This Premier Padmini comes painted in vibrant colors inside and out, gets some really nice touches on the interiors and when you open the engine bay, it will be the most colorful one you have ever seen.
The Premier Padmini is an icon in the Indian automotive scene that was right up there with the Hindustan Ambassador. We have brought you stories on several modified Hindustan Ambassadors over the past few weeks but this time, we have a very fine example of a Premier Padmini. But first, a little bit of history lesson about the Padmini. The Premier Padmini was produced in India bewteen 1964 and 2000. It was initially sold in India as the Fiat 1100 Delight but after a decade, its name was changed to Premier Padmini after a certain Rajput Princess from India.
This classic four-door sedan was originally based on the Fiat 1200 GranLuce Berlina and it rivaled the Hindustan Ambassador and the Standard Herald (google this car if you do not remember). The Padmini rose to great popularity in the 1970s and 1980s and was owned by a lot of celebrities of the time as well. However, the Premier brand soon ran out of its fortunes and the Padmini had to see its inevitable demise. Premier even tried to revive the brand by a sub-compact SUV called the Rio in 2009 but that failed too. The Rio was in fact India’s first sub-compact SUV. The Padmini still lives on, on the streets of Mumbai and is fondly referred to as the ‘kali-pili’.
The car is still hugely adored by enthusiasts, particularly for its design. A classic car does not get more Italian than this. And then we found this tastefully modified example of the Padmini on the internet. This Padmini is from 1991 and is owned by Mr Sandeep Shingade. It has been customized by RASN Designs, a Pune-based workshop that deals in motorcycle as well as car modifications. The best part about this modification job is its simplicity and the quirkiness it brings to the car. Very tasteful indeed.
There are no exterior body modifications on the car. It simply comes painted in a dual-tone color scheme where the front of the car has been painted in white while the rear is orange with a blue stripe running in between. There are several decals all around the car and the look seems to have been inspired from rally cars. This Padmini also gets bespoke steel wheels with white rims which look really cool. Also notice the chrome shoulder line that starts from the headlight and disappears in the middle of the front row. That’s indeed a very unique design touch.
Also Read : You Surely Couldn’t Tell This Resto-Modded Car is a Premier 118 NE Underneath!
The rest of the car in fact looks pretty standard to the original car. The face has been kept simple with a chrome bumper and stock headlamps as turn indicators. The story at the rear is also similar. It is when you step inside that you truly admire the quirks of the car. And that starts with a SLEM wooden steering wheel. The exterior paint scheme has been carried on to the interiors and it looks very cool. The entire center console on this Padmini has been custom built. The dials and the switches are unique to this car and there’s even a 2-din infotainment system with two USBs for charging.
Also Read : Modified Premier Padmini Look’s Like Mr. Bean’s Car in Red!
For an added touch of premiumness, the seats on this Padmini comes draped in white and blue upholstery with a diamond shaped stitching pattern and the same treatment has also been meted out to the doors. The ceiling features perforated rexine and it gets a pull-type engine starter. When you open the hood, you realize how much attention to detail has been paid to this car. The engine has a same color scheme as the rest of the car and it also receives some modifications which include a new carburettor (sourced from an old Esteem), custom exhaust headers and dual exhaust tips. This has to be one of the best restoration jobs we have seen on the Padmini in a recent while.
