KOZHIKODE: Ordinary folks adorn their walls with photographs of loved ones and precious memories, but avid car enthusiast Ashique Thahir has taken the love for his beloved Porsche 911 Carrera to "new heights" by mounting the entire car, which is in excellent running condition, on his office wall.
Visitors walking into the plush corporate office of his firm Team Thai in Kozhikode would witness the electrifying spectacle of a two-tonne luxury car - complete with engine and loaded with accessories - on the wall.
Wayanad native Ashique Thahir, the joint managing director of Team Thai which is into FMCG, manufacturing and logistics, is a big-time car geek who owns a fleet of sports cars, including Porsche, Lamborghini and Ferrari.
However, the Porsche 911 Carrera, which he had bought in 2010 and has covered 1 lakh km, is special for Ashique as it is his first sports car. Also, it is arguably the only sports car, and a Porsche sports car for that matter, to have clocked over 1 lakh km in the country.
‘We wanted to try something unique’
The car was used for my daily rides and even after I brought a new Porsche GT3, the 911 Carrera continued to hold a special place. It was then that Porsche came up with the sale of a limited-edition silhouette of Porsche GT2 RS and only 30 pieces were available in the world for wall installation. So, I thought why go for one in 30 when we can try something truly unique by installing the entire car on the wall as a memorable souvenir," Thahir told TOI over phone from Scotland where he is currently shooting his new adventure travel series which would also have professional racing driver Freddie Hunt, son of legendary 1976 F1 champion James Hunt.
However, the challenges to mount the Porsche 911 on the wall were enormous. However, Thahir was unrelenting and he summoned architects and engineers and a team was put together for the task. Porsche dealer in Kochi helped with their technical know-how.
As the brick wall would not hold the car, special metal reinforcements were provided from outside the wall to make it bear weight of up to 25 tonnes. Also, a cage was put up to ensure safety and the strongest mounts were fitted to finally elevate the 911 Carrera to the lofty heights its owner had in mind in five months’ time.
“I have driven the car to my heart’s content. Now I can see it every day and recall the memorable days I had with it. I view it as an art, much more than just a car on the wall,” said Thahir.
Thahir, who is a travel enthusiast, had also teamed up with his long-time friend Deepak Narendran, who is a hotelier in the UK, to produce and present a car travel series titled ‘Car and Country’ that is available on Amazon Prime UK.
