The enthusiasm coupled with joy among those whose vehicles participated in The Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally 2023 on Sunday was hugely infectious. It swept through the corners of National Stadium, Delhi, where the cars were arranged for display, with car enthusiasts charmed by their bewitching beauty and passers-by after a trip to the neighbouring Noida district of UP and back to the National Capital.

A blue vintage car, the Riley tri-car, 1904, was a cynosure of all eyes. The roots of Riley go back to the 1890s, when seeing its business potential, William Riley Jr, who was associated with the weaving industry, bought a cycle company and in 1896 incorporated a company to own it named The Riley Cycle Company Limited.

The tri-car was a natural step between two- and four-wheeled vehicles, the tri-car present in the 56th The Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally 2023 was Riley, 1904 with four and a half horsepower. Formerly used by Reverend A Hildesley, principal of the Lawrence School, Sanawar, Solan 1884-1912. It is one of four similar 1904 Rileys 2 in the UK and one in New Zealand but is the only one extant with full leaf spring suspension front and rear.

The caretaker of the Riley, Julia Williamson, said that it came from Jaipur in the year 2002 and was in bad condition but was stored for 19 years and has recently undergone restoration.

When asked as to how hard it is to preserve such cars, she says, “More cars are being saved and restored, that’s good for the movement as a whole. 50 years ago, they’d be scrapped, but now there’s such a national interest, everybody wants one, so now they’re even importing them.”

Thanking The Statesman for holding such rallies, Julia also underlined, “It’s always interesting to meet fellow enthusiasts and fellow car restorers. It’s a one-year, one-time event and it’s an overall wonderful pleasure.”

Elaborating on her interest and fascination for cars, the 68-year-old says, “This is just one of 36 cars owned by the S and A family’s private trust, I’ve worked on this collection since 1988.”

On the question of how youth can be part of this tradition, Julia says, “The problem is so many of these cars are now unobtainable and too expensive, but those who can afford them will be able to buy them. The number of cars in India is limited. So, now so many people are importing them. What happens now only time will tell. But I think the whole movement is so important to everyone involved that families will have family cars. They will pass them on to their children. So, youngsters will also have it.”

Calling for the media’s crucial role in preserving such cars, Julia says, “People read about it in newspapers, develop an interest, talk about it in families, and as I said it’s very much a family thing. Families own cars, they will pass them on to their children and that will perpetuate it as long as the youngsters develop an interest. Cause some of them, they’ll just sell them as soon as they can, which is not so good. So it depends. It’s a very fluid mechanism.”