A family from Gujarat undertook a road trip of a lifetime when they travelled from India to the UK in their English-made vintage car that was manufactured in 1950. They named their trusted red-coloured MG YT car Lal Pari (Red Angel). Their multi-continent road trip spanned 76 days and over 13,500 kilometres. The Thakore family crossed 16 countries till they made a stop in London. Daman Thakore, his 75-year-old father Deval Thakore, and his 21-year-old daughter Devanshi Thakore took part in the full journey, which meant that all three generations of the family took part in the road trip.
The family left Ahmedabad on 12 August 2023. On 15 August they undertook the sea route from Mumbai to Dubai. They reached Dubai on 28 August. From Dubai, the car was shipped to Iran. From Iran, they travelled across countries like Azerbaijan, Albania, Germany, and France before arriving in the UK on 26 October. Even though their trip concluded last year, it is getting attention now that they have started sharing their journey on social media. A video that shares the snippets from this journey is raking in likes on Instagram.
Commenting on the above-mentioned post, an Instagram user wrote, “In 1976 I drove with my parents from London to Sri Lanka, more people must enjoy such once-in-a-lifetime exciting overland trips.” Another person wrote, “There was a “Lawrence of Arabia”, I know today ” Thakore of Ahmedabad”.”
The Thakore family planned for two years in restoration, testing and finalising the itinerary before embarking on the journey. They first had to fully restore the vintage car to its best condition for which they ordered various spare parts of the car from all over the world. At one point, Daman Thakore travelled to the UK to specially procure one car part.
They tested the car in different situations. Daman Thakore told Khaleej Times, “We drove it through extreme temperatures of 45 degrees plus. We drove through three feet of water. We took it up a mountain just to make sure that we can do this journey.”
They were supported by a camper van during their travels to help them with any contingencies. This camper van, named Lalpari ki Saheli (the friend of Lalpari), was fitted with all modern amenities supported by power from solar panels. According to Daman Thakore, the idea for this epic ride came a few years ago. He said, “We thought it wouldn’t be wonderful to drive the car from India all the way to London where it was manufactured.”
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