31st of October, 2021 saw the inaugural run of the Autocar India & Turtle Wax Modern Classic Rally with cars you usually would not think of seeing together rolling down the roads of equally pretty Mumbai from the busy and buzzing BKC to the calm and gorgeous Worli Seaface and back to Sofitel, BKC.
Unlike most rallies, this one started slightly later in the morning with some of the cars already lined up from the previous night while the others cruised in. The excitement, crowd and photographers however were in full attendance, which was great to see for cars which in the quintessential sense are not all about flat about performance but making a statement instead.
Don’t be tricked into believing that there weren’t some mean beasts there however! From the acclaimed and exclusive Gondall Collection, the Dodge Viper equipped with a 8.4L god sounding V10, a Ferrari 348, Honda S2K and Lotus Elise from the Raymond Garage, a Nissan 300ZX, 67’ Shelby Eleanor and Acura NSX all from the same home were there on display to represent the speed! A Lamborghini LP Murcielago, a Maserati GT Stradale, a Toyota Supra and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG were all in attendance as well.
However move away from the performance cars and the rarity shot through the roof with cars like the Mercedes SEC, BMW 325i of the E30 generation, Citroen DS, Aston Martin DBS and Jaguar E-type were also there to make your jaws drop with how pristine these gems from the past years are still kept and will continue to do so for the coming years.
One car which stole the show and will probably continue to do so is the Maybach 62 finished in a stunning black and gold combination. Once the king of good time’s ride, this Maybach has been a product of a lot of labour and love to be brought back in it’s current showroom fresh condition. It is currently a part of the Goenka Collection and sits proud amongst equally rare cars.
The Brits were there to battle the Germans as well with the Uber rare Rolls Royce Phantom DHC from the Poonawaala Collection and a Silver Shadow from the naughties making its presence felt as well.
Something interesting about the whole rally would be the sheer number of 2 door vehicles that were in attendance versus 4 doors. Now we don’t know if it was planned or just happened but we were pleasantly surprised to see all the coupes and cabriolets in their glory with some having their tops off allowing for a peek into their interiors. The weather did not play spoilt sport, and this allowed owners to drive with the wind in their hair and utilize the unlimited headroom option.
A small drive to Worli and back followed with crowds gathered in pockets along the drive route eager to witness the modern classics in motion or should I say poetry in motion. The small drive felt like a trip back in time with the DeLorean which incidentally would also fit in and be popular at a Modern Classic Rally if they were sold in India.
All in all, we are glad that cars previously lost or underappreciated are finally getting their time in the spotlight via rallies like this. The Modern Classic Rally joins an elite clu
b, part of which are the Mercedes-Benz Classic Car Rally, VCCI Rally, PARX Drive and Display, Youngtimers Rally and of course T97 RDC and IDC’s.
I look forward to see the event grow and the madness for these cars to increase. I would like to congratulate Perseus Bandrawalla, Hormazd Sorabjee, and the Team at Turtle Wax for organising a successful first innings of the Modern Classic Rally!
Written by Aakash Kalro
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