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

Automobilia: The Art of the Historical Vehicle 21 differences. The rear was longer, and the fuel tank, located behind the number plate usually, had to be relocated to behind the rear seat (making the car safer!). With seven electric motors, ten solenoids, 11 sensors, and 186 meters of wiring, the convertible top was a carefully orchestrated symphony that lifted the top by about 15cm, before sliding backwards and then dropping down into the boot. Of course, such a complicated mechanism had its problems. If just one sensor or an electric motor failed, the entire process could get interrupted just when the roof was opening or closing, and then remain in that position… So if you saw a Skyliner with a half-open roof driving through the streets, in all likelihood, it wasn’t an ad campaign, but a sign that it had stopped working… The first year of the model (1957) Ford sold 20,766. But demand tapered off to 14,713 in ’58 and just 12,915 for ’59, when the model was dropped. Yet there is no denying that the Skyliner’s top was an engineering marvel, even by today’s standards, which probably explains why the Ford Fairlane Skyliner is now a much sought after collectible, both in the US and Europe. In India, it is even rarer. This beautiful example, a ’57 Skyliner is owned by Tarun Thakral, who acquired it from Viveck Goenka in 2006. Thakral, who is the founder and managing trustee of the Heritage Transport Musuem, near Manesar, proudly showcases this Skyliner in his museum, as a veritable monument to when Detroit thought it could do just about anything. 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster When Yuvaraj Jyotendrasinhji Vikramsinhji Jadeja of Gondal (which was a princely state in Gujarat) was visiting Europe in 1958 he was seriously considering the possibility of either acquiring a Ferrari or a coachbuilt two-seater Bentley Continental with the headlamps styled as a JJ, just like his initials. But he also thought about swinging by Germany – as a serious automotive enthusiast he had heard a lot about the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. He had read that the Mercedes- Benz 300 SL was, arguably, the most remarkable car in the world at that point of time. As a part of the post-war resurrection, Daimler- Benz decided to go racing, developing a car from the parts of the 300 family. The 300 Sehr Leicht, or lightweight, was built around a tubular space frame with a high, wide sill that surrounded the driving compartment, which, in turn, necessitated the creation of those epochal gullwing doors. After a one-two-three at the Grand Prix of Berne, a one-two at Le Mans and a one-two-three-four at Nurburging through the year 1952, the SL was turned into a street legal car that could very well be described as the world’s first supercar. With more than four-fifths of production heading to the US, as the importer for North America Max Hoffman convinced the Daimler- Benz management by pre-ordering a bulk of production, the 300 SL had everything going for it: dramatic looks, amazing technology and the fact that it was the world’s fastest street legal sports car. But after 1,401 SL coupes had been made between March 1955 and 1957, Daimler-Benz unveiled yet another stunner: a fleet-footed roadster (W 198 II series), at the 1957 edition of the Geneva Motor Show. Compared with its predecessor, the roadster had a slightly modified front end, with a smaller grille and larger European specification headlamps, more pronounced front fenders and a more rounded windscreen. It also boasted improved running gear that included a sports camshaft and slightly higher compression ratio. But the most significant design difference being a modification to the coupe’s space frame which allowed lower entry sills for easier access to the roadster and doors hinged conventionally at the front, on the A-pillar. In the process, the Roadster version gained a bit of weight over the coupe. Still sensational, but much more civilized and more practical, the 300 SL Roadster proved to be no less extraordinary. The Yuvaraj wanted to have a look at an SL Roadster, have a go at it too. A short drive later, where he easily touched 200km/h, the Yuvaraj was smitten. So he ordered aMercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster. The car arrived in early 1959. A keen enthusiast, Jyotendrasinhji Vikramsinhji had no intention of keeping it as a boulevard cruiser – he went racing in the 300 SL. By 1967 it had participated – and won – in more than 15 races at Sholavaram (near Chennai), Bangalore and Poona. Then in 1967 he decided to give up his racing gloves and the 300 SL Roadster was ‘retired’ for occasional use. Just the only one of the 1,858 roadsters manufactured that made it to India, this single-owner 300 SL Roadster is a very fine example of the Gondal family’s endless love affair with the automobile. 1961 Imperial Crown Southampton Hardtop Sedan The brand name Imperial was used for the first time in 1926 for the Chrysler Imperial, the top-end Chrysler model, a model that remained on the Chrysler line-up till 1954, when the decision was taken to make Imperial a brand on its own right. The goal was to compete with Cadillac and Lincoln (flagship marques of GM and Ford respectively) with a high quality stand-alone brand that would take on the world’s two top selling luxury brands. The first models of the Imperial brand were unveiled in November 1954, as a 1955 model year car. The first independent Imperials were technically and stylistically closely related to the largest Chrysler models. It was also the first American car to be equipped with disc brakes as standard. For motive power Chrysler provided the Imperial with its most powerful engine: the brilliant 331 cubic inch (5424cc) Firepower V8, developing as much as 250bhp, good enough for the rather hefty 2050kg behemoth to be propelled to a top speed of 170 km/h. Just two years after Chrysler’s flagship marque had been ‘established’ in 1955, the second generation Imperial was launched, remaining in production till 1963. During this period the detail design changed every model year, and with each new model year some features were added too. Stylistically, the second generation Imperial, like all other Chrysler models from 1957, implemented Virgil Exner’s famous Forward Look. But as the design of the Imperials changed every year, the tail fins grew to a record height as Exner competed with General Motors’ Harley Earl. If 1959 was the peak of the tailfin era, from 1960 onwards, tailfins shrank rapidly, and by 1961 most of the rest of the American automobiles had, at best, vestigial ones left. But Chrysler and Imperial were caught on the wrong foot. For the ’61 model year the Imperials received even bigger tailfins, with the trademark gunsight tail lamps suspended from them, as well as free-standing headlamps in chrome casing, within concave spaces – Exner’s rather eccentric reference to the “classic era”. The design turned out to be very controversial, with the American press describing it as “wild” and “nuts”. Sales fell by more than 30 percent – to just 12,258 units – as compared to the previous year, and Virgil Exner had to leave the Chrysler Group.