Classic cars rarely get second lives. And even if they do, they are mostly confined to city limits, with appearances in rallies and shows. But a 1958 Mercedes-Benz W120 named Panzer stands as an exception.
Its owner, Prithvi Nath Tagore from north Kolkata, has spent more than two decades reviving and driving it, and to the surprise of many, he even took it to the dangerous terrains of Himalayas — an adventure trip most vintage car owners can’t even imagine.
Prithvi and Panzer’s story is a blend of family, loss, engineering, and faith. “This car has given me everything. And I owed it every chance I could give,” he says.
A letter to Doon and the first spark
The story began in 2000 at The Doon School when a young Prithvi received a letter from his father during breakfast. Inside was a black-and-white photograph of a Mercedes Ponton, not Panzer itself but the same model. His father wrote that he had bought one and it would be waiting when Prithvi returned home.
“I was thrilled. I had never seen a Mercedes Ponton up close. I must have stared at that picture a hundred times,” he recalls. Cars were the language father and son shared. “Baba was a car nut,” Prithvi says. “He bought me car books instead of school books.” Their weekends were spent wandering through Mullik Bazar, searching for parts and discovering long-forgotten machines.
When Prithvi finally saw the real car at home, worn and immobile, he felt an instant attachment. “I was smitten,” he says. “I would sit for hours just staring at it.” His father promptly named it Panzer because, as Prithvi explains, “he thought its stance reminded him of a German tank.” The name stayed. So did the bond.
A car near collapse and a heartbreaking setback
The Ponton’s early life was colourful. Imported by a Brahmo Samaj family, used in Jeddah and then in Calcutta, it became a familiar wedding car within the community. But time and waterlogging left it brittle and tired.
In 2001, Prithvi and his father attempted a modest restoration. They repainted it, redid the upholstery and coaxed the old engine back to life. They drove it to clubs, entered the annual vintage and classic car rally and often sat together simply admiring their handiwork. “We would sit ten metres away and just look at the car. For us, it was perfect,” he says.
Then the engine collapsed in 2005. A poorly judged attempt at professional restoration left Panzer gutted and abandoned in a narrow alley. “I had given him an intact car. What I got back was completely hollow,” Prithvi says. Retrieving it required a late-night confrontation and a recovery van. “It was heartbreaking. Baba was devastated. But I still couldn’t give up.”
Ten slow years and the loss of a parent
In 2009, the car was moved to restorer Rahul Sarkar in Narendrapur. What followed was a decade of slow but steady work. “I spent my twenties and thirties going to that workshop every Saturday,” Prithvi says. “Those were the most productive years of my life and I gave them to this car.”
He immersed himself in Ponton engineering, importing rare parts and gathering manuals and technical documents from abroad. But time was slipping away. His father passed away in March 2020. “Baba never got to see the car finished,” he says softly. “That will always hurt.”
His mother stepped in to support the final phase. “Most of the funding came from Ma. Without her, this car would not have been completed.” A shed was built beside their garden where a new team worked through 2021. By early 2022, Panzer finally stood complete.
Recognition, respect and global spotlight
Panzer’s revival quickly drew attention. At Kolkata’s annual vintage and classic car rally, it won the best restored car award. At the EIMG Concours, it received the Resurrection award.
Recognition soon travelled abroad. In 2023, Prithvi was invited by the International Federation of Historic Vehicles(FIVA) to speak at their global symposium in Romania. He presented Panzer’s restoration journey to retired Le Mans drivers, former Formula One professionals and custodians of historic machines. “I was the only home restorer there,” he says. “To share Panzer’s story on an international stage was surreal.”
The International Ponton Owners Group, which he had joined at 18, later placed Panzer on their homepage for months. “IPOG helped me for 20 years. To see this car become their spotlight was something I never imagined.” The restoration had earned admiration. “Except for the tyres, battery, radiator coolant and fluids, nothing is Indian. Even the wiring harness came from Germany,” he says proudly.
Into the Himalayas and beyond
For Prithvi, the road matters more than trophies. “A car is meant to be driven,” he insists. Panzer has since covered over 10,000 kilometres, travelling to Maheshganj, Shantiniketan, Cossimbazar, Jamshedpur and Kharagpur. In 2025 it came second at the 21 Gun Salute Concours and climbed to Kasauli the very next morning.
Its greatest test came during the Classic Himalayan Drive. Panzer tackled broken mountain roads, gravel and landslide zones before climbing Jalori Pass and emerging from the Atal Tunnel into snow capped peaks. “I always had one dream, to take Panzer to the snow,” he says. “When we came out of the tunnel and saw those peaks, it was emotional.” Every other Indian classic retired before the tunnel. Panzer alone completed the course.
A legacy still in motion
Prithvi hopes to take Panzer on the Golden Quadrilateral in 2027, with a holiday in Puri before that. But the journey has already given him more than he imagined. “Panzer has been my constant,” he says. “He has taken me through the best and worst years of my life.” Somewhere in the glow of its cherry red paint and the steady thrum of its engine, Prithivi’s father’s presence remains.
“If Baba saw the car today, he wouldn’t recognise it,” Prithvi says. “But he would be proud. This all began because of him.”
