Import of cars older than 50 years now legal in India

This is BIG NEWS for classic and vintage car enthusiasts – you can now import any classic or vintage car, older than 50 years, legally in India. This means that any car pre-1975 can be imported to India legally. The import policy was amended on February 7 and the  policy allows the free import (that is, without the need for an import licence) of cars manufactured and registered up to 1975 during this import year. These imports are not exempted from duties, and the import policy is on a rolling year basis – which means that every year, one can import a car that is 50 years and older from that said year.

We are also taking a look at some of the cars that enthusiasts may want to potentially import in India, and here are some of the models that we would shortlist.

Ford Mustang

The Ford Mustang is one of the icons of the American muscle car world, and while we did get one of the later-gen Mustangs on sale in India for a brief period, it simply cannot match the charm of the classic models. Introduced in 1964, the Mustang nameplate is over 60 years old and it continues to be a muscle car that will appeal to an enthusiast. What you see here is a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 with its fastback body style, and there are multiple iterations of the muscle car available to suit each taste.

Jaguar E-Type

Arguably the most beautiful car in the world, the Jaguar E-Type was presented to the world in 1961 and even today, the car’s bodywork continues to turn heads. It was no slouch either, with the E-Type’s straight-six engine powering Jaguar to five Le Mans victories in the 1950s and in by 1961, the engine in its 3.8-litre form produced 265bhp with a top speed of 241kmph – making it the fastest production car in the world at the time. The E‑type remained in production for 14 years, selling more than 70,000 units, making it Europe's first mass‑produced sports car.

Mercedes-Benz SL

The Mercedes-Benz SL nameplate has been globally present since 1952 and is still in production more than 70 years later. The 300 SL started its journey in motorsport and was introduced in production in 1954 as the ‘Gullwing’ sports car. Alongside the Gullwing, Mercedes-Benz also presented the 190 SL open-top sports car. Following this in 1957, the 300 SL roadster was introduced, and both these models were replaced by the 230 SL – also nicknamed the Pagoda – in 1963. The latter is the car that you see here, and the design of these older SLs has aged beautifully over the years.

Porsche 911

In 1963, the Porsche 911 was first launched at the Frankfurt International Motor Show, while the production of the car began a year later. This was the second production model made by the company after the Porsche 356 and even after eight generations, it is widely regarded as one of the best driver’s cars of all time. If you’re looking for a 911 that is over 50 years old, your search will be narrowed down to the first generation of the sports car (produced from 1964 to 1973) or the early examples of the 911 G series (the second-gen 911 produced from 1974 to 1989).

While importing any of these cars to India is now legal, they are not exempt from the customs duties so you can expect them to pinch your pocket by a fair bit. But that said, these older cars do come with a character that is hard to match with newer offerings. Of course you might miss out on the modern tech and entrapments that have spoiled us, but these classic and vintage cars are likely to provide you with an unfiltered driving experience – and that is something you should definitely look forward to.