A well-known collection of vintage cars, the oldest dating back to 1906, will be opened for public exhibition here for the first time Friday.

Pranlal Bhogilal, a well-known name among lovers of vintage automobiles, will open the doors of his bungalow on the outskirts of the city for two days from Friday to let all enthusiasts have a look.

Called "Auto World", the exhibition will feature one-third of his total collection of 125 cars.

Bhogilal, an industrialist who divides his time between this city and Mumbai, is said to be one of India's biggest classic car collectors.

His prized collection includes Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Daimlers, Langondas, Cadillacs and Maybachs. The oldest is a made-in-France 1906 Minerva, while the newest was procured in 1964.

While dignitaries and the media have often had an opportunity to take a peek at the rare beauties, the collection will be opened for the first time to the public.

"The idea was to introduce the hobby to the new generation," Bhogilal said.

"A visit to the collection can be a lesson in engineering," said Bhogilal, the founder-president of the Mumbai-based Vintage and Classic Car Club of India (VCCCI).

The collection can be a lesson in history too, as many of the cars were purchased from former kings following India's independence.

"The collection dates back to an era when a car was not a mere means of transportation but a symbol of power and style," Bhogilal said.

"In those days, cars were made to order. The royalty used to order specific designs to suit various occasions or needs," he added.

One of the cars has a partition so that royal family women could have some privacy, while another features a full-fledged bar inside.

A car once used by Mahatma Gandhi and later during the shooting of Richard Attenborough's film "Gandhi" will also be on display.

"The collection is a family heritage," Bhogilal said. "It began in the pre-independence years when the then governor of Bombay asked my family to part with a rare car that was not in production at that time. But we refused and hid it.

"After independence, the car became talk of the town for its anecdotal value. Later, those with rare models started approaching us with offers to sell and we happily started building the collection," he added.

Visitors at the exhibition will have to pay a token entry fee, income from which will go toward helping cancer patients.