Most exotic metals and the interesting cars in the country barely get a chance to come out of their pristine garages and even when they do, it is usually at odd hours of the day, or amidst tight security, unlike in many countries abroad. The sort of automotive culture prevalent where car meets are organised regularly, giving afficionados a chance to admire these beautiful machines from close quarters, has sadly been a race occurence, but one that Indian enthusiasts have always dreamt of.
That said, it appears that things are about to change for the better, given the advent of ‘Generation Speed’. The do was announced by 70 EMG last year—the good folks who organise India Bike Week too—as India’s motoring festival. And the first ever Generation Speed saw the Aamby Valley airstrip at Lonavala near Pune turn into a Mecca of speed. The acrid smell of burning rubber from the cars drifting, the high decibels from straight-piped exhausts and the roar from every possible internal combustion engine format on the planet dominated the valley, perhaps unlike enthusiasts in the country have ever witnessed or heard before.
The experience was pure sensory overload right from the word go thus. Add to the above, catchy music, people flaunting their favourite automotive apparel, the choicest of automotive accessories you can lay your eyes on and a lot more. And no matter what kind of automobiles you are into, they made their presence felt. Supercars? Lamborghinis, Porsches and Ferraris were screaming down a dedicated drag strip. Custom builds? A heavily souped-up Nissan GT-R R35 and a twin turbocharged Audi R8 were vying for top honours as India’s most powerful set of wheels. While the R8 puts out over 1,700PS reportedly, the GTR is claimed to send a monstrous 2,400PS to its wheels! JDM? Various Nissans, Toyotas and Lexuses (Lexii?) from different eras were sitting out in the sun, together. Drift machines? You could find ‘tastefully’ modified high machinery from BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, as also custom-made, RWD Marutis including an 800, a Swift and a Baleno sedan decimating their rear tyres while creating massive plumes of smoke at the drift pit. Generation Speed even had a dedicated arena for overlanding fanatics, and TURBOCHARGED’s in-house Isuzu D-Max V-Cross done up by Akshay, ready to go continent-hopping, was an attraction too.
In short, there was something for every niche of car enthusiast. Bikers were in for a treat as well, as Royal Enfield made its presence felt at the do in the form of its own drift arena where it gave enthusiasts an opportunity to try their hand at drifting the Guerrilla 450. Veteran journalist, racer and Editor of Car India and Bike India magazines, Aspi Bhathena, showcased his racebikes from yore too. One of the craziest two-wheeled machines at Generation Speed though was a jet-engined motorcycle made by the Jet Company, run by a bunch of youngsters from Chennai. Lithuanian stunt rider and Red Bull athlete Aras Gibieža was doing his thing too, wowing audiences with his immaculate control and freestyle tricks on his custom-made stunt motorcycle.
A fine selection of vintage cars was on display too for those who are into old metal, while a group of Dodge Chargers and Challengers straight out of Dubai (courtesy Carnet) rumbled and roared their supercharged American ‘Hemi’ V8s, much to the delight of all and sundry. For a nominal fee, one could hop in and rip around in small yet powerful dirt buggies and step out completely caked in dirt, but laughing gleefully! There were activities for everyone in fact. A bunch of Land Rover Defenders were at hand too, driven by professional instructors, ready to take you around a rather challenging off-road trail. Oh, thrillseekers could also hitch a ride on motorised paragliders for a birds-eye view of all the motoring mayhem!
One could also easily bump into the who’s who of the enthusiast car scene in India here. After all, if the cool cars that go viral on Instagram were in attendance, how far their owners could be, right? Sundowner performances from leading singers and music groups also added to the atmosphere. Automotive culture in India is clearly becoming more mainstream. This is an undeniable fact as one merely needs to look at the events centred around both two- and four-wheelers, which are now taking place with an alarming regularity. But if the first edition of Generation Speed was anything to go by, it’s easy to assume things are moving in the right direction. The dates and venue for the next edition are yet to be announced, but if you somehow happened to miss this year’s event, make sure you keep your ears open and your eyes peeled for information on the next one!
