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Weekend Drive by Hormazd Sorabjee: Track to the future
The 12th Mercedes-Benz Classic Car Rally gave car lovers a chance to go back in time and watch automobile history unfold
For one weekend every year, the lawns of the Taj Lands End in Mumbai transform into something almost mythical: A 50-metre walk through the history of the automobile. No other carmaker can pull this off, simply because no other carmaker has been around for so much of it. Mercedes-Benz can, because it isn’t just the oldest manufacturer in the world — it is the arc of automotive progress itself. And at the 12th Mercedes-Benz Classic Car Rally, that felt more vivid than ever.
Over 100 classics lined up this year, more than 75 of them debuting at the rally. What made the sight remarkable wasn’t just the rarity or provenance, it was the fact that so many cars, some over half a century old, had arrived under their own power. A handful of determined owners even drove their classics all the way from Kerala, a tribute to the engineering robustness that remains Mercedes’s calling card.
The new showcase added a welcome layer of intimacy. Hundreds of enthusiasts queued for the chance to pore over details: Bakelite switches, hand-finished chrome, and elegant dials that defined several eras of design. On Sunday morning, the convoy rolled out for a drive, but it was the display on the Taj lawns where the magic coalesced: Pre-war legends parked next to post-war icons and modern classics, the evolution of the motorcar laid out in a single sweep of grass.
The W108 Red Pig tribute cars (one owned by Viveck Goenka, the other a Carlsson Rally Replica belonging to Baroda’s Pratapsinh Gaekwad) were reminders of the carmaker’s wild, rebellious youth. The pair of 1000SELs, the only two in India, looked like time capsules from the excess-fuelled ’80s. Then there were the celebrity classics: One 190SL once gifted to Jawaharlal Nehru, now with Hormusji Cama; another 190SL, formerly owned by Maharani Gayatri Devi, today part of Yohan Poonawalla’s impeccably curated collection.
Poonawalla also rolled out one of the rally’s modern showstoppers, an SLS AMG, painstakingly restored to factory spec. It was unveiled to loud applause, not because it was expensive, but because it was done with the seriousness and craftsmanship that define this community.
Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar brought a different kind of stardust. When he unveiled his father’s restored W124 300D (the former state car of Mewar) it felt like the resurrection of a chapter of the royal family’s history. It underscored what the event has become: A gathering where lineage, craftsmanship and passion all come together.
The rally highlighted a reality the collector market has woken up to: Classic cars, particularly classic Mercs, are now a thriving asset class. While global prices for many vintage cars have flattened, values of well-kept Mercedes models have surged.
What keeps the rally grounded, though, is the camaraderie. Owners trade restoration tips, spare parts and long-drive exploits with warmth and humour. Big names mingle with first-time participants. Twelve editions in, MBCCR remains the gold standard for classic-car gatherings in Asia. And judging by the passion on display this year, the star isn’t just shining, it’s blazing.
