Travancore royal to gift 'Benz' to Yusuf Ali, declining German maker's offer

Thiruvananthapuram: Nothing could be more painful to the Travancore royal family in Thiruvananthapuram than parting with the vintage car of late titular king Uthradam Thirunnal Marthanda Varma.

The royal family's love for Lulu group chairman MA Yusuf Ali has won over their prized possession: the 1955 model of the Mercedes-Benz (Benz 180 T) built in Stuttgart in Germany. The News Minute reports that the family will gift the car to the entrepreneur shortly.

The car which the titular king drove and was driven around is now under the care of his son Padmanabha Varma and the Sri Uthradam Thirunnal Marthanda Varma Foundation, since the king's death in 2013.

The car that its maker demanded in trade off for two cars will celebrate the bond between the royal family and the entrepreneur.

Back in the 1950s, Uthradam Thirunnal had purchased the German-manufactured car for Rs 12,000 and was registered in Karnataka bearing the registration number 'CAN 42.'

It turned out, the car became the king's favourite, covering 40 lakh miles in it as a driver and passenger from the age of 38. Of the total 40 lakhs, the king is said to have personally driven 23 lakh miles until he was 85-years-old.

The speed at which he used to drive subsequently earned him the nickname'Mile A Minute". Many expressed interest in the car and made high bids. Two officials from Mercedes-Benz had approached Uthradam Thirunnal asking for the car, the report said. The king dug his heels with an emphatic no.

The company wanted to turn the car into a symbol of its pride, as it covered more distance than any other Benz models.

In 2012 when Yusuf Ali visited Uthradam Thirunnal, the titular king disclosed his wish to gift the car to the entrepreneur.