A group of car enthusiasts have come together to form the Punjab Heritage Motoring Club and voice their love for motoring.

The club, which is yet to be registered, plans to hold a vintage cars’ rally every year on the lines of the ones organised in Delhi and other metropolitan cities.

Industrialist Avtar Singh Bhogal, owner of the Bhogal N Sons cycle parts manufacturing industry, is one of the members of the club.

He is the proud owner of a bright red 1933 Austin.

“I purchased this car from a resident of Patiala about twenty years ago. The original owner, Munsi Ram, was associated with the Maharajas of Patiala and the car had been imported from England in 1933,” Bhogal told Ludhiana Newsline.

He says he has already spent many times more than the actual price of the car to keep it in running condition.

“Had we not got our own industrial units, it would have been very difficult to keep the car running as its spare parts are not available. Whenever some part breaks down, we manufacture it ourselves and replace it,” Bhogal added.

But the industrialist has focused all efforts to retain the car’s original parts.

“So much so that the car still sports its original registration number — PNT-215 — which had been allotted by the then Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) state way back in 1933. I have kept its papers in order and pay taxes regularly so that there are no legal hitches when I drive it,” said the industrialist.

Though the Bhogal family has a fleet of different luxurious cars, it is this “Austin of England” that has captured this industrialist’s heart.

He treats the car like royalty.

“I feel very proud when traffic comes to a halt and people openly gaze at my car, which happens quite often,” he smiles.