Let’s first get this out of the way. Yes, he is the chairman and managing director of Indian Express, but that’s not the story we are interested in. What we are interested in is his garage. Unlike other wealthy men, it’s not packed with the latest limousine or supercar, but with old cars. And he works on these cars himself. Car enthusiasts know Viveck Goenka as one of the country’s top car restorers. He is also known as a purist who refuses to cut corners. If the original car came with acrylic paint, he will not use polyurethane. Or substitute chrome for nickel plating. Three Cartiers in a row is enough proof of his obsessive eye for detail. While there are many achingly beautiful pre- and post-war classics in his collection, that’s not what we have come to see. We have come to see his collection of Land Rovers.
Viveck Goenka has one of the (if not the) largest collection of 4x4 vehicles in this country. Jeeps, Jongas, Gypsys, one-tonners, Land Cruisers, Pajeros and even a Unimog. But out of the 50-odd 4x4s in his collection, half are Land Rovers and Range Rovers. His love for cars with a 1961 Fiat, whose carburetor he took apart when he was eight, and is still in his collection. But his love for Land Rovers started a bit later – in 1986, to be precise, when a friend was having problems with his Land Rover, and turned to Viveck Goenka for his technical expertise. It was this Land Rover that started off a lifelong obsession. And it took him four more years to get his first green oval.
