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35 vintage and classic cars for Delhi-Shimla Heritage Drive
Indo-Asian News Service

New Delhi, Oct 5 (IANS) A 1927 Standard Coventry is among 35 vintage and classic cars that will be flagged off from here to Shimla Friday on a Heritage Drive aimed at recognising the effort that goes into restoring the vehicles and to focus on the former summer capital of colonial India as a niche tourism destination.

Ten other cars will join them from the Haryana-Punjab capital of Chandigarh.

"Shimla has been associated with Viceroys, Maharajas, pretty princesses and vintage cars and it is, therefore, only appropriate that this rally run up to Shimla," Ashok Thakur, principal secretary (Tourism) of Himachal Pradesh, which is assisting the Oberoi Hotel chain in organising the event, told reporters here Wednesday.

"It's part of our effort to up our brand image. We get some 60 lakh (six million) tourists every year but it's not just the numbers we are looking at. We want to reach out to discerning tourists to improve the quality of tourists who visit our state," Thakur added.

Among the other ancient beauties participating in the event are a 1934 Mercedes Benz, a 1935 Chevrolet convertible, a 1938 Citroen and a 1939 Sunbeam. They will be vying for 28 trophies, including the most elegant car, the oldest car to reach Shimla, the best restored car, the best maintained car and the car with most historic importance.

The first day of the event will take the participants 250 km from here via Panipat, Karnal, Ambala, Chandigarh and Kalka to Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh. From there, the cars will drive up to Shimla Saturday and the event will be formally flagged in Sunday morning at a grand ceremony featuring horse-mounted cavalry of the Indian Army, a military brass brand and an army dog squad performing acrobatics.

"This is not a rally, neither is it a race. It is an effort to get the motoring fraternity together to talk shop and trade information," explained industrialist K.C. Anand, a director of Himachal Tourism.

"Many of the participants are taking their families along so it's going to be one big picnic," Anand added.

"The only competitive aspect of the event is the love and care the owners have put in to restore the vehicles as close to the original as possible," he said.