee either. The entire activity is purely non-commercial. The only criterion for admission to the Club is that the person must have a Fiat in the family. Possibly the only Fiat club in India, they presently have 120 members. FCCC was founded on August 15, 2004 with the aim of uniting Fiat owners and giving the car the recognition it deserves. FCCC members have been to the Fiat factory in Bombay, met Giovanni dePhillipis, the managing director of Fiat who "has promised all support required, and our Club is even listed on the Fiat Italy’s website. Fiat headquarters in Italy have also been intimated of FCCC,” adds Bhote. FCCC is now in the process of registering the Club as a charitable trust.

Of late, Fiats in immaculate condition were being sold for as little as Rs 5,000 and never got classic car status. The Club has set out to change that, and to a very large extent has been successful. There is a very wide spectrum of owners from all walks of life, with the age group varying from 19 to 91. The oldest Fiat is of the year 1919 while the latest is of 2003.

Fiat or Fabbrica Italiana di Auto­mobili Torino is more than a car for its owners. It is evident that for them the Fiat is not just a vehicle but a plethora of memories, sentiments and emotions that are irreplaceable by other more swanky and sleek cars. "With so many people coming together, we now have easier access to spares that are difficult to obtain and there is a sharing of sources and recommended mechanics who specialize in classic Fiats,” informs Bhote who is in his final year of petroleum engineering at the Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Poona.

With a passion for vintage cars, Bhote confesses that he has been fanatic about them for as long as he can remember, so much so that in 2000, BBC did a feature on him for their program "Wheels.” He is also the Indian correspondent for the Standard Motor Club of UK website and contributes articles on Standard cars in India regularly. Bhote has his grandfather’s 1973 Premier President and last year, his neighbor Jamshed Daruvala gave him his 1960 Fiat 1100 which he had maintained for 45 years.

Among the Club members, Jimmy Dorabjee who runs Jimmy Lodge owns an immaculate 1957 Fiat that he bought in the mid 60s. It was his first car and he treats it like a child. Not being much of a car enthusiast Dorabjee recounts an incident that occurred on one of his frequent travels to Bombay as a novice driver. "At the Lona­vala ghat section the car broke down. I was able to get a mechanic to have a look and he promp­tly changed the fuel pump. On reaching Poona I got my regular mechanic to check what the problem was and realized that I had been taken for a merry ride. The original part was in better condition than the new one. I vowed to become more well versed about my car after that. It also shows how the original Italian spares are long lasting,” he says.

Dhabhar with his Premier Padmini

His car has been a faithful companion ever since, even for many long distance trips. Dorabjee is so passionate about his car that recently when a lady whose husband is a car collector asked him if he would be interested in selling his Fiat, Dorab­jee’s prompt reply was, "The car will not be for sale till the day I die.”

Cyrus Pundol of Pundol Electricals owns a 1963 Fiat and has been constantly making improvements on his car ever since he got it. Every time any new accessory was fitted on imported luxury cars, Pundol would make sure that his Fiat got it too. At one point, Pundol was contemplating parting with the car due to lack of usage, but on hearing of FCCC, changed his mind and now regularly drives his Fiat.

Behram Dhabhar from Bombay, the Club’s most recent member, is a walking talking encyclopedia when it comes to Fiats. He earlier worked with Premier Automobiles and he currently works with Mahindra. He revamped his 1988 Premier Padmini and has now bought a 1960s Fiat from a priest. Currently redoing the car he says, "For me, cars are much more than a passion. They are result oriented and channelized paagal­pan (madness)!”

"In fact whenever people on the road stop me to talk about my Fiat, the first thing they say is that looking at the condition, this could only be a Parsi’s car. The market value of any Parsi owned car up for sale is always at a premium,” adds Bhote.

Other members of FCCC include Behram Marker, Phiroze Banajee, Vistasp Patel, Neville Sukhia and Pheroze Mehta from Bombay. Practically all the Parsi members in the Club have had their Fiat handed down to them or have owned it since a long time, i.e. the cars have been in their families for over 30 to 40 years. This is because after a point the car itself becomes a part of the family and is given the respect it deserves.