By IANS
Gurgaon : A slice of India’s flamboyant colonial past came alive Sunday morning when 30 vintage cars and seven “classic” two-wheelers rolled out from here for a 50 km heritage ride to promote “vintage and classic motoring among the masses”.
The rally began from the Claremont Hotel and Convention Centre on the Gurgaon-Mehrauli Road and wound up at the Pataudi Palace on the Delhi-Bhopal road in Haryana.
The palace, built in 1935 by Nawab Ibrahim Ali Khan, is home to former Indian cricket skipper Mansoor Ali Khan ‘Tiger’ Pataudi and his actress wife Sharmila Tagore. Pakistan High commissioner to India Shahid Malik and Kerala Governor R.L. Bhatia jointly flagged off the rally, organized by the Heritage Motoring Club of India (HMCI).
The fleet included some classic icons like a Mercedes 170 V Sports Roadster, a seven-seater Buick 35 that once belonged to the erstwhile of Ayodhya and a Sunbeam Alpine convertible sports car that graced the motorcade of the former ruler of Barwani in Madhya Pradesh.
Also on view were a 1944 metallic blue Jaguar XK 120 sports car, a 1964 Mustang Spitfire, a 1969 Volkswagon Beetle and a rare black Chrysler New Yorker, once owned by the Birla family.
“The Mercedes Roadster is the only one in the country now. It was earlier owned by (Bollywood actress) Mumtaz,” said lawyer Diljeet Titus, the present owner.
Most of the cars were early birds to have rolled off the assembly lines.
“My grandfather imported the Jaguar in 1952. It was the first Jaguar XK 120 to be shipped out of England. It was offloaded at Bombay (as Mumbai was then called) and arrived by train and bullock cart at my family home in Delhi,” said owner Fateh Singh.
The vehicle, according to industrialist-cum-classic automobile expert Manujendra Shah, took London by storm when it was unveiled in the 1950s. “It was a high-performance super sports car,” Shah added.
Some early battle-hardened Austin models like a 1922 Austin 7, a 1928 Ford, a Ford GI jeep dating back to World War 1, several Chevrolets and an Impala added an eclectic and historic touch to the rally.
Explaining the significance of the event, HMCI president KTS Tulsi, a noted lawyer, said: “We organize six to seven events on an average every year. The club was formed in 2001 to promote awareness about vintage and classic automobiles among the masses and encourages participation in rallies.
“Our members share a common fascination for the age, the individuality and the functional elegance of vehicles from a by-gone era,” Tulsi added of the club that counts on its rolls more than 1,100 vintage and classic automobiles
The HMCI also promotes several other causes.
“In 2006, we organised the Vintage and Classic Drive to Sariska where we donated liberally to save the tiger. In January this year, we organised a drive to the JP Greens (in Noida) to raise funds for the (2006) Mumbai train blast victims.
“In October, we hosted a Classic Safari from Delhi to Ranthambore on the ‘Save the Tiger’ theme and donated the proceeds to the Forest Rangers Association,” a club official said.