Auto show draws large crowd of cars

Gridlock on Kashmir Highway near Lake View Park due to high volume of visitors

ISLAMABAD: The air was thick with gasoline fumes and the noise of engines roaring was deafening. Yet, there was hardly any space to walk as petrol heads, young and old, from the twin cities descended on the 2F2F Formula Karting Club near Lake View Park on Sunday for what was arguably one of the largest car shows in the city’s history.

PakWheels held its fifth annual auto show on Sunday, where over 400 classic and modern cars, bikes and jeeps were put on display.



Classics cars from manufacturers such as Ford, Rolls Royce, Austin-Healy, and Triumph were the major attraction at the day-long show.

The organisers had divided the show into different sections, with one for vintage cars, another for exotics, and one for custom imports. There was also a separate section for bikes which was further divided into vintage and racing bikes. The vintage section for bikes showcased old Italian Vespa scooters and British Triumph bikes. By comparison, the classic cars section boasted the likes of Ford Mustangs, Volkswagen Beetles, and Mini Coopers.



“The participating vehicles have not only come from Rawalpindi or Islamabad, but also from other cities of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,” said one of the show’s organisers. He estimated that as many as 10,000 people had
visited the show.

Traffic jams

Such was the size of the crowd that Kashmir Highway leading to Lake View Park witnessed massive traffic gridlock. Hundreds of cars, buses and bikes parked along the road further compounded the situation. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2016.