Sadly no great adventures to be found about this special Daimler, but the photos have enough to tell! WOW, what a car! I think the Maharaja of Rewa must have been quite a frivolous man that he needed a mirror this big!

The Barker-bodied all-weather tourer weighed a whopping six tons with all its nickel and silver! The maharaja of Rewa used the car for shikar (hunting, especially tigers) expeditions. The very rare Daimler has (present time, because the car still exists, although not in India anymore) a custom nickel and silver plated body with cobra-shaped horns and a massive hood ornament. One of the most outstanding examples of the impeccable Maharaja style!

The 1926 Daimler Model 45HP Salon Cabriolet was custom made for Gulab Singh, the Maharajah of Rewa (1903-1950), or should I say Major-General His Highness Samrajya Maharajadhiraja Bandhresh Shri Maharaja Sir Ghulap Singh Ju Deo Bahadur! His Princely 17 gun salute State of Rewa in Central India was probably best known for its white Bengal tigers, which was obviously and sadly a treat for the shikar parties : (

Rewa was ruled by Gulab Singh from 1918 to 1946, when he was deposed. Like most Maharajas he was fond of automobiles and had many special shikar cars. Maybe this car was a bit too gaudy for hunting or perhaps just perfect because the surroundings reflected perfectly in the nickel/silver plated body… Anyway like all the Maharajas, I suppose, one of his favorite pursuits was shikar, especially tiger hunting on those poor white Bengals.

The Major-General His Highness apparently really favored the Lanchester marque, like so many other Maharajas, i.e. of Nawanagar, Rajkot and Kolhapur. But… here we have it, it was his Daimler, affectionately called “The Star of India”, which was one of the most striking cars on the Indian sub-continent! And I agree! : )Something else I like to tell is this funny little story… In a moment of generosity the Maharaja of Alwar once presented a two-seater Hispano-Suiza sports tourer to his friend, the Maharaja of Rewa! Just ONCE AGAIN (I like to say this with reference to a track of HEADHUNTERZ, which fits with the subject of hunting!): Major-General His Highness Samrajya Maharajadhiraja Bandhresh Shri Maharaja Sir Ghulap Singh Ju Deo Bahadur. A nice fact about Alwar’s present was that the seats of this special car, it is recounted, could turn a full 180 degrees to facilitate shooting of escaping or attacking tigers. Written by Rosemarijn Atalante Veenenbos