Sunday morning, the 26th of February, 2017, looked like it had been borrowed from a forgotten, regal era. Horniman Circle served as the starting point of the much-awaited Vintage Car Fiesta 2017 and the rich architecture of South Bombay served as the perfect background for these beautifully maintained machines. Bentleys, Cadillacs, Beetles, Jeeps and Triumphs were some of the few classics gracing the rally that day. 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.
This rally is one classic cars enthusiasts particularly look forward to. Each car has a rich history and every effort is taken to maintain that pride. Cars such as Nitin Dossa’s 1947 Bentley drophead, which was originally ordered by the Maharaja of Mysore, Amir Jetha’s 1935 Rolls-Royce Continental Coupe, with a Gurney Nutting coachwork that was ordered first for the Maharaja of Jodhpur (it featured green and white paintwork, the same colours as his polo team), Jagdish Thackersey’s 1935 Bentley drop-head Coupe, built by Antem, (probably one of a handful ever built by the French coachbuilder) are a few examples. Though the four wheelers took up most of the road and attention, the motorcycles came quite close to stealing the spotlight. Sorab Ginwalla’s Norton 16 H, Purazer Fauzdar’s BMW R75/6 and Aman Mogul's Lambretta LI 150l had aficionados drooling.
The 2017 Concours d’Elegance was rightly bestowed on 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Boat-tail and 1955 Buick Roadmaster, both owned by Viveck Goenka. Aman Mogul's 1971 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow won the Best Maintained car category in the post-1961 class, whereas Jahangir Foroogh won the same for his motorcycle 1927 AJS H7 for the 1900-1940 class. The rally was a terrific space for vintage-machine-obsessed mavericks to come together and appreciate each of these classics. Most classic-car owners spend a lot of time, and a small fortune, working to maintain the noble status that these cars and motorcycles have always enjoyed.
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
