Features

Living the Ducati dream

When you get your hands on the beautiful, Italian designed Ducati Monster 821, you’re convinced it is for the keepsâ€¦well, almost.

Ever wondered what living with a Ducati feels like? Let me tell you. For me, personally, it is out of the ordinary! My KTM Duke 390, which I thought was a furnace in the beginning, in retrospect, is a relatively simple motorcycle to live with. Having lived with the Ducati Monster 821 for the past few…

WORDS:
RAHIL SHAIKH
Watch it!

There are those who drive a car to get from point A to point B and there are those who wear watches to tell the time. This story, is not for them…

This is a story for those who love the finer things in life; who drive a car and wear a watch to the same end – to make a statement. Even if it is a subtle one. In complete contrast to those who fail to see beyond the functionality of a motorcar and a watch,…

WORDS:
ANINDA SARDAR
Mech engineering meets Menu engineering

Whet your appetite on wheels. From kitchen equipment sizes, to the number of staff workers, to the menu items, every aspect in the food trucks business requires meticulous planning. Here’s a look at what it takes to design, build and run them successfully.

At the Ferry Wharf in Mumbai, while waiting to hop on to the RoRo service for Alibaug, one can pick a quick sandwich or bite into a small pizza from a food truck called Cantina by Flamboyante. The open-air seating atop the food truck is its owner, Amrish Arora’s idea. “We wanted people to have an option…

WORDS:
NASRIN MODAK SIDDIQI
True Timing

That Harley-Davidson never swam with the motorcycling tide is no secret. Even when it finally embraced the spirit of adventure as a part of motorcycle touring ethos, it did so at a time of its own choosing. So, this time around, has Harley-Davidson timed it right or is it too late to the party?

In the world of motorcycles, the idea of experimentation with the machine’s styling didn’t really start in earnest till the 1980s. It was only around this time that motorcycle styling started to move away from older ideas of round instruments and headlamps and a general theme of minimalism. Although the laurel of becoming the first…

WORDS:
ANINDA SARDAR
Jungle Jaunt

The transfer between two forests, right through the heart of the jungle, in a 4WD, is a matchless experience writes Fareeda Kanga.

Most wildlife safaris in India, or for that matter worldwide, follow a similar pattern. An early morning game ride followed by lunch and a short snooze, and then another afternoon jaunt in the jungle. Safari junkies are usually in the habit of hopping from one park to another within the same state, making the journey…

WORDS:
FAREEDA KANGA
Fast Track Fun

Hot wheels for cool motorheads. Radio Controlled Car Racing is no child’s play. This hobby offers enough thrill to keep you hooked for life.

Before the lockdown, far in the empty fields at Vasai, near Mumbai, Mulund resident, Edison Samuel, used to take his five-and-a-half-year son, Eric, with an entourage of remote controlled cars, and put them to a good adventure. The joy on their faces and the sheer adrenaline rush was a thing to witness. This is true for…

WORDS:
NASRIN MODAK SIDDIQI
Brick Lane

Adult fans of LEGOÂ® talk about their hobby-horse and how they’re taking it a notch higher with their custom builds.

In Dindigul, a small town in Tamilnadu, Dr Vishnu Manohar, a gold medalist prosthetic dentist has been making news – not just for his practice, but for his quintessential Indian vehicles – MOCs (My Own Creation, in LEGO® parlance), like Bajaj RE Auto, Tata Motor Trucks, and Maruti Omni, all created using LEGO®. His tryst with the bricks began…

WORDS:
NASRIN MODAK SIDDIQI
Muscle Flexing

An enduring story of love, with the American muscle car.

Everybody loves a good ol’ American muscle car. No matter what they tell you, they all drool at one and there really is only one reason. American muscle cars are undeniably cool and therefore make their owners/ drivers look undeniably cool by extension. If you’re in a posh European limousine (Not to be confused with…

WORDS:
ANINDA SARDAR
PHOTO FEATURE: In a new light

We pick 12 of the best instrument clusters out there from the cars that we reviewed in 2020.

Instrument clusters play a big role in the choice of your car. More often than not, it is the instrument cluster that is a big deciding factor in terms of whether you've taken a shine to the car or not, after having liked the exterior design, of course. Besides, after your purchase, the instrument cluster continues to be a daily source of joy during your commutes to…

WORDS:
TEAM TOS
Ambassador to India

Outside of Kolkata you’d be hard pressed to find a HM Ambassador on an Indian road. Yet, this ubiquitous car remains one of the most evocative of all four-wheelers ever sold in this country.

I don’t know of a single person who grew up as a member of the Indian middle class through the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, who doesn’t have an Ambassador memory. Speak to them and what you’ll get is a plethora of anecdotes from an India that is unrecognizable today. An India that was far…

WORDS:
ANINDA SARDAR