The stars will be out in the daytime, as part of the eighth edition of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Car Rally (MBCCR). Organised by Autocar India, in association with Mercedes-Benz, the rally will be held on December 5 at the Taj Lands End, in Mumbai.
The rally, first organised by Autocar India in 2014, is the country’s premier classic car event and has catalysed the creation of a community of proud Mercedes-Benz classic car owners and restorers. This year’s rally will see a constellation of Mercedes-Benz cars from various decades, including every generation of the Mercedes-Benz SL, S-Class, E-Class and even the C-Class in almost every body style. These cars will be accompanied by rare models such as the Adenauer limousines in at least two variants, the 170V range and some S-Class coupes and cabriolets. The event will also see some modern classics such as the SLS Gullwing and Roadster and the Maybach 62, alongside some SLs and S-Class models from the ’80s and ’90s. Over 50 cars are scheduled to take part in the MBCCR 2021, including a Unimog motor home and a replica of the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the company’s — and the world’s — first-ever automobile.
Participants and their cars will drive in a convoy from Taj Lands End to Worli Sea Face and back. MBCCR 2021 will also see participants from several parts of the country. The Jam Sahib of Nawanagar’s 1955 300 Adenauer, painstakingly and lovingly restored by Mayur Khasrani, is one of them and giving it company will be Abbas Jasdanwalla’s 300 Adenauer Limousine from Pune, Pradeep Naik‘s V123 Limousine from Goa, and Althaf A M‘s W123 240D from Kochi.
“Our family has owned several Mercedes-Benz vehicles over the last six decades, and we still have many of these cars in our garage. I look forward to participating in the rally and learning more about other similarly — and impeccably — maintained Mercedes that still run as well as they did when they were new,” said hotelier Samit Hede. Hede, who owns every successive generation of the S-Class since 1950, will be participating at the rally with his Mercedes 280SEL (W108).
“The MBCCR played an instrumental role in rekindling my fascination with classics. I reacquired my S123 240TD some 20 years after I’d sold it and expect to have a great time with it at the rally,” said businessman Jagdish Thackersey.
Martin Schwenk, Mercedes-Benz India MD and CEO, said that the MBCCR had evolved into one of India’s most awaited motoring events, featuring some of the rarest Mercedes-Benzes in the country. “The immense pride and the unmatched zeal with which our customers present their Three-Pointed Stars at the rally and drive them on Mumbai roads strongly underlines the love, respect and the impeccable customer loyalty for Mercedes-Benz. Moreover, it gives us a platform to share the passion of classic car owners and reiterates yet again Mercedes-Benz’s unparalleled heritage that has inspired generations of engineers and designers to make modern day luxury cars for our customers that set new benchmarks in design, luxury quotient and technological innovation, each time,” said Schwenk.
The rally has also created an ecosystem of its own, which includes collectors, restorers and parts suppliers, said Perseus Bandrawalla. “And that’s something very few such events across the world have managed to do. I would like to thank Mercedes-Benz India for their continued support,” said Bandrawalla who has been curating the rally since 2014.
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