Gurgaoncar lovers had a field day feasting their eyes on old beauties of the 1950s, as cars and two-wheelers rolled out on the streets for a vintage motor rally flagged off from Gurgaon’s Crowne Plaza on Sunday morning.

The participants — members of the Heritage Monitoring Club of India in Delhi— drove to Nimrana Fort and back after a brief halt there.

“These vintage motors are the pride and passion of their owners,” explained Hardeep Singh (38), who drove a 1954-make Lambretta. “I purchased this scooter in 1987, when I was in eighth grade. My uncle owned three such scooters and had once allowed me to ride it. However, he refused to sell any. That is when I came to know of this shop in Panchkuian Road which had the scooter on sale. I take it out for a ride once over the weekend.”

Singh, a resident of new Rajender Nagar in West Delhi and an official translator with RDM Ltd, also owns a James 1940 and a rare folding parachute scooter, which he says is small enough to be packed and carried in a car boot.

“Owning a vintage car is costly and space-consuming,” he says, adding that he maintains his bikes himself. His Lambretta gives a mileage of 45 km and reaches a top speed of 70 km.

Like Singh, S B Jatti (50) also keeps his Mustang 1958 without help from mechanics. He says, “I bought my car in the early 80s’ for less than Rs 1 lakh. Its market value must be around Rs 20 lakh today. Owning a machine of that era gives me a sense of belonging and pride.” Jatti, owner of Jatti Motors, spends Rs 5,000 monthly on the the vehicle’s upkeep and regularly updates his knowledge of new accessories available for his Mustang on the Internet.

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