There is an almost boyish enthusiasm in Wilfried Aulbur’s deportment as he shows off one of the models in Mercedes Benz AMG range, which have recently been launched in India. “This is my favourite,” he declares as he clambers into a silver sports model and flips a few switches to pull down the hood of the car. Aulbur, who’s the CEO and Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz India, is an example of why it isn’t enough to just be passionate about cars, especially if you’re helming one of largest manufacturers of luxury cars in the world—you have to live and breathe cars.

Aulbur was in the city on Sunday, to tee off the western regional round in the ninth edition of the Mercedes Trophy golf tournament. The evening also saw a fashion show where clothes created by ace designer Gayatri Khanna, especially for Mercedes, were on dislay. “This tournament has become one of the most prestigious events in the golfing calendar in India,” he says with satisfaction. He explains that golf and Mercedes-Benz are natural allies, “because golf is about perfection and that is our philosophy as well. In fact, globally we’re associated with sports like Formula 1, golf, and in some cases, tennis, because typically these sports fit in with the lifestyle of our customers.” As for fashion, that too is a natural partner as, “it represents luxury and elegance which is what we represent as well. Besides,” he smiles, “it appeals to the wives of our clients.”

Aulbur is an old India hand. He informs that he’s been in the country —off and on — for about nine years now in a professional capacity. “Indian consumers are very knowledgeable,” he says, “they’re well-travelled and they know what the global standards are. So they demand, and we give them, only the best. Our cars on offer here have attained the optimum point between comfort and ground clearance and they’re also very comfortable with the fuel available here.”

Aulbur has a high opinion of the car manufactured in India. “Indian manufacturers have done a good job,