As the city revels in Madras Day festivities, a spectacle of vintage cars is set to arrive from different parts of the country. The Historical Cars Association of India (HCAI) and Vintage & Classic Car Federation (VCCF), will be organizing a pan-India vintage and classic car show on August 27.
“I always do this event during the Madras Day (August 22) weekend. I started this in 2017 with historian V Sriram and city chronicler S Muthiah. We used to connect Madras Day week with the heritage cars of the city. They had such phenomenal knowledge. We did this for two years. In 2018, Muthiah was not too well but we didn’t want to quit it,” says Ranjit Pratap, president of HCAI.
An Alfa Romeo on display | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“Twenty cars from Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata will be arriving. Twenty more from Bangalore and 20 from the Chennai chapter of the event will be on display: fifty five to sixty cars in total.“ elaborates Ranjit.
A classis Jaguar | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The cars that will be displayed are rare, classic and vintage. Other than models of Rolls Royce, Bentleys, and Jaguars, cars from royal families like the Bentley of Baroda Maharani Shanta Devi, pre and post-war European and American cars (Austin, Mercedes, Jeep), American muscle cars (Ford Mustang) and prominent Indian classics (Ambassador, Fiat’s) will also be on display.
This year’s event will also see HCAI and the Greater Chennai traffic police use the event to bring awareness about road safety while conducting this roadshow. The Rotary Club of Madras is also associated with this event to promote skilling for the underprivileged. The cars will also roll from Chennai to Puducherry on August 28 following a display at Puducherry.
The city has been called the Detroit of India, owing to its long history with component manufacturing. Car shows like this one are emblematic of the city’s long dalliance with manufacturing of automobile and automobile components.
The car show in Chennai will be held at the Rayala Techno Park at the Hotel Turyaa Campus on Old Madras Road from 10.00am. to 1.00pm on August 27.
