The Indian philanthropist and his Golden Daimler

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You’ll surely know there have been several great exotics in India, with their gun racks for shooting tigers and nickel-plated snake’s head bulb horns. Most of these motors were sold new to maharajas and nawabs. But you may have missed the story of the Golden Daimler built in 1919 for an Indian businessman, who later gave away most of his belongings, devoting most his time to religious activities. Somehow, we did!

Seth Hukum Chand Jain of Indore

Seth Hukum Chand Jain of Indore, India (1874–1959) may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth – he turned the company set up by his uncles and dad in a real success and made an absolute fortune at a young age. Having become known as the prince of the cotton industry, he spent much of the money that he made on setting up hospitals, nursing homes and temples. While others may have spent it on luxuries, ‘Hukumchand’ gave away 40 acres of farmland to Mahatma Ghandi to set up the Kasturbagram institute and village for the poor. He was honoured with a knighthood in 1919 and even gave up wearing expensive clothes and jewellery later in his life.

Did he never splash out on a treat then? Oh yes, he did. And the car he commissioned to have built at in the UK was one extraordinary example of that. It was a 45hp model with a six-cylinder sleeve-valve engine he’d owned since it was new. But it was only equipped with limousine body by Windovers after seventeen years and sent back to England for its makeover. And it wasn’t just any overhaul: all of the car’s brightwork was gold-plated at the time while the paint was made in a striking golden hue as well. The new interior boasted gold brocade upholstery imported from India as well as ornate woodwork with light inlays. Ornate? Absolutely. Over the top? We can’t say, really as we love this crazy vehicle in all its abundance, especially with that background story.

But you’d be even more surprised to learn that a car of this stature was mostly forgotten about many years later. That is exactly what happened though, and the Daimler remained in a totally derelict state until only a couple of years ago. It was in 2017 that the car was meticulously and fully restored and shown at the Hyderabad concours d’élégance at the Falaknuma Palace of that year. It makes you wonder if Lady Docker had been in the archives to study the company’s past…

Words by Jeroen Booij. Pictures TeamBHP.

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