Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu a.k.a. G D Naidu was one of the icons of Coimbatore. He was a well-known scientist, inventor educationalist and philanthropist, and he was nick named ‘the Edison of India’. He takes the credit of playing a major role in various developments in the city and the nation, including industries and infrastructure.

G D Naidu also had a standing penchant for automobiles and racing. Way back in 1935 he was one of the very few people to own a Rolls Royce. He was an avid car collector. Geedee Vintage Car Museum showcases the personal collection of its founder G D Naidu.

“Geedee Car Museum houses every significant development in car industry, from a replica of the first automobile in the world (1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen), to recent racing cars. There are over 70 models on display, of which around 30 are from G D Charitable Trust’s collection.” K Bhuveneswar, Manager, says.

Sharing space with his car collection are the unique cars that have been sourced from across the world. Some of the historically significant cars in the Gedee Car Museum include Rolls Royce 20 owned by the Mysore Maharaja, McDowell 1000 designed by legendary Indian racer from Coimbatore, S Karivardhan, and 1908 Ford T (the first mass produced car), among others, many of which were donated to the museum by auto aficionados from different cities across India. There are some contributions from the United States and Germany as well.

Also at the Geedee Car Museum are on display the world’s few unique cars like Ford T which is the world’s first mass produced car, Volkswagen Beetle which is believed to be the people’s car, Mini 1959 which is the world’s smallest car and Citroen 2 CV which is also known as the umbrella on wheels.

Museum visiting hours are from 9 am to 5 pm from Tuesday to Saturday and between 10 am to 6 pm on Sunday. Entry fee to the museum is Rs. 50. Photography is allowed in the museum. For information contact 0422 2243462