Imagine this. An elderly car hopped up on an engine transplant being redlined through the first four gears, and well into triple-digit speeds the prop shaft decides it's had enough, enters the cabin by breaking through the floor, and impales the seat to culminate its protest. And all this while, the car becomes a runaway pendulum, and only luck ensures that it comes to rest on the road's left shoulder without any harm done to itself or its occupants. That's exactly what happened to this car a couple of years ago, and instead of turning into a cautionary tale, I was intrigued by it. That was because only moments before the cataclysmic failure, it had comfortably outgunned a brand-new Kia Seltos that did its best to chase the old car. Now you get why this is no normal Premier Padmini/Fiat 1100 D, right?
This transformation is roughly equivalent to your grandmother becoming a cage fighter, and it comes from the mind of my friend, Karan Lokhande, who's usually found running Motomatic R&D in Bangalore where he restores old motorcycles and scooters. The Fiat is the first car he ever bought, shortly after I first met him. Intended as a normal restoration job to make the car a daily driver, I suppose it wasn't long before visions of an engine transplant began to haunt Karan's restless mind. And with the help of some well-meaning friends, he got his hands on a recently rebuilt rally-spec 1.6-litre engine from the old Maruti Suzuki Baleno. With friends like these...
Denne historien er fra November 2023-utgaven av Motoring World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November 2023-utgaven av Motoring World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
DESTINI REWRITTEN
With a pretty major design overhaul, has the Hero Destini 125 found a new footing altogether?
OLDIE'S GOLD?
History makes yet another comeback with the BSA Gold Star 650. Is it what you were hoping for?
THE HIGH OF THE TIGER
Triumph's big cat is in its most ferocious avatar yet
LAUGHTER HOURS
This! This is the greatest single of all time!
BULL'S EYE?
Audi's new flagship SUV — or a budget Lamborghini Urus?
DARK HORSE
The Alcazar is now available in a new avatar, and the multi-faceted SUV deserves more attention than it got in the past
CURVV-BALL!
Tata's new mass-market SUV coupe may have more than a few tricks up its sleeve
GIVEN A RAISE
The EQS SUV looks like an EQS sedan on stilts but it offers a lot more than that
FOR MUCK'S SAKE!
No scooters, commuters or old bikes... this year's Pune Off-road Expedition was serious work
ALL THE WAY UP!
Exploring the vast landscape of Ladakh with Renault India's lineup - why would we say no?!