Vintage beauties steal hearts, Studebaker, Cadillac win honours

Rons Bantwal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai (SP)

Mumbai, Mar 10: Press baron Viveck Goenka’s stunning 1933 Studebaker Commander Phaeton and Amal Tanna’s 1947 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible won the Concourse D’Elegance, the top honours at the Vintage and Classic categories, respectively, in the annual VCCCI Vintage Car and Motorcycle Fiesta that was flagged off at Horniman Circle in the metro on Sunday March 9.

The event was organized by the Vintage and Classic Car Club of India (VCCCI), India’s official body for vintage motor vehicles that is affiliated to world body FIVA, in association with Western India Automobile Association.

While Goenka’s Studebaker was a favourite for the crown and lived up to its reputation, veteran Fali Dhondy’s 1923 Rover 8 Tourer bagged the Best Performance award in the Vintage category, followed by runner-up, Niloufer Varghese’s 1928 Ford Model and Zaheer Ali’s 1928 Ford Model A.

But Sanjeev Bhiwandkar of Girgaum proved to be the toast of the day when his limited edition 4-Speed 1963 Vespa won the Best Maintained Vehicle award in the Indian Heritage category.

“My uncle was not interested in this vehicle, so I chose to maintain it,” said a delighted Bhiwandkar. “It’s a rare piece and all its parts are original. I maintain it myself.”

Amidst tight competition in the Recent Classics category, Kaizad Engineer’s 1969 Mercedes Benz 250 topped the Best Performance category, followedclosely by Anuja Parikh’s 1969 Volkswagen Beetle and Rashna Poonawala’s1966 Mercedes Benz 230 SL.

Rhea Jacob Eapen happened to be the other significant winner after bagging the Best Performance and Best Maintained awards in the Vintage motorcycles category for her 1927 BSA Slopper.

Jamshed Marolia also won a double when his 1954 Norton ES2 won the Best Performance and Best Maintained awards in the Classic motorcycles category.

Entries poured in from all over India for this year’s edition that included rare cars from 1900 till date. The rally began and concluded at Horniman Circle as the beauties meandered their way to Acres Club, Chembur via Peddar Road, Worli, Five Gardens and back.

This year’s rally included some exceptional cars, and the attractions included the Ford, Rolls Royce, Packard, Bentley, Buick, Beetle, Cadillac and Volkswagen. There also were cars from the stables of Mumbai Samachar proprietor, Hormusji Cama, Hemant Kumar Ruia and Nitin Dossa, in addition to several others.