Vintage beauties spread 'Save the Girl Child' message

Extravaganza unlimited

The fifth edition of the Concourse Auto Show and 21 Gun Salute International Vintage Car Rally associated with Heritage Motoring Club of India (HMCI) was a glorious event with several international vintage car clubs participating in India’s most prestigious vintage car extravaganza.

The vintage drive witnessed rare cars dating from pre-war era of 1880s to the glorious time of 1960s, hailing from the United States, United Kingdom, and other exotic countries of the world.

Most of them were the unfathomed saloons and convertibles from the imperial houses of Rolls Royce, Stutz, Buick, Ford, Chevrolet, Austin Martin and Bentley. One of the priceless automobile on display was the first car invented by Karl Friedrich Benz, pioneering founder of the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz.

The rally was flagged of from historic Red Fort by Maharaja Chhatrapati Shahu II Bhonsle, the 13th Maharaja of Kolhapur since 1983. The rally passed historic monuments and areas like Rajghat, Teen Murti Marg, National Art Gallery and culminated at Leisure Valley Park, Gurgaon. The entire caravan of vintage cars, vintage bikes and scooters made for an eye-popping spectacle.

Madan Mohan, managing director, 21 Gun Salute and the brain behind this vintage vehicle extravaganza told Metrolife, “The fifth edition of 21 Gun Salute International Vintage Car Rally has definitely surpassed all the vintage events in the country, in terms of the presence of vintage cars from all key states of India, and the rarest of the rare vintage jewels one can find here.”

“Besides showcasing the rich automotive heritage to the world, the rally took up a social cause too. Previous editions have supported the welfare of special and visually challenged children. This year the theme was ‘Save the Girl Child’. A percentage of the proceedings from this event will be given as a charity for the welfare and education of the girl child Madan Mohan said.

Around 201 vintage beauties, carefully selected from a pool of over 3,500 vintage cars across India, converged early morning at the Red Fort Ground. Some of those which made to the largest vintage rally in the country were Motor Wagon, the first Benz car invented by Karl Friedrich Benz, 1929 Rolls Royce Tourer, 1939 Buick Special Series, 1947 Cadillac Convertible, 1923 Rover 8, Ford 1921, 1913 Stoewer, 1928 Morris, Lincoln, Bentley Mark 6 1948, 1936 Daimler Sports Coupe, 1952 Daimler DB 18 DHC, 1946 Lincoln Continental, 1935 Avon DHC, 1929 and 1930 Packard 733 and many others.

“The vision of the event is to place India at the global tourism map as the most attractive country when it comes to vintage cars and heritage motoring history. It aims at acquainting the youth to the rich heritage and culture of cars in India” Madan Mohan added.

Douglas Fox, secretary of the Malaysia Singapore Vintage Car Register, said, “This edition will be probably the first Indian vintage show, where vintage cars have arrived across boundaries of Indian subcontinent. The Malaysia Singapore Vintage Car Register is one of such overseas vintage clubs.”