THE EASTERN India Motoring Group (EIMG), in association with Ace Commercial, on Sunday organised an event showcasing vintage cars in Kolkata, highlighting the city’s automobile heritage.
The one-day event, ‘Concours D’Elegance,’ hosted by the Lake Club, witnessed a “great turnout of heritage cars and huge footfall,” a press release said. This time, the event saw the element of competition — wherein cars were judged on the basis of authenticity, restoration, maintenance, historical importance and rarity, it added.
This event was hosted in the city for the first time and the vehicles were judged by curator Shrivardhan Kanoria, an eminent vintage car collector/restorer who is also the founding president of EIMG, along with his ‘Concours Restorations’ team.
Around 80 best heritage vehicles of Eastern India, including five vintage Rolls-Royces, were selected by Kanoria for the event, the release said.
A total of 29 trophies were awarded at the event, including the “best of show,” which went to a 1938 Rolls Royce owned by Gulam Momen. With these 29 trophies, there were ten “token of appreciation” which were given to eminent individuals part of the vintage and classic car circle of Kolkata.
Also, 18 mementos were distributed to all the participants. Kanoria’s 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 was the showstopper and it was on display since he was judging the show. It took Kanoria nearly seven years to restore this vintage car, which was handed to him by his father Shashi Kumar Kanoria.
“This event, curated by me, is my contribution to the vintage and classic car fraternity of Eastern India and is definitely dedicated to my father , the yesteryear pioneer of vintage cars in Kolkata. I take my inspiration from my seniors such as Viveck Goenka, Diljeet Titus, Madan Mohan and Nitin Dossa, who are stalwarts in taking the historic vehicle movement forward pan-India,” said Kanoria. “This move of Lake Club getting together with EIMG has been a big step towards preserving the motoring heritage of Eastern India,” he added.
Kanoria said the element of competition, which was inculcated this year, has brought about “immense enthusiasm from the participants.”
“Judging the vehicles personally was a very important responsibility, which I undertook, and awarded the deserving vehicles. Our EIMG secretary, Subhajit Kumar, has done a fabulous job in aligning Lake Club and EIMG together,” he added.
The EIMG, is a group of heritage vehicle owners founded by Kanoria.
He has inducted Subhajit Kumar, a veteran high speed rallyist, as its secretary.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/vintage-vehicles-on-show-in-kolkata-7820110/
