Thiruvananthapuram: The Travancore royal family will gift the Mercedez Benz car of late king Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma to Lulu group chairman MA Yusuff Ali. The family and Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma Foundation took the decision to cherish the bond between the king and Yusuf Ali.
The royal family had purchased the car manufactured in Germany for Rs 12,000 in the 1950s. The car carrying the number CAN 42 was registered in Karnataka. Uthradam Thirunal who used to ride the car as fast as a mile in a minute was nicknamed ‘Mile A Minute’ due to this car. The 1955 model car is being kept at the palace in Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram. As per the documents, the king covered 40 lakh miles in cars as a driver and passenger from the age of 38. Out of this 40 lakh miles, he covered 23 lakh miles in this Benz. Medals issued by Benz depicting the distance covered are also displayed on the car.
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Many VIPs had visited the king to purchase the car at a fancy price. Benz company also tried to promote this car as a proud icon. Hence, two top officials from Mercedes Benz headquartered in West Germany approached the king demanding the car. They offered two new cars to the king in place of the old car. But king Marthanda Varma who had a craze for antique items was not ready to sell it.
The car is safeguarded by Marthanda Varma’s son Padmanabha Varma and the Sri Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma Foundation. The royal family has decided to gift the car to Yusuff Ali as fulfilling the king’s wish. The king invited Yusuff Ali to his palace during his visit to his residence in Abu Dhabi. He disclosed his wish to present the car to Yusuff Ali when the latter visited him at Pattom palace in 2012. The king revealed the wish in the presence of Saraswathi Vidyalaya chairman G Rajmohan.
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