Classic cars take over Mumbai

Imagine a warm morning, and you are surrounded by the beautiful Gothic and Victorian architecture of south Bombay, and are amidst the rarest and some really painstakingly maintained machines that have ever hit the road. Bentleys, the Chevrolets, Jeeps, Beetles, Triumphs, BSAs and the Indians of the old, what better way to start a Sunday morning! That was precisely the setting at Horniman Circle, Mumbai, on February 26 – the flag-off point for the Vintage Car Fiesta 2017.

Flagged off by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the 2017 rally saw a total of over 100 classic cars and motorcycles drive down South Bombay to Sofitel Hotel at the Bandra Kurla Complex.

A little about the rally here: The Vintage Car Fiesta is an annual classic car and motorcycle rally organised by the Vintage & Classic Car Club of India (VCCCI), one of the oldest classic car clubs in the country. It is also one of the clubs that’s affiliated to FIVA (Federation Internationale Vehicules Anciens) – the international body for vintage cars.

There were ample entries at the event to keep classic car and bike fanatics ogling all day, but there were a few among those that truly deserve a mention. These include Viveck Goenka’s 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom Boat-tail; Jagdish Thackersey’s 1935 Bentley drop-head Coupe – built by Antem, probably one of a handful ever built by the French coachbuilder; Samir Kadam’s 1936 Adler (one of the first front-wheel drive cars); Nitin Dossa’s 1947 Bentley drophead originally ordered by the Maharaja of Mysore; Yashwardhan Ruia’s 1949 Cadillac Series 62, and Amir Jetha’s 1935 Rolls-Royce Continental Coupe with a Gurney Nutting coachwork that was originally ordered for the Maharaja of Jodhpur (it featured a green-and-white paintwork, the same colours as his polo team). 

Some of the noteworthy motorcycles at the event included Purazer Fauzdar’s BMW R75/6, Zubin Mehta’s BMW R 1000RS, Sorab Ginwalla’s Norton 16 H (best restored motorcycle), and Hormazdyar Contractor’s Triumph 3 TA.

What is also worth noting is that there is a surge in interest for restoring and maintaining classic cars and bikes, especially thanks to the relative ease of buying parts on websites like EBay. This has made owning these timeless machines more viable. Here’s to seeing many more of these gorgeous machines in peach condition for a long time to come.

Category-wise list of winners – Vintage car Fiesta 2017

Cars

Concours d’Elegance

1900-1940 class: 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Boat-tail
Owner, Viveck Goenka

1941-1960 class: 1955 Buick Roadmaster
Owner, Viveck Goenka

Best performance

1900-1940 class: Rolls-Royce 20HP
Owner, Fali Dhondy

1941-1960 class: Morris Minor
Owner, Umesh Rele

Post 1961 class: Volkswagen Beetle
Owner, Anuja Parikh

Best maintained

1900-1940 class: 1935 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental
Owner, Amirali Jetha

1941-1960 class: 1947 Buick Super 8 Convertible
Owner, Jerxis Vandrevala

Post 1961 class: 1971 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow
Owner, Aman Mogul

Indian heritage class

1955 Landmaster Woody
Owner, Viveck Goenka

Best restored car

1936 Chrysler Airflow
Owner, Amal Tanna

Motorcycles

Best performance

1900-1940 class: Norton 16 H
Owner, Sorab Ginwalla

1941-1960 class: Triumph 3 TA
Owner, Hormazdyar Contractor

Post 1961 class: Jawa
Owner, Jal Engineer

Best maintained

1900-1940 class: 1927 AJS H7
Owner, Jahangir Foroogh

1941-1960 class: 1957 Triumph Tiger 100
Owner, Anil Bhingarde

Recent classic motorcycle

1973 BMW R75/6
Owner, Purazer Fauzdar

Indian heritage motorcycle

Lambretta LI 150
Owner, Aman Mogul

Best restored motorcycle

1938 Norton 16H
Owner, Sorab Ginwalla