The vintage collection boasted of names like Morris Belsize, Austin, Ford, Plymouth, Chevrolet, Citroen, Dodge, Buick, Studebaker, Morris, Fiat, Riley, Lagonda and Graham Paige. The 1914 Morris Belsize fire engine from the National Rail Transport Museum was the oldest entrant in the rally this year. Its driver Jameel Ahmed Sharif said, ``Only three models of this fire engine were made in the world and this is the only one which is still around''.

As the gleaming fire engine stopped at Malibu Towne, Sharif jumped out to attend to his vehicle. ``The fire engine used to be on regular duty at the Nizam's workshops, but now even a short drive can be very taxing for it.''

Many first-timers rubbed shoulders with the veterans who had returned to be part of a tradition dating back to 1964.

A special attraction was the 1938 Mercedes Benz, once owned by the royal family of Gwalior, which made its first public appearance after being restored by its present owner Vipin Buckshey. This four-cylinder car with a 1,700 cc engine was custom-made for the Maharaja of Gwalior by Mercedes.

Buckshey said: ``I've had this car for the past five years. More than money, what I had to invest was my time''.

He said the restoration was done strictly according to the original manual of the car which he got translated from German to English. Also, since the maharaja was the original owner, Buckshey even managed to get the papers of purchase and shipping of the car as well.

Besides the Mercedes, Buckshey also owns a 1929 Austin which he had bought in 1986 for a mere Rs 756. ``It's a different matter that the cost on its restoration has not been that easy,'' says he. Another car that belonged to Gwalior state was the 1932 Riley, owned by the Sharma family. Ashwin Sharma's 1936 Moris has been featured in Mountbatten and in the upcoming Peacock Spring.

There were two cars that traced their antecedents to the Nehru family, a 1936 Buick driven by Jawaharlal Nehru the car was also used in the filming of Richard Attenborough's Gandhi and a 1934 Graham Paige reportedly driven by Feroze Gandhi.

In the classic section, an all-woman manned a 1949 Humber and there was a 1954 Jaguar previously owned by the Nawab of Pataudi. The vintage cars did a shorter route of 50 miles this year to spare the older vehicles from too much wear and tear.

The cars later returned to the Connaught Circus, where they were parked for public viewing before proceeding to the National Stadium for the prize distribution ceremony.

The Statesman Challenge trophy for the oldest vehicle to complete the road section went to the Morris Belsize 1914 model of the National Rail Museum; the Brijendra Challenge trophy for the best aggregate performance in the road section for a car above 10 hp went to the Dodge 1938 model belonging to Ramesh C Malhotra.