Dhruv founded autoX in 2006 with little clue of what lay ahead. Driven by a passion for anything on four wheels and a stubborn will to succeed, he moulded a team as pig-headed as him to create a medium that could adequately communicate the magnificence of the automobile to an unsuspecting audience. Today, autoX stands for independence, candidness, and objectivity – but, most of all, for heart & soul.
The Managing Editor of autoX magazine, Ishan has great technical and practical knowledge, and his life-long love for cars has seen him devote some of the best years of his youth to perhaps wasteful, yet satisfying, pursuit of his obsession with automobiles. He has worked in the automotive media space for over 14 years and has been a part of the autoX team for over 11 years. Other than cars of most kinds, Ishan has almost obsessive interests in things he really likes - be it History, Watches, Music, Audio Systems, and, of course, Single Malts.
Yogendra Pratap is the Editor of Auto Today India and is one of the most revered and respected automotive journalists in the country. Yogendra is also on the jury for the World Car of the Year and the World Engine of the Year awards. He is completely a car man and can dissect any car in his mind. He also possesses vast knowledge on everything automotive, be it new technology or an old engine, he can give you intricate details of both with ease. He loves being on the road and hates taking breaks while crisscrossing the country at a moment's notice.
New kid on the block, Dipayan started out with evo India magazine and did a brief stint at Express Drives before finally hanging up the old riding boots at Auto Today magazine. Cars or bikes? Is the question he’s dedicated his life to answering. As of now though he’s still as confused as he usually is. In his off-time, you’ll find him rambling on about rally cars, tinkering with motorcycles, or playing with puppies of which the latter usually proves to be most fruitful.
As the editor, Aspi has been ably leading the editorial teams of both BIKE India as well as CAR India since 2007. Under his leadership the magazines have gone from strength to strength serving the two magazines’ readers with outstanding value through innovative content. Prior to assuming his current leadership role, Aspi had been the backbone of both the magazines as their Road Test Editor, in charge of conducting all vehicle tests that empowered readers with detailed and credible data that they could rely on. Aspi’s career in journalism began with Overdrive magazine as Road Test Editor where he established the basic tenets of vehicle testing – both for two as well as four wheelers. Before becoming a journalist, his career as a motorcycle racer had been both long and rewarding. Between 1977 and 2004, when he finally hung up his racing boots and leathers, Aspi tasted victory several times both in India and abroad. He is also the only Indian to have ever won a Bronze replica medal at the legendary Isle of Man TT, which he won in 1987. With his immense technical knowledge gleaned from a long racing career during which he built the motorcycles he raced on followed by his role as first Road Test Editor and then Editor, Aspi plays an invaluable role as a jury member of the prestigious World Engine of the Year, Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) and Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) panel.
Joshua is an engineer on the academic side but chose to follow his passion for two wheels and racing to get a first-hand experience of what engineering is capable of creating. He began his journalism journey with Bike India more than six years ago and proved to be hard-wired for this role. He has come some way forward and his many incisive questions leave no room for doubt. He proves to be a valuable evaluator and addition to the team.
Sirish started writing on cars, bikes and motorsport at Overdrive magazine straight out of engineering college in 2000. He took over as editor seven years later, the youngest automotive publication editor in India, and was responsible for the growth of the brand, most notably by conceptualizing and hosting the award winning Overdrive show on CNBC-TV18.
After 12 years he made a brief detour into the corporate world as head of press at Porsche India, but quickly returned to his calling, founding evo India magazine and ThrillOfDriving.com in 2013.
Aatish started his career at evo India and has grown through the ranks to Assistant Editor. He joined in 2015 and has always worked here save for a year-long stint at BBC TopGear India in 2018. Telling stories is his passion and he has travelled to the far corners of the country looking for great tales with cars and motorcycles at the heart of them all. Quite contrary to popular opinion, he believes that print is not dead and is committed to ensuring it doesn't just survive, but thrives.
Pablo Chaterji is a trained film maker who found himself in journalism almost by accident, in 2003, when he quit the world of advertising films. Since then, it has allowed him to drive cars, ride motorcycles, drink fine wine, partake of exotic cuisine, take photographs and travel the world for a living, something that causes friends and blood relatives alike to swear at him. His 17 years of experience in the field includes stints in both automotive as well as lifestyle journalism; he spent five years as Managing Editor at Man's World magazine.
There is nothing Kartik likes more than telling stories. And there are few stories better than that of the automobile. That is what this particular member of ICOTY lives by. Or at least tries to. Kartik has been trying to capture the world as seen from behind the wheel for the better part of a decade now, and continues to be amazed at the stories that come as standard equipment with all cars, old and new. He also likes examining the relationships between men (women, too) and machines, a bond that seems destined to be an immortal one. But mostly, he likes to keep it simple by keeping his mouth shut and listening to motors sing their stories. At their redlines, of course.
Rohit started his career as a motoring journalist in 2008 with Car India & Bike India. Soon after he co-founded Motoroids. In 2011, hemoved on to take up a more challenging and exciting role of being a TV presenter and content head for the Essel Group's motoring show and automotive vertical respectively. Now he is Assistant Editor, Overdrive Digital, and a reviewer and a presenter for Overdrive's print and TV/ Video operations.
Kranti has been reviewing cars and motorcycles for more than two decades now. The automotive journey started with the Auto Show on Zee News called 'Wheelocity' and then NDTV, where he started the TV show 'Raftaar'. This show continued for over fifteen years, after which he started the 'Times Drive' vertical at Times Network. While the usual cycle of journalism has gone from print to TV to digital, Kranti has taken the not-so-usual route; after doing TV and digital for 24 years, he joined Network 18 as Editor, OVERDRIVE magazine.
Vikrant has been a motoring journalist for a decade and a half. And in that time he has worked with some of India's top automobile magazines reviewing almost every new car and bike that has been introduced in the Indian market. Currently, he is the Editor of CarWale, BikeWale and CarTrade.
Arpit Mahendra is the Editor of TOI Auto and has been an automotive journalist for over 13 years. His earlier assignments include Express Drives, Auto Tech Review and S&P Global.
With over a decade and a half of experience in automotive journalism, Ameya brings along a wealth of expertise in evaluating and reviewing cars. An automobile engineer by qualification, Ameya began his journey into the world of cars by getting his hands dirty, quite literally, as a mechanic. This, combined with his stints as a road tester in various mainline automotive media houses over the years, has helped him develop a deeper understanding of and connection with the vehicles he drives. Ameya now heads content for three of India's most popular automotive portals - ZigWheels, CarDekho and BikeDekho.
Kushan Mitra is an automotive journalist with over two decades of expertise writing about the industry and reviewing four wheelers. He presently writes on cars for India’s most trusted news and opinion website, The Print.
Abhay Verma has been an automotive journalist since 2007 and has evaluated pretty much every two-wheeler launched in the country in the past decade and half. The experience has helped him sharpen his evaluative skills, pen down exhaustive reviews and also establish himself as a senior motorcycling journalist. And besides the reviews, he is also known for his wheelie skills! He returns this year to the IMOTY jury this year, having founded TURBOCHARGED at the start of 2021, where he is Editor and Publisher.
Cyrus, Editor In Chief at PowerDrift is a proper petrolhead that comes from a petrolhead family. He collects cars - real and of scale and is also the founder of two rather prominent classic car clubs. With 15 years of experience testing, writing and talking about cars, he joins the jury in 2023. We truly wonder if it is petrol and not blood that flows through this one’s veins.
Bob Rupani belongs to the pioneering lot of Indian automotive journalists starting with the Indian Auto Journal in 1986. He is one of India’s most senior and respected auto journalists and over the years he has been the executive editor of magazines such as Car & Bike International, Auto Motor & Sport (India), BBC Top Gear (India) and Auto India. He is now consulting editor of Overdrive.
Bob is known for his car evaluation skills and eye for detail. He often discovers what many others overlook and thanks to his insightful road testing abilities, his views are valued by a large number of people, both in and out of the automotive industry. He has also successfully participated in several races and rallies and is a highly skilled off-road driver. Bob is very fond of historical cars and has driven in several international classic car rallies too. In 1988, he went to see the Safari Rally in Kenya an is possibly the first Indian journalist to have written a first hand report on a world championship motor sport event. He is a Founder Member of the ICOTY (Indian Car of the Year) award.
He was Chairman of the Jury in 2009, 2013 and also elected for the period 2015-2018. The ICOTY constitution and its rules and regulations have largely been drafted by Bob Rupani. The constitution was introduced in 2008 and has been followed ever since.
Ashish Masih started his career at Haymarket Publishing with Autocar India magazine in 2005 and was part of the launch team of Autocar’s sister magazine What Car India in 2006, which he left as an assistant editor at the end of 2011. After that, he spent time at BBC Topgear India as assistant editor and Auto Bild India as an associate editor before moving into the online space with Autoportal in 2014, where he quickly became a respected name with his witty and humorous video reviews on YouTube. In late 2019, he briefly parted with Autoportal and launched his own channel with his name. He is currently editor, Times Drive(part of the Times Network)
