Babi Nobis with his Lagonda M45 on the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida during a dress rehearsal on Tuesday

A beauty of 1934 vintage has done for a Calcutta car collector what the mean machines in his garage couldn’t: earn him a lap on the Buddh International Circuit in the prelude to India’s first Formula One flag-off this Sunday.

Babi Nobis’ Lagonda M45 convertible, which he had bought from the Maharaja of Bikaner 20 years back, will have its proud owner at the wheel and Lotus Renault’s F1 driver Vitaly Petrov in the passenger seat as it joins the Drivers’ Parade at the Greater Noida circuit before the big race.

“Around a month ago, the Delhi-based Heritage Motoring Club of India invited me to participate in the Drivers’ Parade with my convertible,” Nobis, a registered member of the club, told Metro on Wednesday.

The businessman took his Lagonda — a six-cylinder, 4.5 litre engine of British make — out for a spin on the Buddh track on Tuesday as part of a dress rehearsal for the parade. Of the 24 vehicles chosen for the event, nine qualify to be called “vintage” by virtue of being from the pre-1939 era. The rest are classics manufactured post-1939.

Four classic cars are on stand-by should any of the chosen ones break down.

“I drove around the circuit on my Lagonda at about 20mph,” Nobis said of Tuesday’s dress rehearsal. “The track is good, but there’s a lot of undulation that would make it tricky to negotiate (for the F1 drivers). Actually, the track will become better after a year when there’s rubber in it. It is very dusty now.”

So how does Buddh compare to other F1 circuits he has visited?

“They have planted a lot of trees around it. When there’s more greenery, it will be much better,” said Nobis, who has followed F1 action in Montreal, Sepang, Istanbul, Indianapolis, Monaco, Monte Carlo and Singapore.

A big Ferrari fan, Nobis would have liked to wear his love for the prancing horse on his sleeve had the dress code for Sunday’s event not been strict.

“Well, we have been asked not to sport any logos. Also, no sharp instruments, no fancy dress,” said the car-loving Calcuttan, back in town for a couple of days before he heads for Delhi again.

The Lagonda is parked at the Jaypee Spa near Buddh, revved up for its Sunday strut. Nobis feels the car’s idiosyncrasies make it stand out.

“The Lagonda has no door on the driver’s side. You have to open the left door for the lady and have her seated before going over to the right and then jumping over the low door after stepping on the wide running boards, Walter Raleigh-style,” he said.

Driving the Lagonda also requires a lot of skill as the accelerator is in the middle and the brake on the right.

What if he makes a mistake on Sunday? “Oh, I am used to driving the car,” Nobis quipped, with the wave of a hand.