Jamshedpur: Austin 7 grabs eyeballs at vintage car rally, wins top honour

Jamshedpur’s maiden event showcases 40 vehicles

Jamshedpur, Feb 27: Jamshedpur’s first-ever Tata Steel Classic and Vintage Car & Bike Rally was organised today with beautiful automobiles lined up at Gopal Maidan.

The rally was organised as part of the 183rd Founder`s Day celebration honouring the vision and memory of the Company’s and Tata Group’s founder Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata.

Over 40 vintage and classic cars and bikes dated from 1920s to 1980s participated in the rally with participation from Ranchi, Chaibasa and Jamshedpur. It was a unique opportunity for the owners to display their vehicles in this rally and experience the city on wheels.  

The rally also included a special participant, Jamshedpur’s very own ‘Hitodi’, a 50cc moped that was manufactured by India Automotives Ltd. in Adityapur in the 1970s.

This unique and first-of-its-kind event in Jamshedpur was flagged off by T V Narendran, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Tata Steel at Gopal Maidan.

The event witnessed enthusiastic participation from the citizens of Jamshedpur who gathered in large numbers to see the vintage vehicles.

Addressing the gathering at Gopal Maidan, TV Narendran said: “Vintage vehicles represent history, passion and above all, they are a source of priceless memories and joy.  These vehicles that are participating in this rally are also cultural icons in their own right.  This is also an opportunity for Tata Steel to honour the owners of these vintage vehicles whose passion for preserving our culture is unique.  Sports, arts and culture have always been a way of life in Tata Steel, and we will strive to utilise every opportunity to promote them amongst our stakeholders.”

Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel set the context of the event and said, “We are glad to have conceptualized this event and invited the proud owners of vintage vehicles from Eastern region in the first edition of this rally. We hope that this becomes a memorable experience for everyone and gives us a boost to continue organizing this event every year on a larger scale”.

The rally ended at United Club with the prize distribution by Dr JJ Irani, Former Managing Director, Tata Steel and Mrs Daisy Irani. Atrayee Sanyal, Vice President, Human Resource Management, Tata Steel also gave away few prizes. Ruchi Narendran was also present as one of the jury members for the event.

Prizes were given in 18 categories including the overall champion prize which was bagged by  Gurmukh S Khokhar from Chaibasa who owns Austin 7 of 1933.

Khokhar’s Austin was also won in the long distance travelled category.

British made Austin car manufactured in the year 1933 was the center of attraction.

“This car was first owned by Nimai Chandra Bhanjdev, the Maharaja of Baripada. He sold it to a  Baripada based businessman and later in the year 1991 I bought it for Rs 50,000”, said Gurmukh S Khokhar.

He informed that additional Rs 1.5 lakh was spent for upkeep. Khokhar further said that Austin 7 has been participating in the Statesman’s rally held in Kolkata since 1992 and has also won the Indian Oil Trophy 28 times in a row  and entered into Limca Book of Records five times. Last time he got the award in the year 2015 for winning the 24th rally. Even today, this vehicle can do 16 km/L

Mercedes-Benz Nurburg (Model RJJ1) of 1928 owned by Tata Motors was declared the Best car between 1920-29.

Chevrolet’s Confederate of 1932 owned by Col Arup Basu was the best car between 1930-39 and also won in the best period costume category.  

Tata Steel owned Austin Princess (Model Princess A-135) was the best car between 1940-49.

Re Fantabulous of 1962 owned by Anand Sharma was the best bike/scooter between 1940-1975.

Sanjay Sabherwal owned Mercedes 190 of 1964 was the best road running by a car.  

Ambassador MK2 of 1964 owned by Gajendra Singh was awarded in the category longest distance transported.

Jamshedpur is not only home to connoisseurs of prized vintage cars and bikes but also has a rich cultural history and heritage. The rally is aimed at promoting the richness of Jamshedpur’s culture and its history.