Classic vehicles flagged off at Turf Club Race Course in Pune on Sunday. (Express photo by Pavan Khengre) In a sheer delight for automobile enthusiasts, around 160 cars and motorcycles lined up for the Vintage and Classic Cars rally on Sunday at the Turf Club Race Course in Pune. One of the key attractions was the 1949 Bentley Mark VI 4-light Saloon by Hooper & Co MYSORE 1, owned by Yohan Poonawalla, which won the ‘Duke of Marlborough Award’ at Salon Prive in England.
The ‘Car of the Show’ title was awarded to a 1958 190 SL, also owned by Yohan Poonawalla. It received the honorary cup instituted in memory of Baburao Sanas, Pune’s first mayor. Once under the possession of Maharani of Jaipur, Gayatri Devi, the vintage car was repainted in its original ‘Jaipur Blue’ hue and the three-pointed star underwent a ‘frame-off, nut and bolt’ restoration.
Surendra R Sanas, chairman of Royal Western India Turf Club Limited, Pune; Nitin Dossa, chairman of Vintage and Classic Car Club of India, and Western India Automobile Association; and Amitabh Gupta, Additional Director General of Police and former Commissioner of Pune Police, felicitated the winner with the award. Under a hot April sun, cars and motorbikes shone brightly with fresh coats of paint and shiny brass fittings in a pleasant trip down memory lane.
Among these was a Persian blue 1944 Ford, owned by Abbas Dasdanwalla. “This is the car in which Mahatma Gandhi travelled after he was released from jail,” said Satyavan Morye who has been responsible for maintaining Dasdanwalla’s collection of 42 cars for over decades. Another was an Austin 7 1934. Donning a straw hat, Prabha Nene, 87, sat in the driver’s seat. One of the first female drivers in India, Nene has secured several accolades. The first one was in 1971 when her Austin won the API trophy for best performance in the Statesman Vintage Car Rally held in Mumbai (Bombay at the time).
“This car is like a daughter to me. In winter, I wipe the car with hot towels,” Nene said. With Nene’s spirit intact at 87, participants as young as ten were also brimming with enthusiasm for the rally.
Ten-year-old Wahishta, sporting a white bikers’ jacket, was in attendance with her dirt bike designed and customised by her father Chirag Bulsara.
“I developed this dirt bike for Wahishta because she loves bike riding. With a kinetic safari engine and parts salvaged from a friend’s motorcycle lying unused for around 18-20 years, I customised this for her,” Bulsara said.
Another in the line-up was the 350 CC 1925 AJS motorbike British model that took Jahangir Farooogh almost four years to return to its true glory.
“The bike that you see now is exactly how it would have rolled out of the showroom in 1925. Four years back, I had only managed to secure the handlebar and chassis of this motorbike in Mumbai,” Faroogh said. From sourcing parts from the United Kingdom, Scotland, and Germany to procuring a dating certificate from the AJS Club in the UK, and getting the exact date of manufacturing, Faroogh managed to realise his dream of reviving the AJS. Only about ten or fifteen are located in India, he believes.
“I don’t believe in keeping the vintage vehicle locked up and only taken out for rallies. I maintain and keep this AJS always in use,” Faroogh said.
Sanjeev Bhiwankar from Mumbai, attending the rally with daughter Saili Bhiwankar, echoed Faroogh’s sentiments. With two Vespas, from 1963 and 1967, and 200 CC engines, Bhiwankar believes in using the vintage motorbikes he has. Donning a ring with the Vespa miniature on it, he shared, “We recently travelled with our Vespas for the IBW (India Bike Week) rally in Goa. I frequently travel with this bike and she has luckily not given me any major trouble so far.”