Sharad Sanghi - one of India's leading car collectors is no more
One of India's leading and foremost classic car collectors Sharad Sanghi, passed away on 21st February. Indore based Sharad Sanghi was a true car enthusiast and started collecting cars well before it became fashionable. In fact Sharad Sanghi can be termed as one of the pioneering Indian car collectors as he acquired most of his collection in the 70's and 80's. Almost all of his cars were restored by well known automotive historian Manvendra Singh Barwani and his partner T.P Singh. Sharad Sanghi was very passionate about his collection and only collected classic cars that had a substantial Indian history and heritage. With a collection of some 120 cars, he was also one of India's biggest classic car collectors and at the 2017 Cartier Concourse D'Elegance event held in Hyderabad, he was given the "Cartier Honour Trophy" for helping save India's automotive heritage.
Overdrive's consulting editor Bob Rupani who knew this pioneering car collector well said, " Sanghi Sahib was a complete gentleman and a most friendly and fun person. Though he had one of India's best classic car collections, he never flaunted his wealth or showed off his collection. He was equally comfortable dining with kings and having a cup of tea with his workers and employees. Sanghi Sahib will be sorely missed for the graceful manner in which he carried himself and shall be fondly remembered by his fans, like me".
While Sharad Sanghi is known for his classic car collection, he was also one of India's prime automotive dealers and an inspiration and mentor for vehicle retailers. He was one of Telco's (Now Tata Motors) oldest and largest dealers, winning the award for selling the highest number of commercial vehicles many times. Sanghi Brothers (Indore) and the other group companies of Sharad Sanghi are also dealers for Hyundai, Toyota, Kia and Jaguar Land Rover. It is said that while others had to approach car manufacturers to get their dealerships, manufacturers approached Sharad Sanghi to become their dealer.
Team Overdrive's heartfelt condolences to Sharad Sanghi's family.