The vault: Karim Chhapra

Karim Chhapra talks about his lifelong passion for vintage cars

TRENDS: Karim Chhapra, an avid car collector and the President of the Vintage and Classic Car Club of Pakistan for Karachi, talks about his lifelong passion for vintage cars

How/when did you get interested in vintage cars?

As a youngster I was fond of collecting dinkies and while growing up I used to admire my dad’s cars and loved taking care of them. As I grew older I acquired sports cars, but since they started becoming commonly available in Pakistan, my focus shifted to collecting vintage and classic cars that were not only rare, but also had unique factors associated with them, and had an interesting historical element attached to their existence.



What are your favourite vintage cars?

After my Rolls Royce, the MGA Roadster 1960 is my most favourite from my collection.



Is there any vintage car you are emotionally attached to and why?

My most prized possession is the 1924 Rolls Royce ‘Silver Ghost’, and there is an interesting story as to why I am so attached to it. While in college I had a friend, Sahaibzada Umer Abbasi, grandson of the Nawab of Bahawalpur. His family had a nice collection of vintage and classic cars at their palace, so I asked him to sell me one of the cars, but since his family was in litigation, he told me that was not possible until the dispute is resolved. Finally, in 2004, the dispute was settled out of court since the family was in litigation for 46 years. It was then decided that an in-house auction be held, allowing only legal heirs to bid. To my luck, I was approached by my friend asking whether I was still interested in buying a car. It was through this auction that I was able to acquire the most prized car in my collection, which has a unique historical element attached, important not only to me, but for every single Pakistani! This car was lent to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammed Ali Jinnah on his request to be used on the day Pakistan gained its independence on 14th August 1947. Quaid-e-Azam, along with Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of the subcontinent, rode in this car from Governor House to Sindh Assembly, and took oath as the First Governor General of the newly formed nation of Pakistan.



Is there any vintage car on your radar that you want to get in the future?

Yes, I would like to add Jaguar E-type 1963, series 1.5 to my present collection. The quench of a car enthusiast never dies, so you never know, in the future I may want to acquire another gem for my collection.