The 2016 Jaguar XJ Delivers Lunch in Mumbai

While Jaguar is a British automaker by birth, the machinations of the automotive industry led to Mumbai-based Tata Motors acquiring the company and forging an India/UK partnership in the luxury and performance car markets.

So, to demonstrate how Jaguar flourishes in Tata’s backyard, Jaguar decided to unleash one of their latest luxury car builds — the 2016 Jaguar XJ – onto the streets of India’s most populated city in something that can only happen in Mumbai – a Dabbawala race.

The Dabbawala system flourishes in Mumbai as a meal distribution service unlike anything else in the world. The story goes that the working men of Mumbai prefer home cooking, and the stay at home women in this very structured and traditional society cook lunch for their husbands in their own kitchens.

Also: 2016 Jaguar XJ Rules the Roads of Bustling Mumbai

In the late morning, individual white clad deliveryman pick up home-cooked meals in specially built metal tins from residences across the city. Via bicycles and trains, the Dabbawalas take those lunches to offices, warehouses, construction sites or storefronts across Mumbai where the city’s working stiffs wait for their food. Once lunch time is in the books and the man of the house finishes his lady’s hand prepared meal, the Dabbawala returns the metal tin to the kitchen where it originated. And, they’ll do it all again the next and every work day.

The system is complex, yet incredibly efficient. It’s been in effect since the late 19th century and shows no signs of giving way to modern technological updates. Still, Jaguar decided to take on the legendary lunch system head on, selecting two local Dabbawalas for a contest. They would each pick up a lunch from the same downtown Mumbai kitchen and set out for the same destination. One would use the traditional delivery methods of bicycle and train. The other would be chauffeured with us in the 2016 Jaguar XJ.

After setting out at the same time, it became clear the XJ would keep its charge in comfort — while the grinding Mumbai midday traffic made the car work for every block and intersection. Even with cars squeezed together tighter than a kid’s Legos atop pavement that hadn’t been patched since Gandhi was a lad, we floated in climate controlled comfort — guided by a flawless GPS.

With the rival Dabbawala moving through the gridlock on a bike and around it on a train, our chances of winning were slim. But, rather than dwell on that bleak reality, our Dabbawala reveled in the back seat, playing with the infotainment system and enjoying the massage feature.

But, though all seemed lost, the XJ’s exceptional poise and power — blended with our outstanding driving skills and “never say die” attitude — pushed us through the traffic and into the front gate of Famous Studios, Ltd., Mumbai. (Actually, we almost literally ran into the front gate as we took the turn onto the studio grounds a little hot. Blame the red mist of competition.)

To our amazement, we scrambled from the idling XJ to discover we won. It was a rousing victory as stirring as taking the 24 Hours of LeMans – a testimony to an $80,000 luxury car and the brave men driving it.

It’s also a testament to the inefficiency of the Mumbai railway system because a train broke down and allowed us to sneak across the finish line ahead of the other Dabbawala who enjoyed a massive lead before gremlins brought him to heel.

They were shooting a music video for a fitness center’s commercial inside Famous Studios, and our Dabbawala arrived just in time for all to take five and enjoy a hot lunch. We independent media didn’t get to eat until a couple hours of interviews and pick up shots wrapped, but we didn’t mind. Victory – even when assisted by a locomotive’s broken diesel engine — tasted sweet enough.

As you’ll see in the embedded video, the race was all legitimate and monitored by two independent media. (That’s me. I’m independent media, apparently). 

If you’d like a photo essay’s take on the big event, enjoy the gallery below.

Photos by John Scott Lewinski and Anthony Cullen / Jaguar.