Premium pre-owned vehicle dealership, Big Boy Toyz recently began the online auction of vintage cars on its platform and one of the vintage cars, a 1971 Land Rover Series 3 Station Wagon, has found a home in Ranchi. But this is no ordinary garage. It houses some of the most amazing cars – both old and new – under one roof and belongs to former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. While Dhoni bought the Land Rover, the online auction saw 19 cars listed on the platform that included Rolls Royces, Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevrolets, Land Rovers, Austin, Mercedes and more.
Dhoni’s Land Rover Series 3 Station Wagon is as rare as they come in India. The model is finished in a lovely shade of yellow. It was also one of the most popular of the Land Rover Series range with over 440,000 examples built between 1971 and 1985. Engine options at the time ranged from a 2.3-litre four-cylinder petrol engine to a 3.5-litre V8 with a four-speed manual transmission and a 2-speed manual transfer case. It’s not clear about which engine features on the example purchased by Dhoni.
Commenting on the purchase and the e-auction, Jatin Ahuja, Founder and MD, BBT, said, “Vintage Cars and Classic Cars are a multi-billion dollar industry globally. We are the first company to introduce it in an organised and efficient way in India. These auctions are aimed at all the car enthusiasts of the country who love vintage and classic cars. Owning a Vintage Car and Classic car is a unique experience like owning a painting, owning a piece of art. Gradually this business is going to expand in the country and we will do our best to bring the best Vintage and Classic cars for all the car enthusiasts in the country. We want to be a platform where people can always find the vintage
and classic cars they desire.”
Furthermore, BBT revealed that the auction started with the Volkswagen Beetle for as low as ₹ 1 lakh and went up to ₹ 25 lakh. It’s unclear if the other vintage cars on the list found celebrity homes but we’d like to hear more about it from BBT. Meanwhile, the company says it wants to strengthen its vintage and classic car division and aim to expand the same into an ₹ 100 crore vertical in the coming years. The firm plans to come with fresh online auctions of vintage and classic cars every two months. The next auction is scheduled to take place in February 2022 and will have a new inventory.
