Heads rolled on the roads of Delhi NCR as India’s most sought after vintage car rally, The Statesman Vintage & Classic car rally was flagged off by the Army Chief General VK Singh on February 12. Starting from Statesman House Barakhamba Road, New Delhi, the 46th edition of the rally travelled to the new state of the art Fortis Hospital Gurgaon before finally arriving at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Lodhi Road for prize distribution by the Army Chief’s wife Bharti Singh.
There were nearly 100 cars of all description: cute little ones like the Austin Seven and the original Morris Minor to the elegant Buick, Lagonda, Chrysler, Pontiac, Chevrolet, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Mercedes and Jaguars. Also on display was the evolution of automobile design, some of the early models were inspired by horse-drawn carriages, the more recent ones boasted the aero-dynamics of a jetliner as well as a range of military jeeps, troop carriers.
Prizes were awarded on the basis of age, maintenance, performance and restoration and a total of 43 running trophies were given out to the proud owners. The Statesman Trophy for the oldest participant was awarded to the 1914 John Morris fire-engine of the National Rail Museum, while the 1909 Willys Overlander was adjudged the oldest car on show and won the Indian Oil Trophy. The prestigious CR Irani Trophy for the Queen of the Rally went to the 1937 Rolls-Royce entered by J Housing and the Fortis Trophy for the most consistent participant went to 1934 Lagonda entered by R N Seth while the Kanti Kathpalia trophy for the best lady driver was awarded to Bhavana and her 1934 Ford.
“This year’s rally was fantastic. The rally is solely dedicated to the vintage motorists and heritage enthusiasts and we are glad that participants came out in large numbers & enjoyed the rally thoroughly. The oldest car participating in this year’s rally was 1909 Willys Overland and the youngest was 1962 Mercedes,” said Rahul Mittra CEO Brandsmith and the exclusive promotions & event partner of the rally who flagged off the rally from Fortis Hospital along with Police Commissioner Gurgaon, KK Sindhu for the rally’s final leg.
Avid spectators cheered the cars as they made their way from Connaught Circus to Fortis in Gurgaon, where a delightful performance by Raja Hasan added rich flavour to the luncheon. Cheers were also aplenty at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the evening when the judges made their final evaluation, and a glittering array of trophies were presented by Bharati Singh.
This year’s event partners were Videocon, Indian Oil, Fortis, Bank of India, apart from Brandsmith.