At the Distinguished Gentleman’s Drive, vintage automobiles, impeccable style and a global campaign for men’s health came together in a celebration of automotive culture and a shared purpose.
On September 27th, Lahore offered a rather different take on the Sunday morning drive. At Aristopolo, a picturesque lakeside venue in DHA Phase 8, classic cars and their impeccably dressed owners gathered for the Distinguished Gentleman’s Drive, an international motoring event taking place in more than 200 cities worldwide. The occasion brought together a love of automotive history, personal style and a cause that deserves considerably more attention: men’s mental health and prostate cancer.
The cars were a sight to behold. Their owners arrived dressed for the occasion, accompanied by family members and fellow enthusiasts, transforming a motoring gathering into a celebration of an era when automobiles were built to make a statement. Yet beneath the polished chrome and snazzy silhouettes lay a more serious purpose. Supporting Movember, the global charity dedicated to men’s health, the drive aimed to raise awareness and funds for issues too often left out of everyday conversation.
Hosted by Shoaib Qureshy, founder of the Antique Cars Museum (a digital platform launched in 2022), the Lahore drive marked the return of an event the city had hosted during its first three years before it fell away for various reasons. Shoaib brought it back with the ambition of making a bigger impact, both locally and internationally.
The result was encouraging: Lahore finished among the top ten fundraising cities worldwide for the 2026 Distinguished Gentleman’s Drive, demonstrating how a shared passion can become a vehicle for collective action.
A Love Affair With The Classics
For Shoaib, classic cars have never been simply about owning beautiful machines. His relationship with them began long before he established the digital museum and is intertwined with family memories and an appreciation for things that stand the test of time. His first classic car was a 1990 Mercedes-Benz W126, which he acquired more than two decades ago and used as his daily driver.
“In a world that has always chased the new, I’ve always had the love for a classic…I’ve never bought a brand new car in my life, the youngest car that I have is 30-years-old!”
The origins of this fascination reach back to his childhood. In his family home hung a wall clock bearing an engraved image of a pre-war automobile from the 1920s. His mother had bought it during an international trip, and the clock followed the family through different homes over the years. After her death, it became the one object he particularly wanted to keep as a reminder of her.
“Today, it hangs in my office, a personal reminder of the seed my mother planted in my heart, without my even realising it for much of my life,” Shoaib says.
Another formative memory came from his wife’s family in Lahore, where a 1929 Hupmobile and a 1928 Studebaker were kept in the family garage. During summers and special occasions in the city, Shoaib found himself increasingly drawn to these automobiles. His professional life, meanwhile, has been spent in advertising and marketing, where storytelling is central to his work, and he sees a natural connection between his career and his passion for classic cars.
A Museum Without Walls
The idea for the Antique Cars Museum took shape during the Covid-19 lockdown. Shoaib had long dreamed of establishing Pakistan’s first physical museum dedicated to classic cars, but rather than wait for the right space or institutional support, he decided to start online.
“My dream was, and still is, to open Pakistan’s first physical classic-car museum. But rather than wait for government support or the right conditions, I decided to begin online in 2022, because this is the age of social media,” he says.
The pandemic had reinforced his belief that ambitions should not be postponed indefinitely. “You never know if you’ll be around to do something tomorrow, so it’s better to do it today,” he says. What began as a website and Instagram page has since expanded into exhibitions, gatherings and drives that bring the vehicles into public spaces. In 2025, the initiative received recognition as Asia’s Most Unique Car Museum at the Automotive Awards in the United Kingdom.
Shoaib organises exhibitions at heritage locations, including colonial-era buildings, old parks and historic town centres, pairing vintage automobiles with architectural settings that offer their own glimpses into the past.
“When these wonderful antique cars are parked against such majestic backdrops, the effect is powerful. It feels like stepping back a hundred years! Each show becomes a pop-up, open-air museum for a few hours or a day,” he says.
Rather than keeping automotive history behind glass, these exhibitions allow people to encounter the vehicles in public spaces, where their design and craftsmanship can be appreciated alongside the architectural heritage surrounding them.
The Art Of Keeping Old Cars Alive
Pakistan’s automotive history survives in private collections, family memories and the vehicles that remain on its roads. From the luxury automobiles associated with maharajas and nawabs to those owned by prominent political figures, these cars offer glimpses into the country’s changing tastes and social history. Shoaib points to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s 1947 Cadillac limousine as one example of the vehicles connected to Pakistan’s early years.
“Pakistan undoubtedly has a rich story to tell about classic cars, with a legacy that stretches back to the British Raj,” he says.
Preserving this history, however, requires considerable patience and ingenuity. Under the import policy as described by Shoaib, restrictions on importing older vehicles leave collectors largely dependent on cars already in Pakistan. Some have been neglected, abandoned or modified over the years, and restoring them can take years.
“If a car is valued and close to being scrapped, it must be saved, no matter what condition it is in,” he says.
Finding spare parts presents another obstacle. Collectors may have to bring components back from overseas trips or source them through markets such as Sharjah, while restrictions on ordering major parts online can make the process even more difficult. Shoaib estimates that restoring an antique car in Pakistan takes at least three to five years, sometimes considerably longer. The work relies on a relatively small network of mechanics, electricians, denters, painters and upholstery craftsmen whose specialised skills are essential to the process.
“These challenges have created highly skilled local craftsmen who can take the scrap parts available in the country and bring them back to life,” he explains.
Their work is central to the survival of Pakistan’s automotive heritage. Every restored vehicle represents not only a collector’s investment but also years of labour, resourcefulness and technical knowledge. Preserving the cars also helps sustain the craftsmanship required to keep them running.
Bringing The Cars Out Of The Garage
For Shoaib, owning a classic car means driving it, not leaving it indefinitely in a garage as a prized possession. He spends Saturdays driving his own vehicles, while Sundays often bring group drives, breakfasts and coffee meets. Larger gatherings offer opportunities to introduce the cars to a wider public.
“Getting these cars out on the road instead of letting them become garage queens is central to the classic-car culture I believe in,” he says.
These outings also give younger generations an opportunity to encounter automobiles they might otherwise know only through photographs. Seeing a vintage car on a city street or outside a historic building can spark curiosity about its engineering, design and place in history.
“We should never forget our history, our origins or our roots. We have a diverse heritage that must be passed on to future generations as a source of inspiration,” he states.
His efforts have also helped bring Pakistan’s relatively small classic-car collecting community closer together. When he launched the museum, he found enthusiasts spread across different groups and clubs. By attending club events and working with collectors, he sought to create a shared platform for people with a common interest.
“The sense of community has grown stronger and I’m happy to have played a part in it.”
Shoaib hopes to take the initiative further by establishing a permanent physical museum. Rather than a conventional collection of vehicles accompanied by information boards, he envisions an immersive space in which storytelling is as important as the cars themselves.
“My vision for the physical Antique Cars Museum is to create a fully immersive, multisensory experience around the cars on display,” he explains. “It won’t simply be a car with a small board explaining its history, as you see in many museums…I want to create a space that feels alive, entertaining and full of stories.”