Zubair Qureshi
Families, residents and youths who are fond of old vintage cars made a beeline to the Vintage & Classic Car Show on Tuesday that featured 35 old and classic cars—some of them quite old and even belonged to pre-Pakistan times.
The event titled ‘Heritage on Wheels’ was organized by the Vintage and Classic Cars Club of Pakistan (VCCCP), in collaboration with Islamabad Serena Hotel.
The 1922 French-manufactured Amilcar was the oldest car in the show; others included the UK-built 1954 Austin Healey, 1955 TR, USA made 1955 Ford Thunderbird, a blue Rolls Royce (1972 Model), a dark green Mazda 818 (1971), red-coloured Mustang Ford (1965), Baby Mercedes 190 SL and MG TD Kit Car (1952) etc.
Chairman of the Vintage and Classic Cars Club of Pakistan, Mohsin Ikram said that the club was formed around 30 years ago to attract car enthusiasts all over Pakistan and promote the hobby under the motto of safeguarding “heritage on wheels”.
We have been exhibiting our cars across the country at various vintage car shows he said , adding that recently they showcased their classic cars at Fort of Bala Hisaar.
He said the purpose of the event was to showcase these beautiful vehicles to the public, and promote a soft image of Pakistan.
He appreciated the vintage car owners for their passion in maintaining these vehicles as cultural artefacts, and celebrated the fact that this year’s show included a mother who drove all the way from Karachi with her family.
Some of our cars, he said, had a rich history as one of them (Packard 1929) was kept by the Maharaja of Patiala, another (Lincoln Continental 1947) was driven by King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan, etc.
CEO Serena Hotels Aziz Boolani said the event was part of the hotel’s Cultural Diplomacy.
Rehan, owner of a Mazda Car, had come all the way from Karachi to Islamabad driving his Mazda 818, a green beast of 1971. My family is travelling along with me and it has been a joy ride, said Rehan. My wife and kids are also travelling with me, he said.
Yousuf Rao, owner of the MG TD Kit Car when asked if it was not an expensive hobby to own and look after a vintage car said he was in the gold and jewelry business and besides Kit Car had a number of other vintage cars like Volkswagen, Beatle and Moped Bike.
A monster that attracted everyone’s attention was “64-1/2 Mustang Ford.” This car as well as Impala Chevrolet both of them to Senator Dr Shehzad Wasim who has a great collection of vintage and classic cars, said Samuel Yaqoob Dr Wasim’s assistant at the car show.
These cars are driven as part of the 11th VCCCP Karachi to Khyber Classic Car Rally 2021, and will leave for Peshawar on Wednesday (today) for the last leg of the rally.
