The Takk Falaknuma in Hyderabad was adorned with vintage cars that were being driven by 12 Mumbai-based car enthusiasts. The vehicles were reportedly on their way to Mumbai from Coimbatore where the group decided to take a halt at the palace. The vehicles that were displayed at the palace were Mercedes 220s & Studebaker(1957), Buick (1949), Rolls Royce (1936), Mercedes 250 SL , Buick 8 (1941) Chevrolet (1937), Belair Convertible (1957), Belair (1961), Mercedes 250 SW108, Morris (1948) Volkswagen Camper Van among others.
The adventure for those 12 vintage car owners would appeal the local audience from Sholapur which may be their next halting location. Last year the group had undertaken a similar road trip to Jaipur. Speaking more on their experiences, owner of a 1978 Volkswagen Westfalia Camper-van Sangram Shirke, said, “Normally, we do not get an opportunity to ride our cars for shorter distances. However, it feels really good to take the car out on long distances as we do not get to do otherwise. It feels like we are the special attraction. Many a times, we got pulled over by the police only because they wanted to check out our car.”
Since these cars are pretty old, driving them long distance can get troublesome. According to Sangram, “It is a little too risky to go on a long ride with a vintage car, as not many mechanics have the spare parts for our cars. Hence, whatever the repair might be, we do it on our own. We do order the parts through Internet where they are readily available, though a little bit expensive,” he further added, “having a basic knowledge about the car is must.”
Source: NIE
