This Indian Politician Loves Collecting Diecast Car Models [Video]
Kerala’s Transport Minister KB Ganesh Kumar is known for his passion for automobiles. He owns a tasteful collection of cars and SUVs. The minister, who is also an actor in the Malayalam film industry, loves to drive. We have, over the years, seen him drive many vehicles- from motorcycles to buses.
More interestingly, the minister also has a huge collection of diecast models and toy cars. The collection isn’t, however, limited to cars alone. You can also find miniatures of helicopters, buses, trains, and backhoe loaders in it. Some of these are remote controlled as well. A part of this collection was recently showcased at the TRANSPO 2025 expo in Kerala, where it gathered huge attention and public interest.
A stall at the expo displayed these scale models and miniatures behind see-through glass walls. A video shared on Instagram gives us a quick look at the pavilion. We can see a board that reads ‘ Minister’s Toys Gallery’. The collection can be seen nearby. From popular sports car and premium car models, to SUVs, buses and two-wheelers, there’s a lot to spot. You can even see a couple of handmade miniatures of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses.
A second video shows a different view of his collection. In this clip, we can spot models like Lamborghini Urus, Audi Q7, Rolls Royce Ghost, Bugatti Veyron, Nissan GTR, GM Hummer truck, Volkswagen Microbus, Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, Hummer H1, Ford Bronco, Toyota FJ Cruiser, a few Mercedes Classic models, Chevrolet Camaro, and a Toyota Fortuner. You can also see a fire truck with a good amount of detailing. As is obvious, these vehicles feature different scales and are from different periods/eras.
Interestingly, only a small part of the actual collection is on display at the expo. The Minister reportedly owns over a thousand miniature models. He even has a mini RC helicopter that runs on Methanol. One can fly it using a remote control and back in its day, the model used to cost Rs 1.5 lakh. The minister reportedly had two of these, the second crashed while flying.
Another video shared by Kairali on YouTube gives an in-depth look at the collection. We get to see a miniature toy train in his ‘playroom’, with long rails set on the floor. It runs on battery power.
Ganesh Kumar also has a hand-made miniature of a Blue Qualis in his collection. There is a story behind this. He has owned a Toyota Qualis for years, which he has openly admitted to be his personal favourite. A young student from Vettikavala, handcrafted it and presented to the minister as a gesture of love.
In a separate incident, a resident of Kochi gifted him a miniature of the iconic Land Cruiser 18 series. The person runs a shop that exclusively sells diecast scale models. He focusses on the mid-range segment, and has models with prices in the range of Rs 100- Rs 7600 on sale.
As confirmed by another video, Kerala’s transport minister also owns a bunch of crawlers and RC buggies (likely hobby grade). If you didn’t know it yet, scale models and RCs can be very expensive. The scale and amount of detailing often define the pricing.
Yes, there are a bunch of big brands, that make ‘true-to-the-OG’ scale models. Licensed models does the best justice to the originals and often command a premium over non-licensed ones. It is thus difficult to estimate the actual worth of Ganesh Kumar’s miniature garage.
Talking of his amusing (and expensive) RC and scale model collection, KB Ganesh Kumar told Kerala Kaumudi: “Toy cars have long been a fascination of mine. Once the red tractor given to me by my mother was stolen. I was very sad for a long time. I got happy again when a friend from Germany gave me a similar one. I have a collection of pens and I am fond of elephants as well. If I get a toy vehicle, I won't be able to sleep without driving it." A true petrolhead indeed!