India’s most famous Audi belongs to Ravi Shastri & it’s 35 years old

Ravi Shastri, the Indian cricket team’s coach is an established cricketer. Ravi Shastri was a crucial part of the Indian cricket team and also helped the team to several historic wins. In one such tournament, Ravi Shastri won the Audi 100 in 1985 after beating Pakistan. The car is still with him and is in a pristine condition.

The Audi 100, which entered the production in 1968 was available until 1994. The car became quite popular in the market. During those days, almost all the celebrities around drove an Audi 100 and when Shastri won it, he made sure that the car reaches India.

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While there is no confirmation of the same, many say that this is the first Audi to reach the Indian roads. This is the third-generation Audi 100 that was launched internationally in 1982. While we are not sure about the engine that powers the Audi 100 of Ravi Shastri, there were about 14 engine and transmission options available in the market at that time. The least powered engine was 1.8-litre petrol that churned a maximum of 75 PS while the most powerful variant came with a 2.5-litre engine generating a maximum of 165 PS. It is a rear-wheel-drive car that means that it is quite fun to drive around too.

Audi designed the 100 with aerodynamics in mind. It offered a drag coefficient of only 0.30. Over the years, the Audi 100 became an established vehicle in the market and later, the new nomenclature replaced the Audi 100 with the Audi A6.

How did Ravi Shastri win the car?

Ravi Shastri became “Man of the Series” in 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket. The Indian team beat the Pakistani team in the final to lift the trophy. Kris Srikant was awarded Man of the Match award, while Shastri won the Man of the Series award with his stellar performance with bat and ball. He received the Audi 100 as a gift.

In an interview with Michel Perschke, then head of Audi India, Shastri says that the team was so overwhelmed after he won the Audi that everyone got on the roof of the car. He then checked for fuel and drove the vehicle around the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Australia. He even got into a tiff with Javed Miandad for the car during the match.

Ravi says that it is his most prized possession and he does not even let his father drive the vehicle without asking for his permission. The car, in the true sense, is extremely well-maintained and looks like a vehicle coming out of a showroom. With the registration number MFA 1, Ravi gives out the car to exhibitors to showcase. But he also drives the car around every now and then.

Audi’s current association with the Indian cricket

Audi India’s current ambassador is Virat Kohli, who himself owns a slew of new-age Audi cars. Kohli is the captain of the cricket team and is a major automobile enthusiast too. He owns several high-end cars from Audi including an R8 V10 LMX, A8 L, RS6 and many other cars. There are many other cricketers who own Audi branded cars in India too.

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