Keeping India’s motoring heritage alive, the eighth edition of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Car Rally (MBCCR) saw over 60 rare and impeccably maintained vehicles, eight of these being Parsi owned, roll down the streets of Bombay on December 5, 2021. Flagged off by Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra cabinet minister of urban development and public works department, at the hotel Taj Lands End, the convoy made its way to Worli Sea Face and back.
Clockwise from top l: Perseus Bandrawalla; Hormuzd Sorabjee; line-up of Mercedes-Benz cars;
Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry family’s 220S W180 Cabriolet (right forefront); Hormusji Cama’s 500K Roadster
An integral part of Bombay’s winter tradition since 2014, MBCCR is organized by Mercedes-Benz in association with Autocar India where Hormuzd Sorabjee serves as editor. The Parsi owned rarities included Hormusji Cama’s 500K Roadster and the Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry family’s 220S W180 Cabriolet that is believed to be the only one of its kind in the country. Other beauties included Behram Dubash’s 300 Adenauer Limousine, Fram Dhondy’s 300 TD Estate, Pilzad Master’s 230 and Rayomand Patell’s SEC (C126). Among the modern classics were Yohan Poonawalla’s SLS AMG Coupe with gullwing doors and Eruch Kotwal’s SLK 200, notes a press release from MBCCR.
As commented MBCCR curator Perseus Bandrawalla, "We are all custodians with the responsibility of preserving India’s automotive heritage… The MBCCR has created a vibrant community and ecosystem of collectors and restorers.”