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

His successor, Elwood Engel, who had designed the award-winning Lincoln Continental from the same year (and which helped Lincoln sell twice as many cars as Imperial had managed), was hired by Chrysler to revamp the Imperials for ‘62. But even if it was a case of American excesses served a couple of years later than when it would have been most appreciated, the Imperials of 1961 did serve their intended purpose. They were distinctive and flamboyant, and were also recognized as more of a driver’s car than the Cadillacs and Lincolns from then, with impressive agility and good braking. Additionally, they offered comfort and pampering like no other. Plus, with poor sales came exclusivity, and more than five decades later, rarity. The car on these pages is one such rarity, the only ’61 Imperial Crown Southampton Hardtop Sedan extant in India. Beautifully restored by current owner Viveck Goenka, this Imperial used to belong to the Chowgule family. Ordered new by Chowgule Steamships Limited (the Chowgules were also the distributor for Chryslers in Goa), the Imperial was in regular use with the head of the Chowgule family, Vishwasrao Dattajirao Chowgule, for the best part of four decades. After he passed away, in 2008, the car was looked after by his nephew Suresh Chowgule, before Goenka acquired it in 2012. Given that just 4,769 of the Crown Southampton Hardtop Sedan were made in 1961, not many must be in such a state anywhere in the world. 2008 Ariel Atom Though this car is barely a decade old, we are featuring it as an example of what a future collectible could be. The Ariel Atom is one of the most unusual of recent automobiles. It is, in essence, a four- wheeled motorcycle that can leave many a supercar in the dust. But it did take a supercar enthusiast to bring one such rarity into India. Business magnate Gautam Singhania, who has a passion for high performance Ferraris and Lamborghinis, also owns this Atom. With legislation to restrict emission and improve vehicle safety and the need to homologate automobiles to meet standards, the design and development of individualistic vehicles has become almost impossible. Yet legislation specific to the United Kingdom allows for some very unusual vehicles to be registered for street use in the UK (as well as a few other countries). The Ariel Atom takes full advantage of this legislation known as Single Vehicle Approval (SVA). The basic description of the Atom is very straightforward: a two- seater road legal car, featuring an open body, without a windshield, sans protection on the sides or around the passengers, all enclosed within a beautifully crafted tubular steel space frame. But to power this lightweight device, Ariel selected one of the finest engines in the world: the one from the Honda Civic Type R, but supercharged by an Eaton supercharger. Why a supercharger? To avoid the gap in response time of a turbocharger, for a more linear throttle response. Despite a deliberately low boost pressure, so that the reliability of the engine is not affected, the driver can count on more than 300bhp, a power that astounds when compared to the kerb weight of just 550 kg... To save weight, anything that wasn’t essential was ditched. Thus there is no ignition key, but a simple transponder to start the Atom. Similarly, there is no heating or air-conditioning, while the indicator, lamps and registration plate supports are all optional (as part of the road pack, which Singhania has opted for). The seats themselves are moulded in one piece of plastic, and they are not even padded… Once the driver is on board, the car adds up to around 620 kg or so, translating to about 186bhp for every ton… which is markedly higher than the kind of power-to-weight ratio one would get from a Porsche Carrera GT or a Pagani Zonda S... without the driver! That should say it all. And in practice, it is no less astounding: the neck-snapping acceleration leaves the driver absolutely speechless. One, because the blast of air won’t allow you to say a word, for another, because the sensations are, well… sensational. Zero to 100 km/h in under three seconds and a V-max of over 225 km/h. As Singhania surmises: “It’s an incredibly fast car at a very cheap option.”