21 Guns Salute Rally

Revisiting the country’s finest cars

There are classic car shows and then there are concours shows. Given that the term 'concours d'elegance' translates to a competition of elegance in French, the difference is, unsurprisingly, in the level of preparation the cars have gone through. Most classic car shows, on the other hand, are usually a gathering of people with a shared hobby, where the level of finish isn't as important as just showing up and having a good time—and there's no prizes at the end of the day.

The 21 Gun Salute International Vintage Car Rally and Concours show sort of straddles the line between the two with dedicated owners preparing their cars up to a concours-level finish, to be examined by a panel of experienced judges—and the rally part of the show. Most other concours-condition vehicles are trailer queens, so seeing, hearing and experiencing these cars (most of which are older than your grandparents) on the roads of Delhi, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We hope the lucky people, who got to witness the cars drive from India Gate to the Ambience Greens golf course in Gurugram, all the way on the other side of the city, enjoyed the experience.

That's certainly what we did, with over 100 cars displayed on the rolling greens of the golf course. Madan Mohan, the organiser and host, is extremely passionate about his cars and it shows. Several of the cars on display bore his name listed as the owner, including a 1931 Cadillac V16, a 1933 Cadillac V12 and the original workhorses of the automotive world,

the Land Rover and Willys jeep. These are just a few out of his collection, which is over 300 cars strong. He is optimistic about developing India as a motoring tourism destination, given the rich history with classic automobiles India has. In fact, his efforts are being supported by the Ministry of Tourism. Like in previous years of the 21 Gun Salute show, this year saw a handful of cars brought in from international collectors. Like a pristine 1939 Delage D8 120 S Cabriolet, part of Peter Mullin's collection. This Delage is said to be owned by a pre-war French general and has starred in three Hollywood movies before it made its way to the Mullin garage. It originally came with a 4.7-litre, straight eight cylinder engine which would've made

in the neighbourhood of 120bhp. Now, it's got a supercharger on top —likely making it the only, if not one of the few, supercharged Delage models that didn't have prior racing pedigree. When the car isn't on display in the Mullin Automotive Museum in California, it's being shown at the Goodwood Revival or the Monterey Car Week. You just need to look up these shows to realise that having a car of its calibre, in Gurugram no less, really points to how far the 21 Gun Salute show has come.

The best part is that some of the Indian-owned cars shown here have even been displayed and won internationally. We're keeping our fingers crossed that one day collectors, all around the world, prepare their cars to concours-level in the hope of winning big at the 21 Gun Salute show in India.

THIS D8 IS ONE OF THE FEW, IF NOT ONLY, SUPERCHARGED DELAGE MODELS WITHOUT

PRIOR RACING PEDIGREE

Before MG Motors bring in their new products next year, they look to their past in India with an owner's meet before the 21 Gun Salute show. It's a great way to build customer engagement, if you ask us

1. Tiny MG shares the road with a massive Plymouth. 2. Bentley 8 paints a pretty sight with India Gate in the backdrop. 3. The Rolls Royce Silver Dawn, still far superior than the cars around it, as it would've been back in its day

1. This Delage cabriolet wears bodywork from French coachbuilder Chabron, hiding the supercharger under the acrelong hood. If we were to guess, we'd say this car is worth over 2 million USD. 2. Judges go over the cosmetics, mechanicals and electrics....