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Old 3rd November 2008, 15:15   #1
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India’s First International Concours D’Elegance - Pictures & Report

Come on guys, get posting, heres the results:

The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Frontpage | ‘Teardrop’ melts car judges

And lots of photos here that don't show that much:

http://legacyeditorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/FrameSet.aspx?s=EventImagesSearchState|0|1|0|28|0| 0|0|1|0|0|0|83494686|0|0|0|0|0|||0|0|0|0|0&p=7&tag =5

Last edited by Julian UK : 3rd November 2008 at 15:26.
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Old 3rd November 2008, 15:55   #2
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Here are some random images guys

1949 Bentley Drophead

I loved the PINK 1959 caddy...

Gotta go..will upload the rest later..including shahrukh with yasmin lebon..
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Old 3rd November 2008, 16:26   #3
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Some of the finest cars in India were on display. An event most sucessfully organised, an event organised with an 'attitude', an attitude of 'No Compromise' !. I believe the high point of the show was 'quality in diversity & in quantity'. 2 friends from Hyderabad, who have been to Pebble Beach at least 15 times each say they have never seen such a quality collection put together at any other Concours. The organisation, the ambience......nothing was lacking in the execution. All credit to Manvendra & his team !.

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Old 3rd November 2008, 16:38   #4
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A few teasers till I organise the lot. Ill later give you each car present with details.
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Old 3rd November 2008, 17:50   #5
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Many months ago when I spoke to Manvendra Singh, renowned historian and restorer, about creating an event along the lines of Pebble Beach and using the Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad as the venue I remember him telling me that just such an event was being planned for India. I was excited. He said some of the most prominent people in the vintage car scene from around the world would be involved.

Later, much later, when I heard that Cartier was planning to host India's first International Concours I wasn't surprised to discover that Manvendra Singh was to be the Curator for the event. It was early August when I called him and he acknowledged that a very special event was being organised in which a select few of the very finest in vintage cars in India would be displayed. The venue was to be the The Royal Western India Turf Club, Mumbai. I requested an invite and he graciously agreed to keep me in mind when the invite list was to be finalised.

Following the press reveal I followed up once again and by late October a package arrived. When I opened the contents I knew this was going to be an event in a class of its own.

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The invite apart from giving details of the event and venue had a list of the judges and a lovely pendant like entry badge. It was obvious one word would describe the essence of this event, "STYLE"

And appropriately Cartier named the event Cartier Travel with Style

Apart from the Cartier staff who obviously must have worked around the clock to organise things the main forces behind organising the event were Manvendra Singh and Mark Shand (brother-in-law of Prince Charles)

Last edited by DKG : 3rd November 2008 at 17:51.
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Old 3rd November 2008, 18:15   #6
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The invite clearly stated that guests would be allowed into the venue from 12 noon. I was at the door at 9:30 am and was promptly refused entry! Manvendra Singh's mobile was switched off and I had no clue how I could get through. I basically wanted to enjoy the cars when there wasn't a crowd and take them all in at my pace. For some strange reason I wasn't put off and started to walk away to a lounge they asked me to wait at elsewhere. Just then a spanking new 7 series came up to the entrance and out stepped Manvendra Singh. I was at a short distance away and couldn't have called out to him. I walked back to the entrance swiftly hoping I'd catch him. As luck would have it he had stopped at the entrance to chat with the organisers and was looking out when I walked in. I mentioned I was asked to wait till 12 to which he assuringly replied "No No you are coming in with me". Boy was I glad. As we walked in and the sight of all the cars started to unfold I instantly realised this was going to be a very very special day for me.

There were very few people around and it almost felt like the morning belonged to me.

As I wandered about the sheer concentration of so much beauty instantly made me realise Manvendra Singh had indeed done an astounding job of selecting the cars. They were all spectacular.

I thought it a good idea to finish with most pictures well before the crowd arrived and I started with the oldest car in the display, a fabulous 1913 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Limousine

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Old 3rd November 2008, 20:08   #7
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The next one is a fabulous 1921 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost belonging to Inder Krishnama from Hyderabad. The car apparently came from Baikunthpur of erstwhile Korea state. This car has been painstakingly restored by Manvendra Singh. I don't particularly like the colour choice. Would have prefered the car to be in its original combo which I think was green and black fenders with the buffed aluminium bonnet.

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The following car won the first prize in the prewar classics class. The Maharajah of Udaipur Shri Arvind Singhji was present to receive the award

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Last edited by DKG : 3rd November 2008 at 20:10.
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Old 4th November 2008, 03:49   #8
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Karl, DKG, A very interesting array of cars, thank you for the chassis no. plates. #61LG has an interesting body, originally a Cabriolet.
Were there any Derby Bentleys? How about the Daimler double-six?
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Old 4th November 2008, 09:17   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Julian UK View Post
Karl, DKG, A very interesting array of cars, thank you for the chassis no. plates. #61LG has an interesting body, originally a Cabriolet.
Were there any Derby Bentleys? How about the Daimler double-six?
When you say 61LG originally had a cabriolet, what is the current style called? A truly remarkable car, 6000 miles, completely original and intact. Cosmetically restored by Manvendra. The owner was showing me copies of all the original reciepts as well.

Here is the Double Six, originally imported for King George we were told, but he never used it. It then passed on to Darbhanga, from where Sanghi bought it. The painted grille and lights was apparently a signature of King George, and the decanter in the car was because the Princess was not allowed to drink inside the palace apparently. No underbonnet shots unfortunately.

A couple of interesting Bentleys were cancelled at the last minute, but some lovely cars made it as well. More to follow.
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Last edited by karlosdeville : 4th November 2008 at 09:19.
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Old 4th November 2008, 09:32   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Julian UK View Post
#61LG has an interesting body, originally a Cabriolet.
It would help if Park Ward, Steve and you can fill in more details on this car from new, who it went to, also your comment about it being a cabriolet. Please clarify so I can pass the info onto the owner.
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Old 4th November 2008, 10:06   #11
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This Caddy was in perfect tune. An attender started the car and it was a delight to hear her idle smooth without a single sputter. A few minutes into the idle when he revved her the silencer must have dropped a glassful of water, a sign of a very well tuned car.

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Old 4th November 2008, 10:45   #12
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I really liked this handsome Delage. Although the colour combo ruined it for me. To me when you look at a vintage car you should struggle to tell if its been worked on. Cars which easily show restoration somehow end up detracting from their original appeal. This is easier said than done and I doubt anyone in India has achieved such a standard. I was chatting with some experts from the UK and they mentioned the cars in Europe, unlike the US, strive harder for that look of what it should be originally and not over restored as ones usually in the US appear as.

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A striking Lancia. It won third place for the pre war classics category

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A trio of spectacular Pierce Arrows. Traditionally all Pierce Arrows had headlights as part of the fender design (ugly in my opinion) Apparently these three were show cars with a different headlight setup and they have all survived in India. All in magnificent condition.

The first car is ex Maharajah Jhabua. A lovely original now owned by Vijay Mallya. Apparently it had less than 2000 miles when Mallya bought the car.

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Old 4th November 2008, 11:23   #13
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Superb pics DKG. It was very nice to see both the white Mercs side by side. The Delhi car was exhibited as a 630 with K engine, as opposed to the 680K name it is usually reffered to as.

The Delage was ex Holkar I believe, and that just might be the original colour scheme.

The Lancia was superb no doubt, but I simply couldn't understand the presence of those truck wheels. Can anyone shed more light on this?
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Old 4th November 2008, 11:34   #14
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By the late 1920's Packard had grown to be the world's largest selling luxury brand outselling its rival Cadillac two to one. At the top of the exclusive brands from the US were Packard, Pierce Arrow and Peerless (the famed 3 P's of America) which rivalled the best from the European Continent

Following is a gorgeous ninth series 1932 Packard Standard Eight Touring. I notice many owners in India don't make the effort to know their car's correct model designation and year. The car was incorrectly shown as a 1931 model. The most distinguishing external visual cue marking this as a 1932 car is the change in the grill design to the famed V shaped grill. I managed to get a peek at the chassis number too which confirmed its a 1932 model.

In the model lineup for 1932 Packard started with the affordable shovel nosed Packard introduced at the lower end (just for 1932) to boost sales christened as the Light Eight. Next came this model featured below. Further up you had the massive Deluxe Eights and the Twin Sixes.

This particular car is a very low mileage car originally owned by the Maharajah of Jhabua.

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Here you have a lovely example of a 1934 Packard Eight Touring. Notice how the front fenders had closed down for 1934. 1934 Packards are amongst the most handsome cars of all time in my opinion. Notice the side profile, so well balanced

This car was originally owned by the Maharajah of Datia

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Last edited by DKG : 4th November 2008 at 11:39.
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Old 4th November 2008, 11:47   #15
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Karl,
Many years ago Soli Petit who lived in bandra had three vintage cars...one was a Lancia 1935 ..... I can't recollect the looks but my dad used to take me there when I was a kid. All three cars rotted in the end
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The Lancia was superb no doubt, but I simply couldn't understand the presence of those truck wheels. Can anyone shed more light on this?
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