In an immaculate courtyard where The Oberoi Udaivilas’ gold sun insignia ushers in the harsh mid-day heat of Rajasthan’s spring — a transition from its freezing winters — Sandra Button, chief judge of the The Oberoi Concours d’Elegance, says something significant during a panel discussion.
After having spent time between February 20 and 22 assessing and marking approximately 120 striking vintage and classic cars and bikes owned by well-heeled, well-meaning participants — a slate consisting millionaires, billionaires, and former maharajas from across India — Sandra says: “Approach a car. Let it speak to you.”
Arjun Oberoi, Executive Chairman The Oberoi Group, Simon Kidston, a judge, and Dhanraj Gidwaney, owner of the Bentley that won the Best of Show prize
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Cars cannot speak. But if there is anything I have learnt over an opulent caviar, wine, and cheese-filled Udaipur weekend, cars, particularly of the painstakingly-restored vintage variety, tend to spark a certain unbridled joy. The Rolls-Royce for instance, can be effortlessly suave; and others, a Ferrari or Mustang perhaps, can be endlessly sexy.
Although they may have been purchased before the advent of smart phones (the oldest car at the Cocours dates back to 1905), and the default lens towards life was in sepia, these cars have modern bodies, luscious colours, infinite customisations, and missing parts reverse-engineered from scratch.
At Udaivilas, cars and bikes that once transported presidents, royalty, and racers, dot the lawn and the courtyard of this property overlooking Lake Pichola and the Udaipur City Palace. There is a BMW and Rolls Royce lounge, where participants donning Chanel glasses and dapper suits, engage in long discussions on the engineering that goes behind some of these vehicles’ engines, while politely tabling discussions on business for later.
The BMW 507 Roadster
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Lest we forget, a fashion show by designer Tarun Tahliani, who presents to the audience, a lecture-demonstration of the transition of Indian textile and design through the ages to reach India Modern. Some parts of this conversation were already presented at a show celebrating 30 years of his brand at Hyderabad on January 16 set to the pellucid voice of Nehru chanting the words of his famous Tryst with Destiny speech. Nevertheless, he mesmerised an engaged audience, with quips about other Indian fashion designers making ostentatious clothes that cannot be worn even on occasions, while also urging brides to cut down on their lehenga fabric.
Amidst the crowd at the sunny Concours is 22-year-old Khushi Dossa, the youngest participant. When she was a little girl, Khushi says that she set her sights on a Capri blue vintage Bentley at her home, where conversations about cars, particularly century-old ones, often took centre stage.
“It was simple. The car was blue and it was my favourite colour,” says the granddaughter of Nitin G Dossa, chairman, Vintage & Classic Car Club of India, Mumbai.
What she did not anticipate was that this 1949 Bentley Mark VI with a drophead coupé that was once owned by the Maharaja of Mysore, would become hers when she turned 18. A gift from her grandfather to carry forward a storied, luxurious history, while honouring the family’s tradition of entering their slate of collections in car shows across the country.
Another view of the BMW roadster
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Extensive work on restoration of the car at P&A Wood, a heritage Rolls-Royce & Bentley servicing service, in London, for one and a half years kept her away from learning to drive the vehicle. The car, which has been in the family for 30 years, arrived just in time to take part in the second edition of Concours d’Elegance, where it won two prizes — the public vote for the best car, and the first runner up in the Post-War European Classics category.
“[In Mumbai] I look forward to taking it for a spin around Fort and cruising down Marine Drive every Sunday so that we can set the car against the architecture of its times, while also being able to catch a cup of coffee,” says Khushi.
Kushi’s participation and an interest to grab a coffee after in her vintage car, is an important marker of a new generation that is continuing to invest in this expensive hobby for passion’s sake alone. Her grandfather who won the Chairman’s Award for his contribution to the field, says that over 75% of the participants at the event are below 50. With 70 cars in his kitty, the veteran says that events like this fuel the fire of a generation that is intent on not just winning, but also deriving joy from putting back a machine that could have once been mere scrap. “Today’s cars are silent, and automatic. You hardly feel anything significant about it. In vintage cars, one can hear a heartbeat. That is a feeling to cherish,” Nitin says.
Chairman’s award presented to Nitin Dossa
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It was precisely to celebrate this feeling, that a concours of such magnitude was created, says Arjun Oberoi, chairman, The Oberoi Concours d’Elegance. When asked what it takes to put together a concours of such magnitude for the second time, Oberoi says, “It is all about timeless elegance, detail, and ensuring that we preserve our heritage, one that reflects part of what India is, for the future. When we [The Oberoi group] turned 90, we wanted an event that celebrated the legacy of the country, while also being a poignant reminder of this significant milestone. The first concours was so well-received that we decided to do it every other year because we wanted the cars to be of a certain stature,” he says. To help narrow down a list of timeless cars that would be on display, Manvendra Singh Barwani, curator of the event, came on board, he adds, while flitting in and out of this conversation, to chat with members of Indian royal families from Jodhpur, Baroda, and Gondal, at the event. He is also part of the team giving away the top honours of the event, the best of show prize, to Dhanraj Gidwani, who owned a 1937 Bentley 4¼ litre drophead coupe that was once owned by the Nawab of Bhopal; and to Gurmukh Sal, the owner of a BSA WM20, a rugged 500 CC British military motorcycle made in 1937 for the Second World War.
Vintage cars at the event
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Our conversation takes place near Udaivilas’ jetty where several Rolls-Royces are on display. We stand amidst Yohan Poonawalla’s line of Phantoms all the way from I to VIII except the IV of which only 18 were made between 1950 and 1956. Yohan says that he is intent on completing his collection. He adds that choosing from this line-up which includes the 1979 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI from Queen Elizabeth II’s royal fleet, and the latest, Phantom VIII, the last to have a privacy suite within the vehicle, would be impossible. “Picking a favourite would be like having to pick your favourite child. Impossible,” he says, adding that all his cars are not competing in the competition. “It is nice to see them all in one place. Some will be going back to London so a display like this is rare even for me to see,” he says.
Cars may not speak but they certainly elicit an emotion for people across economic classes. For those who use cars more functionally, a solid vehicle that allows for travel to work and the occasional cross-country trip, is ‘child’-enough. For those with greater purchasing power, a car for every mood — happy, sad, steadfast, angry, blue, green — determines the day.
Race cars at the event
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In the midst of sparkling wine and wins at the closing ceremony, Shrivardhan Kanoria, a third-generation collector and restorer, who ‘makes vintage cars sing,’ says that it all comes down to the simple things — not the flash and the dollars (yes, dollars) poured into restoration.
Standing next to his 1923 Rolls-Royce Roadster, a sporty two-seater model that once belonged to a West Bengal ice cream businessman named RS Colah, the restorer who has already done several victory laps at the Udaipur Concours, says, “What is the point of a car if it does not tell a story?”
The author was in Udaipur on invitation from The Oberoi Group.
