Arare Ford 7W 10 built in the United Kingdom is likely to be a head-turner in the forthcoming The Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally scheduled to be held on 21 January at the Eastern Command Stadium.

The pre-World War II car is a combination of elegance and engineering marvel. Painted in bright vineyard green, the small convertible car can compete with any present-day car. Though the car does not have modern day steering, it can be driven with the touch of two fingers.

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Parking the vehicle or taking sharp turns can be done effortlessly.

While travelling in the vehicle, the passenger never feels that he is travelling in an 86-year-old car. The restoration of the vehicle is more thrilling than any cinema.

The vehicle has been restored from scratches. Currently, the car is owned by Mr Saurjya Pratim Mitra, a young car collector and restorer. Since early childhood, Mr Mitra has been interested in cars. His hobby is to collect scale models of cars, both old and new.

His grandfather was the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, the late Shankar Prasad Mitra. His father, Mr Manojit Mitra, is also a car enthusiast.

Thus, Saurjya is carrying with him the legacy of the family.

While talking to this correspondent, Mr Mitra said, “It has been my dream since childhood to own a convertible vintage car. One evening in 2015, I received a call from an uncle saying that there was a vintage Ford on sale in North Kolkata. I spent a sleepless night, and early next morning we went to the place at 6 a.m. and found the car being covered with heaps of wooden logs.”

For the next five years, time was spent addressing the mechanical issues. Making the car roadworthy was a tough job. The car took part in The Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally in 2020. There was a lot to be done then, but still, Mr Mitra wanted to see how the car performed on the day of the rally, as the drivers had to follow a definite route while maintaining time.

For any vintage or classic car, overheating is a major problem. Once the engine is overheated, the car stops immediately, and repeated overheating causes permanent damage to the engine. Many restorers, even after spending hours behind a vintage car, fail to resolve the issue.

Thankfully, the Ford 7W 10 did not have this problem, and after the rally was over in 2020, Mr Mitra decided to do a thorough overhaul, not cosmetic changes.

Meanwhile, Mr Mitra had set up his own workshop where premier cars are looked after with affection and care. In April 2022, the entire car was dismantled, and it was found that a portion of the chassis was badly damaged. It took several months to rebuild the chassis. Then the work to repair the damage to the body was taken up. Several alterations were done to the car, and they were rectified, and the car was brought back to its original position.

Many vintage car owners told me that when they bought the car, they found that the original steering had been replaced by the steering of a Gypsy Jeep. It is really astonishing to note why some vintage car owners make changes affecting the originality of the vehicle. Several spare parts were missing. Being a rare car, it was difficult to get spares. This problem was sorted out with the help of some car enthusiasts in the UK who had helped Mr Mitra get some original spares. This, however, took more than one and a half years.

The car was painted in a shade of maroon.

However, now the car has been painted in its original shade, namely, Bright Vineyard Green. The entire upholstery has been redone. The Ford 7W 10 is a car built by Ford UK between 1937 and 1938, being in production for only two years. The car is an updated version of the Model C 10 with the same 1172cc engine, three speed gearbox, and the same transverse leaf front and rear suspension.

The attractive 7W 10 body style was available in both two- and four-door configurations.

The first English Ford model had an externally accessible luggage compartment. It is a frontengine, rear-wheel-drive car.

Those who will come to The Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally should take a photograph of this rarest of the rare cars and appreciate its engineering marvel.