Owning a vintage car needs more than deep pockets! It requires a deep-seated passion for these automotive marvels. Organised on Sunday in Delhi, The Statesman’s 59th edition of the ‘Vintage & Classic Car Rally 2026’ once again proved that ‘old is gold and should never be sold.’
In an exclusive conversation with the newspaper, one of the participants, Uday Bahadur, who is in the real estate business and owns a vintage Bentley S1, enthusiastically spoke about his marvellous machine.
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“I love vintage and classic cars. I collect them and ride them daily. This is a 1957 Bentley S1. She’s automatic with power steering. I’ve covered 55,480 km with her in the last 10 years. So she’s probably the most driven vintage car in India,” Bahadur said.
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Talking about the car’s maintenance, he said, “It’s not very difficult. With regular preventive maintenance, there’s not much trouble.”
“I’ve got my own workshop and mechanics, so we maintain all our cars ourselves. I’ve just returned from Jaipur. I drove there and back, covering 648 km. And she won the rally,” he added.
When asked what he liked in his Bentley, he said, “The lines, the shape, and actually driving it. It’s a car with old-school looks.”
Responding to a question about the Delhi government’s vehicle-ban policy, Bahadur said, “It’s an emission problem, not an age issue. If a car is in very good condition, it will not pollute. The policy should not be linked to the age of the car but rather to its condition.”
Over a hundred vintage and classic cars participated in this year’s event.
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