By Rajat R. - Team Mangalorean - Mangalore

MANGALORE, November 29, 2009: It is a dream of all big boys around the world, those who own Harley Davidsons, those who drive Macks and Caterpillars to own a Hummer, but alas, only few can feel its power Humming under their palms when they turn on the engines.
 
Yes we are talking about the Hummer, that has become a legend in its own times. This beast of a vehicle has made crores of head turn around not just in live conditions but also in mere pictures on those auto magazines. One such vehicle has come to Mangalore, this black beauty perches in the portico of Dr. Prasad Panikkar at Kadri Kambla. This legend of its own times is the first Hummer to be brought home by a Mangalorean from the United Arab Emirates.
 
Hummer has three variants - Humvee which is supplied only to the US Army, Hummer 2 (H2) is the civilian variant which has two models and the last one is the high end model which is fully loaded and the last among this variant is the one with Schwarzenegger kit - if you have already guessed it, yes its Arnold Schwarzenegger the true action hero of the Hollywood. There is only one fully loaded Hummer in India which runs in the roads of Delhi and none of the Hummer enthusiasts are able to conjure up a Hummer with Schwarzenegger kit considering it costs a whopping Rs. 3.5 crores.

Speaking to Mangalorean.com Dr. Prasad said he was fascinated by the power of Hummer. "This Hummer has a monster of engine churning out 6600 BHP (Most powerful automobile in India -A Volvo B7R passenger bus has only 4500 BHP). This is delivered by a V-8 engine which only Range Rover has in its class," he said. V engines are fitted in only muscle cars. In India only Hindustan Contessa had a scaled down V -6 engine.

Dr. Prasad is in the business of airport development, Seaport development, infrastructure and many other businesses that take him places. He has a passion for large and fast cars. In his stable are the following cars -- Range Rover, Lexus -3 in number, BMW X5 SUV, Mercedes S class and Porsche HTS  and many other cars of whom which he has lost count.
 
"The Hummer I have now has a full satellite driven navigation and GPS. The special one star connection which can open up any hospital in the world by giving an alarm via satellite when this button is pressed, and the alarm will go to the nearest hospital to the vehicle," he explains to the group of journalists who visited him. "The Hummer can cruise at a speed of 120 miles per hour effortlessly and if need be it could attain a speed of 200 miles per hour, but unfortunately India does not have a highway that can take that speed. Considering the state of highways in Shirady Ghat and Mangalore Udupi stretch the Hummer was the right choice" says Dr. Prasad. The Hummer takes any rough road smoothly.
 
"It needs only so much effort as to drive a small car" says Dr. Prasad. The gear shift and steering is super smooth and the shocks are so responsive that no pot hole can slow it down.  It gives just 2 kilometers for one litre of petrol and costs Rs. 25 per kilometer. With a full tank of 120 litres capacity it can go as far as Chennarayapatna on the road to Bangalore from Mangalore.
 
The house of Dr. Prasad in Kadri Kambla has become a pilgrimage centre for the auto enthusiasts as people belonging to all age groups are making that trip to caste their eyes on the legend that is Hummer!