Maruti 800: The ₹47,500 Car That Taught India to Drive | Icons of the Road @atlasbureau.studio

Maruti 800 history: how a small car from 1983 became the first car for millions of Indian families. On 14 December 1983, Harpal Singh won a lucky draw and became the first owner of India's first Maruti 800, paying Rs 47,500. Built with Suzuki of Japan, its 796 cc three-cylinder engine made it light, simple and frugal. Maruti planned 20,000 cars in the first year and received 1,20,000 bookings. Nearly 29 lakh were built before the last one rolled out on 18 January 2014, in Firebrick Red, bound for Shillong. And the very first car, DIA 6479, was later restored by Maruti and now stands at its headquarters. Did your family own a Maruti 800? Share your memory in the comments. This is Icons of the Road, a series on the cars behind extraordinary stories. Subscribe so you don't miss the next one: the Hindustan Ambassador. Sources: Autocar Professional (R.C. Bhargava interview); The Week (Dec 2023); Team-BHP (Jan 2014); Rushlane (Aug 2022). Photos: Wikimedia Commons (Rainer Halama, Gpkp, Aashim Tyagi, Polytope4d, Simrandeep Chamak, Bahnfrend, Christopher John SSF, Shafipta, TuRbO_J, order_242, Corvettec6r), CC BY / CC BY-SA / public domain. AI-generated narration; photographs animated digitally. #marutisuzuki #didyouknow #IconsOfTheRoad #IndianCars #maruti800lovers