A 1928 U.K.-made Austin Chummy, a 1933 Austin 10, Austin’s best-selling four-door saloon from the 1930s, and Royal Enfield’s ‘Mofa’, the 30cc moped, were the cynosure of all eyes at the second vintage and classic car show held in this heritage town on Saturday.
The Chettinad Heritage Car Club, which organised the show, joining hands with Rotary Club of Karaikudi and Y’s Men Club of Karaikudi, showcased 40 vintage and classic cars and an array of two-wheelers at the Pandiyan cinema grounds here as foreign tourists, locals and students thronged the venue to get a glimpse of the vintage beauties.
“We are delighted to showcase the vintage and classic cars and several old models of two-wheelers drawn from different parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry,” N.K. Srinivasan and L.M. Lakshmanan, president and secretary of the Chettinad Heritage Car Club respectively, said.
All the cars were roadworthy and that was the highlight of the show, they added.
Mr. Mahadevan, a Karaikudi-based two-wheeler dealer, showcased the 1928 model Austin Chummy while Mr. Lakshmanan is the proud owner of the 1933 Austin 10 in the vintage car category and won all round applause. After the launch in 1932, Austin 10 was upgraded till 1947 and the show had a 1946 model as well. Old models of Morris Minor, Plymouth, Dodge and Chevrolet too made it to the show.
Heritage town
The car show was organised for the second year mainly to preserve the posterity and the land of Chettinad, hailed as one of the oldest heritage towns in the country, was losing its charm. Legend has it that the Nagarathars had used imported cars in the 1920s but almost all the cars had disappeared. Efforts were on to restore a 1920 ‘Overland’ and 1921 Canada made car, gathering dusts in the town, Mr. Lakshmanan said.
The show was organised to entertain foreign tourists, who visited the town during Christmas vacation, they said and added that more than 50 foreign tourists, mostly from France, visited the show.
Mr. Lakshmanan, a car enthusiast, owns nine vintage and classic cars. He developed a passion for vintage cars when he launched a search for the ‘Standard companion van’, used by his grandfather, he said.
