More than 120 vintage and classic cars and two-wheelers ruling the roads of Kolkata; that’s what the residents of the city witnessed on Sunday morning as The Statesman flagged off its 53rd edition of Vintage and Classic Car Rally.
Apart from the four-wheeler beauties, the spectators were equally dazzled by the glory of the two-wheelers. One of the standouts among the crowd was the 1923 Panther Sloper, a 600cc bike that is owned by Syed Kamal Uddin Hossain and is maintained by his brother Syed Afzal Uddin Hossain, who comments: “I have been taking part in The Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally for almost 20 years now.
This bike belonged to my grandfather and has been a part of this family for three generations.” With a single cylinder and three gears, it comes with a hand-gear shift and an openvalve rocker. According to him, this is the only model in India and perhaps in Asia as well, which is still in running condition. Another beauty that stole the limelight was the 1957 Lambretta, which belongs to Terrence Lobo. It is a 48cc bike that was brought to India by an Italian priest in 1957 and from whom Terrence Lobo’s father bought it in 1979; since then, it has been a priced family possession.
He takes it out for a spin every week. While the Lambretta was driven by Md. Safi Alam, Terrence Lobo was too seen driving his other prized possession and ‘dear bike’, a 1942 Triumph, boasting a 350cc engine and one cylinder. Owned by Arijit Bhattacharya, the classic 1948 BSA Bantam, a 125cc singlecylinder model, was a complete eye-stunner at the rally. The bike has a 4bhp engine and was often known as the GPO bike during the colonial era. This bike originally belonged to his friend’s grandfather, and the ‘priceless asset’ has been in his possession for a decade now.
Being professionally linked with the logistics business, he comments: “The restoration process was difficult with parts being really difficult to locate. Some had to be made, while some were imported from outside. I have been taking part in the Statesman rally for almost eight years now.” Taking part in The Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally for the first time, Lieutenant Colonel Nitin Shrestha’s 1937 Ariel Red Hunter, a 350cc two-wheeler, was a spectacular beauty that captivated everyone.
This pre-World War II bike is a rare one and took almost 8-9 months to restore. This two-wheeler possessed a rigid single downtube frame and was considered the fastest bike back then, being able to reach the top speed of approximately 137 km/hr. His 1956 Lambretta 150 LD, having one cylinder, also took part in the rally, which had bagged the trophy for the ‘best restored classic motorcycle’ in 2022.
The 1942 Excelsior, owned by Gurmukh Singh Khokhar and maintained and driven by his son Runak Singh Khokhar, enthralled everyone. A 98cc two-wheeler with one cylinder, it was manufactured by the Wellbike company; this restored bike has been in the family since 1994. Owned by Sanaita Kar and driven by Subhendu Kar, the 150 cc 1959 Vespa roused in everyone’s mind the classic Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck movie, Roman Holiday.
This classic two-wheeler has been a part of the family for more than three decades. Some of the few other twowheelers that took part in the rally were a 1936 JamesVilliers, maintained by the Late Dr Abdul Karim’s son Mohammad Abdul Rahim, a 1941 Matchless, 350cc twowheeler belonging to Anupam Ghosh, and several others,