Visitors to Razi Nayyer’s office in his factory in the Korangi Industrial Area cannot miss the red scale model of a 1936 Mercedes 540K. He bought it while on a tour of Europe in 1999. It has been on his desk ever since.

“It was Hitler’s favourite car as per several historical accounts,” says Razi as he glances at it with admiration. “I, also, absolutely love this car and I used to dream of owning it someday,” he adds.

But, of course, having a scale model of the car and owning a functioning full-size version of the same are two very different things. “Today, this classic costs around 25 to 30 million dollars,” Razi informs me. “Since I didn’t have that kind of money, I decided to make a replica, which I believed I could do.”

Building replicas of vintage and classic cars is not a new thing. People with the know-how and expertise have done it before. In Pakistan, there already is the example of Captain Mansoorul Islam and Khalid Aslam, two good friends who, bit by bit over weekends, built a 1950 MG TD replica with a fibreglass body.

Enamoured of an old classic, a vintage car enthusiast decided to build a replica… and gave it up because of a greater love

Razi manufactures fibreglass bodies for vehicles at his factory. So he knew he could do it too. His partner in crime here happened to be his little son, Hamdaan Nayyer, who was only four at the time Razi decided to build his own 1936 Mercedes 540K, in June of 2013.

“Hamdaan is as crazy about classic cars as I am,” says Razi with a smile. “He used to join me at the factory while I was working on the replica every other day. We made the moulds and the plugs together.

“He would be on my knee when I would be working on the dashboard inside the half-done car. And this is how, putting together the passion in our hearts and my own skills, this father-and-son team built a complete replica of the car of our dreams,” Razi beams.  

By June 2014, exactly one year after they had started work on it, the replica was complete. It was built on the chassis of a 1987 Chevrolet.

“It has the Chevrolet engine because this particular model of Mercedes fits well on a Chevrolet base,” he continues. It also helped that there were several old Chevrolets available in Pakistan.

“I personally have two or three in my posession,” Razi explains, adding that he ordered the components, the lights and meters for the dashboard from a company in the USA, which makes kits for vintage vehicles. The car seats and upholstery were managed locally, he adds.

“Bit by bit, I spent around 55 lakh rupees on it. At the time, a Toyota Corolla cost around 20 lakh rupees,” he says while trying to draw a comparison.

Razi painted his replica the same bright red of the scale model on his desk. “The colour suits this model. It also looks good in white or metallic silver,” he says. “When I used to bring my Mercedes out on the road, people would wave at me and give me a thumbs up. I made so many friends, including the US consul general, who stopped me in traffic on Sharae Faisal to ask me about my car,” he laughs.

Similarly, the deputy consul general of Qatar was a big fan of Razi’s vintage vehicle. “We kept in touch even after he completed his assignment here,” Razi remembers.

Razi’s old friend, the deputy consul general of Qatar, was posted in Jeddah at the time. He hosted Razi and his family there.

“Life became easier as my son’s health started improving. And sometime later, when my Qatari friend expressed his wish to buy my replica, I could not refuse him. Besides, at the time I needed the money, too.”

Razi says he asked only for the money he had spent on the project. “I had spent it gradually and here I was getting it all back in lump sum,” he shrugs.

“So I sold my beloved 1936 Mercedes 540K replica. This is how it was exported out of Pakistan,” he adds.

“I miss my car, a pure labour of love, especially when my son, who is 14 today, asks me how I could have sold it. But then, I also remember my Qatari friend’s words when he offered to buy it.”

The Qatari diplomat told him he had the expertise and the tools to make more such replicas.

“I actually do. Still having all its mouldings with me, I can build more replicas of the same. And maybe I will,” the smile returns to Razi’s face.

“Maybe, this time I can paint it white,” he muses.

The writer is a member of staff.
X: @HasanShazia

Published in Dawn, EOS, February 28th, 2024