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February 14, 2010 | Late Gayatri Devi's car steals vintage car rally in Jaipur | Jaipur: More than 100 vintage cars took part in the 12th Vintage and Classic cars rally in Jaipur, and outshining them all was the 1968 white Mercedes belonging to the late Gayatri Devi. Now owned by the event organizer Sudhir Kasliwal, the 1968
Mercedes remained the centre of attraction for its immaculate condition and its
association with the erstwhile Queen of Jaipur, Gayatri Devi, who was respectfully
called Rajmata, or Queen Mother. The 12th Vintage and Classic Cars rally, which
is being organised by the Rajputana Automotive Sports Car Club (RASCC) in
association
with the Rajasthan Tourism Department, has been dedicated to the late Rajmata
because of her fondness for car rallies. "This car (1968 Mercedes) belongs to
Rajmata Gayatri Devi and she had got it from Spain. The speciality of this car
is that it is a 1968 model automatic car. It has dual carburettors and it is a
powerful car. It is called the 223S automatic," said Hamid Gahani, the caretaker
of the car. The organizers of the event also paid homage to the Rajmata by naming
the 36-inch-high 24-carat gold-coated trophy as Rajmata Gayatri Devi Memorial
Cup. The trophy will be presented to the winner of the Concours d'Elegance-Classic
category in the rally. The car rally is organized annually to preserve the heritage
of the country. This year the rally features Mercedes models ranging from 1936
to 1971, 14 different classic Jaguars, Cadillac, Daimler, Austin, Chrysler,
Studebaker,
Humber, Erskine, Ford Mustang and a 1938 model Fiat. "The biggest advantage of
organizing this vintage car rally is that the cars which were kept in the junkyard
or left covered and unused in people's garages, are now being restored through
this event. They are now taking part in this rally in large numbers," said Sudhir
Kasliwal, vice-president of Rajputana Automotive Sports Car Club. Kasliwal further
said that this event has prompted people in Jaipur to preserve their old cars
and people have started showing interest in restoring this lost heritage of India. |
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