Osian's Auction Catalogue Automobilia The Art of the Historical Vehicle | October 2018

OSIAN’s – Connoisseurs of Art 14 1925 Hispano-Suiza H6B When Daimler and Benz merged (in 1926), Daimler’s flagship model was the Mercedes 24/100/140, a model that had initially been designed by Paul Daimler (the son of founder Gottlieb Daimler), using the experience that he had gained racing and developing the Roots-type supercharger. The nomenclature of the 24/100/140hp was something like this: 24 was the taxable horsepower, 100 the power generated without the supercharger and 140 was the horsepower figure when the supercharger was on full song. The more refined Mercedes-Benz 630 was launched in 1928, a little over a year after the merger. With a Roots-type supercharger (and renamed the model K) the 630 Model K became the fastest series production tourer in the world, capable of a top speed in excess of 145 km/h. Though it is not known as to how many of the 150-odd Model Ks produced, made their way to India, at least two examples of this autobahn-storming car survive in this country. One was imported by Maharajkumar Gopalsaran of Tekari, a small princely estate in Bihar. The other is the car featured here. Acquired by Kunwar Alekshandra Kant Singh, the prince of Bhinga, a taluqdari in Uttar Pradesh, this car was originally red in colour. When in 1936 the prince died, his son, Chandramani Kant Singh inherited the car. Chandramani Kant, in turn exchanged the Mercedes for his uncle’s trailer, as it could be converted into a tent! His uncle, the late Rajadhiraj Sudershan Singh sent the Mercedes to Bombay in the mid-1960s, and then later to Rajkot, eventually finding its way to Calcutta, to Thakur Amarjeet Singh of Gumanpura, who was Sudershan Singh’s son-in-law. Sometime in the late 1990s, this car was acquired by restorer and enthusiast Ranjit Malik, who in turn, sold it to Bhuvaneshwar-based collector Dharmaditya Patnaik. 1928 Studebaker President 8 State Limousine (FA) In 1899 the Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt immigrated to Spain to create automobiles branded Hispano-Suiza, or Spanish-Swiss in the Spanish language. Cutting its teeth with racing, Hispano-Suiza soon developed to a very prestigious marque, marked by the start of French production at a new factory in Levallois, near Paris, in 1911, and followed by the production of highly advanced V8 aircraft engines during the First World War. In October 1919, Hispano-Suiza unveiled the H6 at the Paris Salon, the first motor show from the post-War period. The very advanced in-line six-cylinder engine featured overhead camshafts, and with a displacement of 6597cc, developed 135bhp, giving the car a top speed of 130 km/h, which was most impressive for its time. Not only were Hispano-Suizas more technologically advanced (than Rolls-Royce, for instance, who used the former’s braking technology under licence) than the competition, they were also exquisitely crafted by some of the finest coachbuilders of the world then. Yet the number of Hispano-Suizas ordered by the Indian princes were miniscule compared to the number of Rolls-Royces that came into India. Marque expert Hans Veenenbos estimates that not much more than two dozen Hispano- Suizas may have made their way to India. The car featured here is, arguably, the most beautiful one extant in India. Ordered new by the Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, this particular Hispano features very special coachwork. Executed by one of France’s most famous coachbuilders Saoutchik, this Hispano- Suiza features a very unique body style, termed La Transformable 6 glaces, which allows for the top to fold in such a way that either it can be used as a fixed top with six windows, or as a cabriolet-landaulette with the portion above the chauffeur open, or as a pure tourer, with the entire top down. Veenenbos believes that this must be the only Saoutchik-bodied Hispano-Suiza extant in the world. The car is part of the Geedee Car Museum, in Coimbatore. 1928 Mercedes-Benz 24/100/140HP 630 Model K One of the older American carmakers, Studebaker had a storied history. Starting with horse carriages in 1852, Studebaker migrated to car-making in 1902, initially making electric cars before moving to petrol-engine automobiles, starting 1904. Into the 1920s, Studebaker launched a line of commercial vehicles too, and both the trucks and the cars were powered by the same six-cylinder engine. Till 1926, Studebaker’s flagship model was the Big Six. The Big Six was replaced by the President, which was unveiled on June 23, 1926. Powered by a 5.8-litres in-line six, the first President was soon replaced, in January 1928, by a smaller engine car, but a straight eight. The ambitious president of Studebaker, Albert Russel Erskine, wanted to build the “the finest eight-cylinder car in the world regardless of cost.” Erskine ordered Barney Roos, the head of Studebaker’s engine design department to develop the engine. Roos designed a 5.1-litres (313 cubic inches) engine, which produced a maximumof 100bhp, tenmore than Cadillac’s larger V8. Exceptionally efficient for its times, the President with the new eight-cylinder engine established several land speed records between 1928 and 1933, some of which remained unbeaten for decades.