A 1906 Renault Freres, a 1925 Rolls Royce Phantom 1, a 1931 Lancia Dilambda and 87 other vintage beauties parked on the lawns of Lake Club in south Kolkata on Sunday morning drew vintage car enthusiasts and others alike.
There were a total of nine Rolls Royce beauties from yesteryears on the lawns by Rabindra Sarobar — including the Phantom 1, a 1926 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost and a 1929 Rolls Royce.
Music, finger food and much fun and frolic accompanied the Concours D’Elegance, a competitive show of vintage vehicles where the vehicles are judged on authenticity, restoration, rarity and maintenance by a panel of knowledgeable judges.
The Lake Club Eastern India Motoring Group (EIMG) Concours D’ Elegance 2023, in association with Ace Commercial, was a daylong event that started at 8am. EIMG is a group of vintage car owners founded by restorer-collector Shrivardhan Kanoria, who is the president. Veteran rallyist Subhajit Kumar is the secretary.
“Lake Club has been hosting the vintage car show in collaboration with EIMG for their members and guests for five years now. But the Concours D’Elegance is now in its second edition,” said Kumar.
The event witnessed a high turnout and provided a platform for both show and competition, thus drawing the best vintage cars the city has. A number of trophies and awards sponsored by Julia Patnaik, a leading vintage car collector in eastern India, and Ace Commercial were awarded to the competitors.
The competition was divided into several categories depending on the year of make of the vehicles, starting from 1930, 1931 to 1940.
“Vehicles of 1930-1940 make are categorised as vintage cars, the rest from 1941 to 1975 are categorised as Classic cars. We also have vintage two-door and classic two-door categories, along with vintage two-wheelers,” said Kanoria.
Trophies for overall best car were awarded to a 1937 Rolls Royce owned by S.K. Karnani HUF (Hindu undivided family), and to a 1925 Rolls Royce owned by Ashok Bubna. Special Car award went to a 1931 Lancia owned by P.R. Agarwal. A special trophy, the Momen Sahab Memorial Best of Show, in the memory of the city’s renowned vintage car collector Gulam Momen, went to Azam Monem’s 1937 Rolls Royce.
“The format of the event follows the international standards as regards to the categorisation and judging of vehicles,” said Kanoria. The 90-plus vintage vehicles for the show were handpicked by him.
“The EIMG Concours was my dream, just like founding the group was. The USP of the Concours is its quality. The inspiration is derived from international shows such as Cartier Concours and 21 Gun Salute Concours. Here we give due respect to the vehicles and their owners, who have a fun time participating. The judging is also carried out in a transparent and fair manner. All this motivate EIMG members to participate,” said Kanoria.