Arguably India’s most famous Audi, this Audi 100 is known to auto enthusiasts and cricket fans alike as the car that cricketer Ravi Shastri won during the 1985 Benson and Hedges World Championship of Cricket. Now, about 37 years later, the car has undergone a comprehensive restoration project and was recently handed back to Ravi Shastri. The restoration project was undertaken by Raymond Group’s Managing Director, Gautam Singhania’s Supercar Club Garage (SCCG) in Thane, near Mumbai.
Detailing the restoration process, the Audi 100 was brought back to life after nearly year’s worth of work. The car wasn’t in a running state for nearly 10 years after Shastri stopped using it due to the scarcity of spares. Explaining the same at a special event, Singhania said that his team had to completely stripped the car and rebuilt it from scratch. Considering its age, sourcing parts became a challenge but the team worked hard and put only original parts.
The team went further to procure the original colour code from Audi. Given that SCCG’s in-house paint booth creates over a million colours, the process would’ve been easier for the team to execute. Moreover, the engine, wiring and air conditioning were all worked upon at SCCG. The big change is the addition of Shastri’s signature on the fenders and new wheels on the car.
The Audi 100 was first introduced in 1968 and was based on the C1 platform. The 100 series was the precursor to the Audi A6 in the automaker’s portfolio up until 1993. The original Audi 100 made about 100PS from its five-cylinder engine that was paired with a 4-speed automatic transmission.
Jogging down memory lane, Ravi Shastri won the Audi 100 in Australia when he was conferred the Player of the Tournament title after India’s victory over Pakistan in the final match. He also shared that the import duty on the car was waived off by the then Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi.
Sharing an anecdote, he recalled how he was scared to drive the car back home in Mahim from the Mumbai (then Bombay) port. About 10,000 people had arrived to see the car and Shastri had requested an Audi official to drive the car instead. Shastri signed off calling the Audi 100 a “national asset.”
