Cruising into town: Vintage cars turn (petrol) heads
Ford Mustangs, Rolls Royces and other icons of the motor industry braved the arduous journey from the port city of Karachi to Peshawar, travelling on roads across the length of the country. All cars sported a ‘Lets end polio now’ sticker. This is the third time the vehicles made it to Peshawar. On two other occasions, the rally ended in Islamabad due to security concerns.
Hundreds of car enthusiasts thronged Peshawar Club where the cars were displayed after their journey. The event, sponsored by the Tourism Corporation Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP), created plenty of excitement as petrolheads gathered around the car owners and fired questions about the maintenance of these prized possessions.
The crowd was given the unique opportunity to get up close and personal with iconic vehicles of yore such as the Mercedes 170 SD, the 1939 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith and the 65’ Ford Mustang, which ‘stang’ lovers will have you believe is the only model to own. Other classics on display included 1966 and 1975 Volkswagens,the 1965 Humber Hawk,the Range Rover classic, an original 1957 Willy’s Jeep, 1939 Chevrolet Master Deluxe, 1939 Austin, 1961 MGA, 1965 Peugeot 404, 1950 Hillman Minx, 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback and the 1969 Mini Clubman 1275GT.
Other restored cars (read labours of love) included a 1947 Buick, 1949 MGY, 1954 Chevrolet, 1957 Austin Healey, 1957 Ford Thunder Bird, 1976 Cadillac Eldorado and the achingly beautiful 1986 Jaguar XJS. “We have brought cars, which people once disposed of as garbage, back on the road,” said Peshawar Classic Cars and Land Rover Club CEO Asim Durrani. The club hosted the event and gathered over a dozen vintage cars for the visitors.
“These efforts are to portray the soft image of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P),” Durrani added. “The vintage and classic car collection here was much better than other parts of the country.” He said the club was buoyed by the initial success of the event, adding that was the reason it was held on an annual basis.
“It was a huge undertaking to have reached Peshawar. We started our journey in May this year from Karachi,” said Khalid Khan, the owner of one of the classics. He added huge financial resources were involved in the preservation and maintenance of these cars. Apart from buying his own vehicles, some beauties from his collection were owned by the elders of his family. Therefore, his love for the automobiles came naturally.
The rally started in May this year from Karachi and passed through different cities of the country before coming to an end when the last car rolled into Peshawar. The organiser of the event said 25 vehicles managed to reach the final destination.
While thanking all those involved in making the event a success, tourism and sport adviser to K-P chief minister said, “Maximum funds are being provided to promote tourism in the province and such events are an example of our efforts”.
You can view a slideshow of pictures of the car rally here.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2014.
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I would like to highlight some mis-statements in this article.
this was the fourth trip to Peshawar ... first one in 2010 we did not go to Peshawar as it was not part of the plan.
The rally was self financed and not sponsored - the car show in Peshawar was sponsored to the extent of parking space and lunch for 30 participants.
There was no 1939 Rolls Royce Wraith, neither a 1961 MG A as claimed and nor Mustang 1968 Fastback, Peugoet 404, Humber Hawk, etc. Perhaps the reporter copy pasted from last year's event report.
I quote from the article, "K-P chief minister said, “Maximum funds are being provided to promote tourism in the province and such events are an example of our efforts”. ... participants paid for their own accommodation, meals, fuel, etc. What funds are we talking about here ?
The above is not to undermine the effort, initiative of the 'Peshawar Car Show' sponsors and organisers as we had a great time and it is always a pleasure to end our rally in Peshawar.
" Oh no! Taliban Khan is spending money on healthy events for the people's entertainment while spending money on the necessities as well? How corrupt" ~ An average hater.
More pics would have been appreciable, at least of the 25 cars which made it.