India's first Maruti 800 restored to full glory! Finds home at Maruti Suzuki HQ

Maruti 800, the quintessential city car that gave wheels to thousands of families in India, was and remains a legend in the Indian automotive industry. Ever wonder what might have happened to the very first one ever? We'll tell you what's happened to it now. Maruti Suzuki has had the first-ever Maruti 800 restored back to its original glory and displayed at its headquarters.The news came from Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Director, Sales & Marketing- MSIL, himself who recently tweeted a photo.
"75 years ago India took its first step as an independent nation. 40 years ago we did the same with the first Maruti Suzuki 800. We are proud of our little part in putting India on wheels and will keep continuing our journey," Srivastava wrote.
India's first Maruti 800 was rolled out of then Maruti Udyog Limited's (now Maruti Suzuki India Limited) production facility in Haryana. It was handed over to Harpal Singh by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during her visit to the facility. The car carrying the licence plate number DIA 6479 remained with Singh until his death in 2010.

The car was at the Singh residence unattended for a long time which meant it accumulated decay damage. The owners took it for a service and repair but weren't keen on letting it go. Some pictures of the car surfaced online and also caught the attention of Maruti Suzuki, which helped in the restoration of the car.
After a lot of work and original parts and components, the car was brought back to it original self. But due to its age, it can not be driven on the roads. Hence, Maruti Suzuki decided to display it at its headquarters instead.