New Delhi: A fleet of vintage cars is being
readied for ferrying VIPs during the Commonwealth Games.
Carrying the Commonwealth logos, these customised vintage
cars including Bentley, Chevrolet, Auburn Speedster, Stutz,
Cadillac, Triumph, Rolls Royce will also be utilised for
carrying visitors for `Dilli Darshan` tour around the city.
These high-end princely cars, reminder of the bygone era,
will also be exhibited in a `Vintage Show` for a fortnight
during the Games in October.
The exhibition will be held at Nehru Park as part of many
events finalised by the government in consultation with the
Heritage Motoring Club (HMC) and Games Organising Committee.
While there will be about 2,000 cars for ferrying VIPs
during the Games, HMC has offered 25 vintage cars as part of
the VIP fleet to be used during the Games.
"We have offered 25 vintage cars with trained drivers in
their traditional dresses to carry a few selected VIPs to
Games destinations and heritage sites around the city," said
Diljit Titus, general secretary of the HMC.
"Since these cars are from royal families of Baroda,
Darbhanga, Jaipur, Patiala, Jodhpur, Tehri Garhwal and
Bikaner, the drivers will be dressed accordingly," Titus said
adding, these cars are in perfect running condition to ply
about 20 km a day. "We are also planning to have vintage parade
on Rajpath during the Games for visitors," he said.
However, the big picture on the vintage front is the mega
event at Nehru Park in Chanakyapuri where a total of 75
vintage and classic cars are coming from all over the country
to be part of the fortnight-long show.
"We have been given 40,000 sq ft area covered space at
Nehru Park to exhibit 75 heritage cars. These customised
high-end luxury cars were part of the royal functions,
including weddings and hunting sessions during those days,"
Titus said.
Among other cars, there will be a Bentley of 1934 make,
Triumph (1956), Jaguar (1951), Cadilac (1934), Nash Custom
(1934), Auburn Speedbreaker (1936), Stutz (1930), Rolls Royce
(1934).
Besides cars, some vintage motorcycles and scooters will
also be displayed during the show, he said. The exhibition
will have 12 paintings on automotive fine art.
PTI
