Ravi Shastri's Fully Restored Audi 100 Is A Nostalgia Machine For Cricket Fans

The iconic Gold Audi 100 was restored by the Super Car Club Garage which is owned by Raymond Group chairman and managing director, Gautam Singhania, one of India's best known petrolheads. Singhania handed the keys of the fully restored Audi to Shastri at the end of last week.

Ravi Shastri's Audi 100 is one of the first car bearing the five rings badge to enter the country. Shastri was awarded the gold Audi 100 after he was conferred the title of Champion of Champions (Player of the Tournament) after India beat Pakistan at the finals of the World Championship of Cricket.

The post finals' drive around the MCG with the rest of the team perched either on or inside the car is one of the best known moments in Indian cricketing history. India's the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi waived all import fees for the Audi, allowing Shastri to bring the car into India, where it was greeted by a massive crowd when it arrived at the docks in Mumbai.

Since its arrival, Shastri used his Audi 100, which he calls a national asset for quite a while until parts became scarce. The car had been sitting idle for around 10 years when Gautam Singhania's Super Car Club Garage team took possession of it a little over a year ago.

When the Super Car Club Garage team got their hands on Shastri's Audi 100, nothing was working on the rear-wheel drive sedan. The Super Car Club Garage team stripped the car down and rebuilt it back to its former glory. The Super Car Club Garage team used only original Audi parts to restore the iconic car which was quite a difficult task, especially for the engine.

The restoration team worked on the engine, the wiring and A/C unit to bring them back to tip-top shape. The Super Car Club Garage team also acquired the original colour code for the Gold paint scheme which was then applied to Shastri's Audi 100 sedan.

While the entire car has been restored to its original state, the reborn Audi 100 does have two slight modifications in the form of Shastri's signatures on the fenders and a set of new wheels.

The Audi 100 owned by Shastri sports a five-cylinder petrol engine and a 4-speed automatic gearbox which sent the power to the rear wheels. The Audi 100 later morphed into what we know today as the A6, after the German luxury carmaker changed its naming scheme in 1993.

Thoughts On Ravi Shastri's Audi 100

Ravi Shastri's Audi 100 driving around the MCG with the team perched on it and celebrating their victory is one of the best known moments in Indian cricketing history. Seeing it brought back to its original condition after a full restoration will certainly bring good back memories to an Indian cricket fan from the 1980s.