Indian former cricketer and former head coach of the India national cricket team, Ravi Shastri, today took the delivery of his fully resorted Audi 100 luxury sedan. The car was restored by Super Car Club Garage (SCCG) which is operated by the Chairman and Managing Director of Raymond Group Gautam Singhania. SCCG says that the car came to them in very poor condition after doing rounds of many garages which were unable to repair the car as they couldn't procure the parts. It took SCCG around 8 months to painstakingly put this car back together, while the start to end process was about a year. It was finally handed over to Ravi Shastri today by Singhania.
Ravi Shastri won the Audi 100 in 1985 at the Benson and Hedges World Championship of Cricket in Australia, where he received the Champion of Champions award.
The Audi 100 was presented to Shastri in 1985 at the Benson and Hedges World Championship of Cricket in Australia, where he won the Champion of Champions award as the Man of the Series. The moment was even special because India had beat Pakistan in the finals to lift the World Championship of Cricket trophy. The whole team was so jubilant after Ravi Shashtri won the Audi that everyone jumped on it around Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Australia.
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Shastri also talked about how the then Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi waived off all the taxes so he could import the car to India.
Expressing his joy in receiving the car in the fully restored condition, Ravi Shastri said, "It looks like the car I won 37 years ago. The same, nothing has changed. Hats off to Gautam and Super Car Club Garage for doing this stuff the way they have. Unbelievable!... You know what it does, its jogs back your memory 37 years to that given day. What was happening when the keys were given in my hand? What did I do? Who were the people who sat on the car? How much champagne was on the seat? Who was sitting on top of the car? How many people were around the ground, when we took it for a spin, without a licence? All those memories come jogging back."
Shastri also talked about how the then Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi waived off all the taxes so he could import the car to India, which would otherwise he could not have afforded due to the high taxation back then. In fact, time and again Shastri has said that it's not his car but the India national cricket team's car and India's car, and he repeated those same words today as well. It was also one of the first Audis to have been imported to India. The only addition made to the car is the signature of Shastri that has been added on the front fender of the car on either sides.
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SCCG had to go through various countries' old part auction sites and brokers and scrap yards to source the necessary parts
Talking about the restoration process Gautam Singhania said, "When the car came in it wasn't working at all. We completely stripped the car, and then piece by piece rebuilt it from scratch. Painstakingly, we had to find a lot of original parts. A door panel here, a dashboard there, because it's a 37-year-old discontinued model and it was a bit of a challenge. It took just under a year, but with the painstaking efforts of the garage we were able to do it."
SCCG said that because Singhania was very clear that he wouldn't use any replica parts, the task became even more challenging. In fact, only a limited number of Audi 100s survived over the years, and SCCG had to go through various countries' old part auction sites and brokers and scrap yards to source the necessary parts.
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The cabin of the Audi 100 too has restored to its original condition with fabric seat covers
"Different bits and pieces were bought, collected, and shipped from all over the world. Bodywork painting had already started by that time, the original colour code was also procured from the manufacturer so we could have the original colour shade which was on the car when the car was presented in 1985. The engine, wiring, air conditioning and all electrical including power windows have been worked on at SCCG," the restoration unit said in its statement.
While the current specs of the car have not been revealed, the Audi 100 owned by Ravi Shastri, the 2.3e model, was powered by a 2.3-litre in-line five-cylinder petrol engine. Back in the day, the motor was capable of churning out a good 134 bhp, while mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission.
