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Osianama launched its Vintage Car and Automobile Club at a function in Liberty Theater in Mumbai on January 24. Its aim is to bring together vintage car collectors, enthusiasts and those with an interest in motoring of the yore.
1. The event saw the display of many historical automobiles from various periods spread out around the premises of the theatre.
2. The French and British cars stood in front of the theatre while the Italian stallions were on display in the parking lot.
3. The French cars were Citroens of which the oldest one dated back to almost 87 years ago. This car was the Citroen Type A which was the French automaker’s first vehicle to be produced on an assembly line.
4. A majority of the Italian players were from Turin and Modena a.k.a Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Fiat with the third one being represented by a troupe of the original Fiat 500s.
5. While the cars and their heritage were celebrated in full glory, the event also became an occasion for the public to meet legendary car designer Tom Tjaarda as well as Jean-Paul Tissot, president of Club Delahaye.
6. These legends were joined by Richard Adatto, an eminent authority on pre-war French cars; eminent auto journalist Gautam Sen who is also the president of the Osianama AUTO Club; Kirti Trivedi, one of India’s most eminent designers and Tarun Thakral, founder of the Transportation Museum in Delhi.
7. The legends of the industry were joined by top collectors of classic and vintage automobiles such as Fali Dhondy, Cyrus Gandhi, Dalip Singh, Behram Ardeshir and Neville Tuli who is the founder of Osianama.
8. It seemed to be a moment of great pride for Fali Dhondy, a well-known collector in the Indian vintage car scene, when Tom Tjaarda spoke about the conception of the Fiat 124 using his vehicle, which he had brought for the occasion, as an example for showing how each part came to life.
9. The presence of such a large panel set the stage for avid discussions on diverse topics, such as French automotive coach building from the pre-war period, its preeminence then, and why it lost its importance in the post-war situation as well as the shift of design leadership from France to Italy and Italian design dominance after WW II. Broadly, the topic of focus was: From Citroen to Fiat, from Delahaye to Ferrari: how and why the leadership in automotive design passed from France to Italy.
10. We have to give a special mention to an ultra-rare 1936 Delahaye 135MS which has been in the Jodhpur Royal Family for over 50 years and is one of the five surviving models from the original production run of 11 cars. The car seemed to defy our imagination as it looked different from every angle.
It was a great experience to view all these cars in their element and things just got better when we got a chance to watch Tom Tjaarda tell us about car design over the ages as well as his various experiences with regard to the conception and creation of some of the cars he had built. We are looking forward to more such events with the club and obviously a chance to see many hidden treasures that the Indian vintage car scene has to offer.
