Mallya's vintage cars put on auction, attract bidders from around the country

Vijay Mallya, the former liquor baron who is absconding from India, is known to have quite some love for vintage cars. When around 30 of those were put up on auction, car lovers from across the nation took part in the auction, despite the fact that the consortium of banks to whom Mallya owes money had a hard time in selling off the assets of his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines in earlier auctions.

The auction was put up by global liquor giant Diageo-controlled United Spirits, six months after Mallya stepped down as its chairman. The list of cars included a 1903 Humber, which is one of the oldest running cars in India. As per sources, it went for about Rs 1 crore, with a British-made Lanchaster fetching nearly Rs 2 crore.

The online auction was held on August 25, and went beyond the stipulated time, continuing till 4 am the next day.

Even though United Spirits held the rights to cancel the sale even after successful bidding, which added to the anxiety of the highest bidders, there was a successful turnout in the auction.

"Of the 30-odd cars up for auction, there were eight cars that fell into the vintage category. All were sold," one of the bidders told Mumbai Mirror.

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