MY KOLKATA EDUGRAPH
ADVERTISEMENT
Regular-article-logo Sunday, 27 April 2025

Fast Forward

It's life in the fast lane for the growing tribe of supercar owners, says Anupma Tripathi

The Telegraph Online Published 06.07.13, 06:30 PM
  • Ishaan Bhatia, director, Baani Group, with his Ferrari F430 convertible

Here's an imaginary — but all too possible — scenario. You're terribly rich, with a wallet like a rhino's backside, and you've got the most spectacular set of wheels in town. Say a Lamborghini Aventador or a Porsche 911. Now there's only one teensy-weensy little problem. Where do you take this mighty beast out for a spin? And, can you only go out before 5.30am when the traffic's thin or non-existent?

This isn't a problem that's usually faced by your average commuter on the Calcutta or Delhi Metro. But it is an acute issue for the growing tribe of young supercar owners who've moved into the 21st century on the fastest wheels in town. They're snapping up Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches and then hitting the speed-breakers on Indian roads.

To get a measure of the fastest young men in town take a look at Ishaan Bhatia, director, Baani Group, a real estate development and hospitality company, which owns the Hilton Garden Inn in Gurgaon. Bhatia, 24, has five supercars including the Frozen Black edition M3 and other wow-inspiring vehicles like the Ferrari F430 Spider convertible and a Lamborghini LP 560-4, special edition, BiColore, which goes from 0 to 100 in a mind-numbing 3.7 seconds. As the name suggests, the Lamborghini is a special edition model, that's even costlier than the company's regular models. Says Bhatia: 'I try to drive my supercars as often as possible. But, the M3 gets the maximum usage because it is the most practical.'

  • The supercars of the Cannonball Club rev up at the starting line for a high adrenaline day at Buddh International Circuit

Or, take a look at Varun Jain, a 29-year-old scion of the NV Group, a Delhi-based liquor manufacturer. Jain started his on-the-road saga with a BMW M5. But he was soon thirsting for greater thrills and moved up the ladder and bought a Lamborghini Gallardo. Now he has changed his super-wheels once again and is whizzing around town in a Lamborghini Aventador. The Aventador shares space in his underground family garage with a Bentley, Benz, Rolls Royce and even a three-wheel Bombardier cam-am bike that's used for cross-country biking.

Paritosh Gupta has a different answer to the millionaire's dilemma of being all revved up behind the wheel and not being able to squeeze through the traffic. Gupta figured it would be best to ride in a pack, and that led him to found the Cannonball Club based in Delhi. Then, he realised that there were other supercar owners desperate for company, so he opened branches of the Cannonball Club in Mumbai, Chandigarh and Bangalore. Most recently he unveiled Cannonball Club's newest unit in Bangalore.

Says Gupta: 'We organise driving convoys for our members and plan every detail to a T. We travel along a route that we have already visited to be sure about the safety of the cars and passengers.'

  • Mohit Kakkar had a ball hitting the accelerator and also picking up driving tips during his four outings at the Buddh International Circuit

Gupta isn't the only one who had the idea of forming a millionaire's — and perhaps even billionaire's — club of car owners who band together for drive and discussion sessions with their high-speed, powerful monsters. 'Our objective is to bring all supercar owners together,' says Aditya Arora, who formed a supercar club in Bangalore, but who has now merged with the Cannonball Club.

For a slightly different scenario, visit the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida on one of the many track days organised by supercar companies or supercar clubs like Gupta's Cannonball.

One such event was organised by Ferrari last year for its car owners and prospective buyers and the company's thinking of holding another in the near future.

  • Delhi-based liquor manufacturer Varun Jain’s favourite road monster is his Lamborghini Aventador. Pic by Rupinder Sharma.

Being Ferrari, these outings at the Buddh Circuit are organised with meticulous precision. About 50 of the Italian-made monsters were lined up on the track and about a hundred enthusiasts watched from the stands. Ferrari had flown in a dedicated team that criss-crosses the globe organising such events. 'The events are exclusive Ferrari events where Ferrari owners and enthusiasts get to experience the performance, excitement and safety of Ferrari cars,' says Ashish Chordia, chairman, Shreyans Group, the official importer of Ferraris into India.

When it comes to supercars, Delhi and Mumbai have the largest number revving around the roads. But drive down to south India and you'll find the Madras Exotic Car Club (MECC) speeding along the roads — and the racing track. MECC was founded by Manoj Lulla, the director of Emerald Group, a real estate firm, based in Chennai, and who owns a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560, which creates a stir whenever he takes it out on the city's roads. Says Lulla: 'There have been people who've come all the way from Pondicherry just to take a look at my car.'

  • Aditya Arora (below), who has an Audi R8 V10 (left), formed the maiden supercar club in Bangalore, which has now merged with the Cannonball Club

Lulla says Chennai is now home to the most popular supercars including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and the sports models of the three top marques Mercedes, BMW and Audi. 'Today, the city is home to about 100 super cars. This is exactly why we thought of launching our own club,' he says.

The fast-moving supercar owners of Chennai also have the advantage of being able to rev up their vehicles at the Irungattukottai racetrack, which for years until the Buddh circuit opened, was the home of Indian motor racing. In fact, MECC launched at Irungattukottai, which is about an hour from Chennai. Says Lulla: 'When we launched the club at Irungattukottai the turnout to watch these cars in action was huge.'

The MECC is also organising track events and bringing specialist drivers from Europe to train the owners of Chennai's supercars on the optimal use of their vehicles, and to offer technical expertise. Membership of MECC is by invitation, but there are plans to have events for which the general public will be invited. 'We are very encouraged by the response to our first event in which 40 cars took part,' says Lulla.

But, when it comes to supercars, the main scene of action has undoubtedly shifted to Delhi, simply because of the Buddh International Circuit (BIC). For the luxury automobile companies, holding track events is the best way of promoting their vehicles to well-heeled potential buyers. 'The track is booked 10 days a month by these supercar companies,' says Askari Zaidi, senior vice president, Jaypee Sports International, which operates the circuit.

One regular at BIC is Varun Jain, who says he has driven on the circuit about 14 times. Says Jain: 'I drove twice with the Cannonball Club apart from participating at the events organised by different car companies, which invited me over for a drive in their cars.'

Adds Jain: 'It's a phenomenal place to burn some rubber and get used to your partner (he means his car). Also, it's safe and you can push your car to the limit to see its true performance capacity,' says the man, who is now driving a Lamborghini Aventador 700.

  • Ishaan Bhatia strikes a pose on his Ferrari F430 convertible. Pic by Rupinder Sharma.

Similarly, Mohit Kakkar, who owns the Invitation chain of banquet halls, has also had plenty of time behind the wheel at BIC. Kakkar, who currently owns a BMW M3, has driven his own car on the circuit three times and has also been invited by Lamborghini to try his hand at the Gallardo. Says Kakkar: 'These events give you a chance to take a close look at other supercars.'

German luxury car company Audi was one of the first to accelerate its marketing efforts on the Buddh racetrack. It has held several events with trained drivers from abroad and the company usually invites about 50-60 prospective buyers to drive the company's different offerings. 'We try and ensure that our guest list is focused towards supercar enthusiasts so that we can give them the best experience possible,' says Mikey Todd, director, sales and marketing, Audi India.

Lamborghini is, of course, one of the stars of the supercar world. The company has held one event at BIC. 'About 80 participants braved rain and bad weather to be at the venue. Our feedback is that they found it a worthwhile effort,' says Pavan Shetty, head of operations, Lamborghini India.

Kakkar reckons he had a particularly useful outing at the circuit. He says: 'The organisers had one trainer beside me while I drove and he gave me valuable tips about how to negotiate a sharp turn and when to apply brakes and accelerate.'

  • Real estate developer Prateek Madhan loves his Bentley Continental Supersports, but always takes a security guard along to ensure that the vehicle isn’t damaged by over- enthusiastic oglers

Of course, there is another way to look at driving around the Buddh circuit — and it reflects the problems supercar owners face with their powerful cars on crowded roads. Says Jain: 'Driving on the circuit gives you a high. And you can also take out all your frustration there.'

It goes without saying there are other problems about taking out a supercar to the local market or to a movie. Says Bonito Chhabria: 'I can't take my car out very often like, for instance, when I'm going out to catch a film. The biggest problem is parking. Where do you park such big beasts?' Chhabria owns a Lamborghini Aventador and a Porsche 911 and is a director of DC Design, the automobile design company founded by his father Dilip Chhabria.

Rinzing Denzongpa, the son of actor Danny Denzongpa has similar complaints about taking his C63 AMG — which delivers a whopping 451hp — out on Mumbai's crowded streets. 'I just love my new car and drive it everyday to work and to the gym. But Mumbai's roads and traffic make it nearly impossible to drive a car such as this. I do manage to take some time out to drive around Bandra and townside and at times take the Sea-link,' says Denzongpa, who received the car as a gift from his father some months ago.

For 29-year-old Prateek Madhan, safety is a major concern when it comes to taking his family or girlfriend out in his Bentley Continental Supersports which accelerates from 0 to 100 kilometres in a mere 4.8 seconds. 'There have been incidents when people tried to get close to the car,' says the Delhiite, who is also the managing director of Skyland Group, a real estate company. 'Though I have a security staff in place that follows me everywhere, it gets a little scary for my family. So I don't prefer to take them out in my sports car. This beast is only for me!'

As they say, it's time to burn some rubber, bring it on!

Follow us on:
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT