Antique Cars Museum, Pakistan’s first online museum of vintage & classic cars, held its 3rd Annual Antique Cars Show at the historic and majestic Frere Hall in Karachi, Pakistan.
It was a free-for-public event and people of all ages and segments of society came in huge numbers to see these wonderful antique cars that you don’t see every day on the roads of Pakistan.
There were 120 antique cars on display with the youngest being 30 years old and the oldest one 101 years old. These included the historic and significant antique cars of the country as well; the 1948 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith of Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah that was gifted by Queen Elizabeth; and the 1924 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost of Nawab of Bahawalpur that was used by Sir Lord Mountbatten and Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah on 14th August 1947 to go to the Governor House to sign the Independence declaration.
100-year-old cars
There were some almost 100-year-old cars also on display, which are amongst Pakistan’s oldest cars: the 1926 Chevrolet Superior and 1926 Austin Seven Chummy.
Also on display were some rare vehicles like the 1941 Cadillac Sedanette Coupe.
The only other such car was owned by Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah which was his first car as the Governor General of Pakistan, the 1947 Cadillac Limousine that is on public display at his mausoleum in Karachi.
Then the truly vintage 1938 Rolls Royce Wraith and the 1956 Vanden Plas Princess Limousine also stood out at the show because of their imposing presence. There was an amazing display of timeless classics like the Ford Mustangs, Porsche, Rolls Royce, Mercedes, BMW, Aston Martin, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Corvette, Camaro, Austin Mini, MG, VW Beetle, Toyota Celica, Nissan Z, Mazda Miata and you name it and it was there.
An interesting addition this year was a wonderful 5000+ Die-cast classic cars display set up that also attracted the audience and especially youngsters as the passion and hobby for cars is ignited by these small toy cars to begin with and then you eventually buy a real classic car as you grow up.
Antique Cars Museum
Speaking on the occasion, Shoaib Qureshy, Founder Antique Cars Museum said: “Antique cars are a part of art and culture of any country and such a show helps showcase the country’s soft image.”
“Interestingly, we don’t have any classic car museum in Pakistan so such a show helps create a one-day real-life museum display for people. If we can somehow get government or private sector support with space, we would love to make Pakistan’s first physical car museum in Karachi for people to enjoy it all year round.”
“Also it will be a top touristic attraction in Karachi for the people who come here from all over the country and the world.”
“My objective through the Antique Cars Museum which I founded three years ago was to showcase on a single platform the great historic and globally priceless antique cars that we have in Pakistan so that the world can also see that we are no lesser than in any other part of the world. Also, I wanted to show the Pakistani love for these automotive treasures and how our passionate antique car collectors take care of these cars and preserve them despite the huge challenges that we face here,” said Shoaib Qureshy.
tanvir@dubainewsweek.com
