An Affair To Remember!

This was no ordinary Sunday in Kolkata as The Lake Club in collaboration with Eastern India Motoring Group (EIMG) geared up to host a bevy of timeless beauties which set the temperature soaring on the morning of February 12.

After the stupendous success of its inaugural edition held last year, The Lake Club EIMG Concours D’ Elegance – the only Concours ever held in Kolkata – was back and this time is was bigger and grander with as many as 90 exotic and rare vintage and classic vehicles taking part in this annual heritage motoring extravaganza. The icing on the cake was the nine Rolls-Royces which adorned the club lawns like nine grand jewels. Keeping them company was the 1906 Renault Freres – a show stopper – which wears the crown of being the oldest car of Kolkata.

With the Rabindra Sarobar in the backdrop, clear blue sky above, the sprawling green lawn and some of the very best vintage and classic cars & bikes on display, the setting was perfect for The Lake Club EIMG Concours D’ Elegance 2023 – a memorable date with history and legacy.

The Concours was curated and judged by Mr. Shrivardhan Kanoria, Founder & President of EIMG who had painstakingly selected the 90 heritage cars and bikes which were invited to participate in the event.

The heritage vehicles were judged on the basis of Authenticity, Restoration, Maintenance, Historical Importance, and Rarity and segmented under the following categories.

1. Vintage Car upto 1930
2. Vintage Cars from 1930 to 1940
3. Vintage Two Door Cars
4. Classic Cars from 1941 to 1950
5. Classic Cars from 1951 to 1975
6. Classic Two Door Cars
7. Two Wheelers
8. Indian Heritage Cars
9. Off Roaders

Other top honours of the Concours included The Oldest Car Award, The Preservation Cup, The Restoration Cup, The Resurrection Cup, The Admirable Cup, Judges Choice Award, Special Car Award, and Momen Sahab Memorial Best Of Show (instituted in the loving memory of EIMG member and vintage car connoisseur Mr. Golam Momen).

The Lake Club EIMG Concours D’ Elegance 2023 results were as follows:

1. Vintage Cars upto 1930 – 2nd Runners Up – 1926 Studebaker – Kunal Banerjee
2. Vintage Cars upto 1930 – Runners Up – 1930 Plymouth – Purnima Dutta
3. Vintage Cars upto 1930 – Best in Class – 1927 Dodge – Surendra Dugar
4. Vintage Cars from 1931 to 1940 – 2nd Runners Up – 1939 Morris – Gadai Dey
5. Vintage Cars from 1931 to 1940 – Runners Up – 1933 Austin – CP Verma
6. Vintage Cars from 1931 to 1940 – Best in Class – 1932 Ford – Late Sanjay Ghosh
7. Vintage Two Door Cars – 2nd Runners Up – 1935 Ford – Ranajit Gooptu
8. Vintage Two Door Cars – Runners Up – 1929 Rolls-Royce- Jaywardhan Kejriwal
9. Vintage Two Door Cars – Best in Class – 1937 Opel – Rajiv Ghosh
10. Classic Cars from 1941 to 1950 – 2nd Runners Up – 1949 Buick – Late Sanjay Ghosh
11. Classic Cars from 1941 to 1950 – Runners Up – 1948 Plymouth – SK Lahiri
12. Classic Cars from 1941 to 1950 – Best in Class – 1948 Buick – Captain P Naha
13. Classic Cars from 1951 to 1975 – 2nd Runners Up – 1951 Morris – Subrata Sarkar
14. Classic Cars from 1951 to 1975 – Runners Up – 1968 Mercedes – Sourojit Palchoudhury
15. Classic Cars from 1951 to 1975 – Best in Class – 1959 Ford – Sarojesh Mukerjee
16. Classic Two Door Cars – 2nd Runners Up – 1965 Hilman – Sharmistha Hazra
17. Classic Two Door Cars – Runners Up – 1947 MG – Rupak Ghosh
18. Classic Two Door Cars – Best in Class – 1963 Triumph Spitfire – Saikat Dutta
19. Two Wheelers – 2nd Runners Up -1956 Arial – Harjit Dhanjal
20. Two Wheelers – Runners Up – 1940 Triumph – Terence Lobo
21. Two Wheelers – Best in Class – 1923 Panther – Hossain
22. Indian Heritage Cars – 2nd Runners Up – 1961 Ambassador – Baladev Majumdar
23. Indian Heritage Cars – Runners Up -1964 Standard – Subhajit Kumar
24. Indian Heritage Cars – Best in Class – 1957 Fiat – Rajiv Ghosh
25. Off Roaders – 2nd Runners Up – 1957 Land Rover – Sarojesh Mukerjee
26. Off Roaders – Runners Up – 1952 Willys – Saikat Dutta
27. Off Roaders – Best in Class – 1942 Ford – Ravi Khedwal
28. The Oldest Car Award. 1921 Rolls-Royce – Lalit Bagla
29. The Preservation Cup – 1925 Rolls-Royce – Ashok Bubna
30. The Restoration Cup – 1964 Ford Anglia – Amrit Roy
31. The Resurrection Cup – 1958 Mercedes – Prithvi Nath Tagore
32. The Admirable Cup – 1937 Rolls-Royce – SK Karnani HUF
33. Judges Choice Award – 1937 Rolls-Royce – Azam Monem
34. Special Car Award -1931 Lancia – PR Agarwal
35. Overall Third – 1925 Rolls-Royce- Ashok Bubna
36. Overall Second – 1937 Rolls-Royce – SK Karnani HUF
37. Momen Sahab Memorial Best of Show – 1937 Rolls-Royce – Azam Monem

For the past four years, The Lake Club, Kolkata has been successfully hosting ‘The Vintage Car Show’ in collaboration with Eastern India Motoring Group (EIMG), for their members and guests.

Each year, this event has witnessed a great turnout of exotic heritage cars, as well as a huge footfall of members and heritage motoring enthusiasts, making this one of the grandest and most popular Vintage Motoring Events of Kolkata.

This endeavour of The Lake Club in collaboration with EIMG has been a big step towards preserving the Motoring Heritage of Eastern India.

Shrivardhan Kanoria, President – EIMG said, “Organising an event of this magnitude is never possible without the support of our patrons and partners. I’m grateful to the entire team of The Lake Club led by Club President Dr. Saibal Chakrabarti, The Joint Secretaries, Mr Subrata Guha & Mr Debabrata Dutta, Mr. Subhajit Kumar and all the Committee Members of the Club, for providing us with the breathtaking venue.

My deep gratitude to Mr. Julia Patnaik (Bhubeneshwar), the leading Vintage and Classic Car collector of Eastern India who has sponsored the beautiful mementos and trophies which has been be handed over to all the participants and winners. Special thanks to EIMG member Mr. Avik Naha who has graciously hosted The Cocktail Dinner for the EIMG Members.”

Images courtesy EIMG photography team – Sourish Meryson, Ranadip Mandal, Deepanjan Sarkar and Kingshuk Sarkar.