Roll out the vintage cars, we ain’t a country of donkey carts

KARACHI – Sundays are often reserved for tending to car repairs and tune-ups, but this Sunday was different: hundreds gathered outside The Forum at the Vintage & Classic Car Club of Pakistan (VCCP)’s 8th Annual Car Show to appreciate the glistening vintage cars that are very much part of Karachi’s heritage.
More than 100 cars, worth around Rs 1 billion according to the VCCP, were put up on show. The exhibition was visited not only by locals, but also by a large number of foreigners – an audience that the VCCP was hoping to target. VCCP President Mohsin Ikram told Pakistan Today the purpose of the show was to create awareness that Pakistan is a country where a collection of vintage cars is available – this in turn depicts the asset value of the country in the eyes of foreigners.
He said a large number of foreigners visited the show, including those employed in the different consulates of other countries in Karachi. “A group of foreigners from Holland is also coming to see this event, and I am sure they will see that Pakistan is not a country where only donkey carts exist,” he smiled. “We as a nation have destroyed our heritage buildings, but we can preserve this kind of heritage,” he said.
Ikram, well-known in the classic car scene in the country, brought to the a show a unique collection: a 1947 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet V12, said to be former Afghanistan king Zahir Shah’s car; a 1965 Ford Mustang convertible; a 1952 Citroen Traction Avant; a 1954 Austin Healey 100/6; a couple of Fiat 500s; a Mini Austin 1964; a 1952 Triumph Speed Twin with a side car; a 1941 BSA M20 with side car; and a 1939 Triumph Tiger 100.
Another vintage cars enthusiast, Karim Chhapra, displayed nine of his classic cars, including the Rolls Royce in which Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Lord Louis Mountbatten went to the Sindh Assembly building on August 14, 1947, to sign the historic declaration of Pakistan’s independence. Chhapra also has a 1946 Rolls Royce that belonged to the Nawab of Bahawalpur.
Another participant of the show, Zafar Moti, brought three classic cars to the show – a Mercedes 1977, a Volkswagen Jeep 1976, and a Variant. “We are here to display our collection of classic cars so that we can proudly claim that Pakistan is a civilized country. We are happy that thousands of people have come to see this show,” he said.