A Ferrari on Indian roads is as rare a sight as an Amby in Maranello. We reveal everything there is to know about the scarlet cars in India and what it’s like to drive one.

“Driving a Ferrari in India feels AS IF you are caught somewhere between the real and an imaginary world”

God’s green earth isn’t exactly scattered with Ferraris. Highly exclusive, extra-ordinarily com-plex machines even by lofty first world standards, their limited production and stratospheric costs make every single Ferrari sold extra special.

Think about driving and/or owning a Ferrari in India and the complexities multiply rapidly.

For starters, there’s the Indian customs and the formidable homologation regulations.

Apply logic to your passion and things get even worse. India’s pathetic pothole and crater-infested roads are exactly what low-slung sports cars don’t need, to say nothing of the choking traffic.

Feed your Ferrari our low octane swill and it will retch and buck as violently as a vintage wine-consuming member of the aristocracy gulping country brew. And what happens if something goes wrong? You pray, import a mechanic, or try and find the only qualified Ferrari technician in India. Easy — that’s one is a billion! So it’s no surprise then that the members of Club Ferrari India can be counted on your fingers, almost.

Unlike Rolls-Royce and Bentley, the Ferrari boom never happened. While patronage of the aforementioned marques was common during the ‘Raj’, with royalty and the gentry making liberal use of their substantial coffers, Ferraris came into India only after 1947.

While little is known about the import of the red cars from Maranello during the early years, vintage and classic car expert Manvendra Singh tells us that the first documented Ferraris in India belonged to a very high ranking Italian diplomat stationed in Delhi. Obviously an enthusiast as well as extremely wealthy, Dr Ross imported a number of sports car exotica, Ferraris and Alfa Romeos included.

The first of the Ferraris was the extremely alluring Ferrari 365 GTC, among the first true 2+2 Ferraris designed for the sporting gentleman. Not to be confused with the famous wedge-shaped Daytona or a couple of others also designated 365, the big coupe actually shared much of the famous supercar’s running gear. A genuine 150mph (240kph) rocket sled, the large displacement 12-cylinder engine pumped out an amazing 320bhp.

In comparison, most cars sold in India at the time struggled to make 35! With power steering and self-levelling rear dampers, the GTC was the equivalent of a four-seater McLaren F1 today. And Dr Ross really drove the car too — from Delhi to Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh for a bison hunt no less!