For an elite but passionate group of vintage car collectors in Pakistan, restoring antique rides is like travelling back in time and money seems to be no obstacle when the prize is a Lincoln convertible that belonged to an Afghan king or a Rolls-Royce once used by India's last viceroy.
Mohsin Ikraam, president of the Vintage and Classic Car Club of Pakistan, says the collectors help preserve a portion of the region's history of the past century. Among rich Pakistanis, he says, the desire to own classic automobiles has been growing and the club's membership has now topped 10,000.
To outsiders, Pakistan is more known for militant havens in its northwestern tribal areas and Taliban insurgents who have fought for over a decade to overthrow the government and impose a harsh version of Islamic law, killing tens of thousands of people in the war.
But Pakistan's gearheads are a testament to the universal appeal of fixing up and maintaining vintage cars, more commonly associated with America, Britain and Western countries from where popular shows like "Top Gear" or "Fast N' Loud" have reached Pakistani cable channels.
Take businessman Raja Mujahid Zafar, for one. He has nearly 40 classic cars the oldest among them a 1914 Ford Model T at his palatial Islamabad home. A special section of the house and grounds is dedicated to his hobby, including a big concrete garage and two outdoor shelters.
He imagines the car whizzing about on roads back when the region was still a British colony, scenes reminiscent of old movies. "That's the historical ride you enjoy," he says.
The Ford, known as Tin Lizzie or just T, was the result of Henry Ford's desire to produce a car affordable to the middle class in the early 20th century. It was credited for putting America on wheels at a time when automobiles were considered an extreme luxury by people mostly used to riding horse carriages.
In response to an ad in 2004, a London broker got a Karachi-based businessman Karim Chhapra an original clock he desperately wanted for his 1924 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost model. It cost 400 pounds or about USD 725 at the time.
The Rolls-Royce won first place at an international Concours D'Elegance car show in Kuwait in 2012, Chhapra said, and his American 1929 Hupmobile came in second.
The Rolls was originally owned by a prince, Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi, in the then-India's Bahawlpur state, which later became part of Pakistan. Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India, and Pakistan's father of the nation, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, rode in it together during the 1947 ceremony marking the birth of Pakistan.
