1930 Cadillac to 1936 Rolls Royce: Delhi glitters with vintage beauties

Several vintage four-wheelers and two-wheelers rolled across the streets of Delhi on Saturday (February 14) as part of the ninth edition of the 21 Gun Salute International Vintage Car Rally & Concours d’Elegance. It included over 140 vintage cars, including eight from abroad, and 35 heritage bikes.

The rally featured a 1930 Cadillac V-16 Roadster from the US, a 1939 Buick Roadmaster convertible sedan from Canada, and other vintage beauties by Rolls Royce, Bentley and Volkswagen. Owners of some of these took a ride from the India Gate, where the event was flagged off, to Karma Lake Lands in Gurgaon.

At the Gurgaon venue, other rare beauties on display include, Bikaner horse cart, wedding palanquin and erstwhile Maharaja of Gwalior’s howdah. Vintage cars owned by various erstwhile royal families, including Mysore State, Rajkaot State, and Talcher State were also on display.

The eight international vintage cars taking part in the event include 1930 Cadillac V-16 Roadster and 1939 Buick Roadmaster Convertible Sedan, Model 81C from the US; 1936 Rolls Royce 25/30 from Canada; 1951 Bentley MK VI Freestone and Webb from Germany; and 1959 Jaguar XK 150S, 1959 Alfa 2000, 1966 Ford Mustang, Maserati 3500 GT Spyder Vignale from Belgium, organisers said.

The oldest car in the rally has been showcased by industrialist Gautam Singhania, who has brought his 1903 Cadillac and 1936 Rolls Royce. Yohan Poonawalla also brought his few cars, including two Rolls Royce beauties, and Ratan Tata’s brother Jimmy Tata is showcased 1967 Dodge Charger, they said.

A 1938 Bentley that belonged to Darbhanga Raj of Bihar, 1938 Bentley of Maharaja of Bhopal, 1966 Jaguar E-Type, 1959 Chevrolet Impala, 1946 MG TC, 1936 Mercedes-Benz Type 290 of Yuvraj Dhananjai Singh of Khimsar are also taking part, the organisers said.

(With inputs from agencies)