Known for having once belonged to the Maharaja of Kashmir, the 1928 Rolls-Royce prototype sports model “Phantom ‘17EX’” owned by Mr. Yohan Poonawalla has won the prestigious “BEST OF SHOW” award at the “CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA JAPAN 2026”.

With 98 years of history, the car made quite a splash at numerous shows in the Western Hemisphere over the years, so its debut in the Eastern Hemisphere was highly anticipated.
Edging out stiff competition that included pre-war cars, post-war cars, supercars, and hypercars, the ‘17EX’ captivated the judges and crowd alike with its exceptional historical value and superb condition.

At the award ceremony, Mr. Poonawalla, who accepted the “BEST OF SHOW” award with his wife, Michelle, and their two children, Tania and Zayan, recalled that “the competition level was very high,” praised the competition’s unique venue, and thanked his family and team for their support in making it a success.

Hidetomo Kimura, the founder and CEO of CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA JAPAN, lauded the car’s popularity and believed it to be an invaluable opportunity to showcase the iconic Phantom ‘17EX’ in Japan for the first time at Asia’s premier event where carefully selected classic cars from around the world are brought together and judged by specialists and brand experts.

The “RUNWAY SHOW” was the main event of the competition and featured a procession down an illuminated red carpet. Akie Abe, the wife of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose friendship with Poonawalla began through their shared connection to his hometown of Pune, also participated.
Mrs. Abe sat in the back seat of the ‘17EX’ next to Michelle Poonawalla, waving and smiling at the crowd together with the owner seated up front.

Moreover, the whole Poonawalla family came dressed in kimonos, following Japanese cultural etiquette and demonstrating their respect for Japanese culture.

This story also trended in India and was picked up by the “Mumbai Mirror,” a prominent newspaper in the same company group as the “The Times of India”.

Thank you for the wonderful series of moments.