BHPian rrsteer recently shared this with other enthusiasts: We were never the “Seth” type, just a regular upper-middle-class family-and yet, we owned a Contessa. That car went everywhere with us. In the summer of 1999, we even planned a road trip to Leh in it. Of all places! Sadly, we had to turn back at Jispa thanks to the terrible roads. Still, it was a trip to remember-here’s a picture of the car from that trip. Later my dad swapped out the petrol engine for a Toyota diesel. He wasn’t just an engineer by profession, but a hands-on, top-class one-working side by side with the mechanics to make it happen. The reason was obvious: diesel was dirt cheap back then. The new engine was louder, but it had real grunt and the car was still surprisingly fun to drive. The Contessa’s story didn’t end so well. A couple of years later, when my brother graduated and got his first job, Dad gifted it to him. Unfortunately, he was (and is) the exact opposite of a car enthusiast. He drove it carelessly, ran it into the ground, and eventually sold it off to his milkman-for peanuts. Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
