LAHORE: A surprise vintage cars rally paraded across the roads of the Walled City on Saturday and finally concluded at the Lahore Fort. The 14-car fleet included different models of Mercedes, Ford, Morris and Beatles.
The rally, organised by the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) in collaboration with the Vintage Cars Club of Lahore, made its way through the Royal Trail, and crossing the Delhi Gate, reached the fort where the cars were parked outside the British-era jail area.
Owners of the vehicles had also come along to take a tour of Old Lahore in their vintage cars. Tourists, especially children, at Lahore Fort were stunned to see the beautiful vehicles.
“I love vintage cars and this surprise sure is a treat for me. I think the organisers should have advertised this event so that more people could have joined. Anyhow, this is a good initiative and I feel nostalgic to see all these old cars,” said a tourist, Armaghan Shah.
One of the participants of the rally, Rizwan Kiyani, appreciated the initiative taken by WCLA and said that such rallies were organised across the world. “Taking our cars through heritage sites and the Royal Trail is a mind-blowing experience. I did not know that the Walled City is so clean and the restored route is breathtaking.”
“I’m happy to see the cleanliness and maintenance of the fort as well and hope that further efforts would be made in this regard.”
WCLA Marketing Deputy Director Tania Qureshi said the purpose of the rally was to draw tourists’ attention towards history and classic car heritage.
“We will be conducting such rallies on a regular basis inside the Lahore Fort and other places inside the Walled City. This was just the beginning and the response from the public has been amazing,” she said.
WCLA Marketing and Tourism Director Asif Zaheer told Pakistan Today that the rally was the first of its kind in the Walled City. “Next time we will be organising it on a larger scale and the authority is taking all out measures to promote the heritage and culture.”
