Luxury car maker comes up with anti-graft theme

The makers of the Rolls-Royce, who found a homing destination with the last Nizam of Hyderabad who had a fleet of 50 such cars, made it clear that they would not accept cash in currency for any down payment.

“You have to pay in cheques or draft after paying the requisite taxes of the country in advance,” said Herfried Hasenoehrl, Head of Business Development India, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Mir Osman Khan Siddiqi Asaf Jah II, the Nizam of Hyderabad, had purchased 50 Rolls-Royce cars in his lifetime. His collection included a Barker coach built Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, which he had acquired in 1912 and used as a ceremonial coach.  According to legend, while the Nizam was ready to ship a plane load of gold to Pakistan on the request of the then president Jinnah, he refused to part with a single Rolls-Royce.

From Goodwood in the UK to Hyderabad, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the super luxury British automotive, comes back to one of its favourite hunting ground in India – Hyderabad, once the land of Nizams.

Vasanthi Bhupathi, Managing Director of Kun Motoren, a local franchisee for RR said that India is the No 3 market for the Ghosts and Phantoms from the stables of Rolls Royce.
The RR, known for the swank cars it produces for the super rich, had a great run in the country during the first half of the 20th century due to the patronage of the likes of Nizams of Hyderabad and other royal families of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

During 1907 and 1947, of the 36,000 Rolls-Royce cars sold globally, India accounted for more than 1,000. The company sold 2,711 cars globally in 2010 and expects to surpass this number, aided by the growth witnessed in the markets of the Asia-Pacific region, including China and India. Poverty is no bar in a country known for buyers of the swanky RR. “India is a very promising market. We are very optimistic about it. In fact, of all the markets in the Asia Pacific region, India has been the most active,” Hasenoehrl said.

There were nearly 32 Rolls-Royce cars, including five Silver Ghosts in Hyderabad even as GVK, GMR groups and actor Chiranjeevi possess Silver Ghosts. The 1912 model of the Silver Ghost owned by the former Nizam stands out as a tourist attraction in the Chow Mohalla palace of the Nizams.