Travancore royal’s 1955-model Benz to join business tycoon’s fleet of cars

Marthanda Varma’s favourite car — a 1955-model Benz nicknamed “Mile a Minute,”– will soon join the fleet of well-known business tycoon MA Yusuff Ali. Varma was the patriarch of the erstwhile Travancore royal family.

The royal family and Uthradam Tirunal Marthanda Varma Foundation have said the late royal figure’s announcement in 2012 in this connection will soon be fulfilled. Many vintage car collectors and businessmen have eyed the vehicle for quite some time. Even the German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz came back to him with an offer of two new high-end cars, but the royal entity refused to part with it.

What is amazing is that the old beauty had travelled 40 lakh miles, a rare achievement for a vehicle. People close to the royal family said he bought the car when he was 38, in 1955, and he drove a major portion of the miles it covered on his own and the rest as a passenger. Built in Stuttgart in Germany, Varma bought it for ₹12,000 and got it registered in Karnataka, CAN 42. It got its nickname “Mile a Minute” after it used to cover one mile in one minute.

When the businessman, Yusuff Ali, paid a visit to the palace in 2012 Marthanda Varma had expressed his wish to gift the car to him. A year later Varma died (December 16, 2013) and the transfer was delayed due to many reasons. Though delayed, the royal family members decided to fulfil his desire and informed the business magnate about it. He is yet to react to the royal offer.

The car is with his son Padmanabha Varma and in good road condition. Benz had presented many honours to the car and some of them are placed in front of the car and bonnet, said royal members. Palace old timers say even on his sick bed Varma used to watch his trusted companion. “He was so attached to it and looked after it as his progeny,” said one of them. A multinational businessman, Yusuff Ali, owns the Lulu group. He had a miraculous escape after his chopper crash-landed in Kochi last April.