[Mad Max]

Interesting that there's no Aston Martin cars in his collection? Given he lived the "Bond" lifestyle, I was pretty sure I'd find a few in there.

Love the collection, especially the older vehicles that has been maintained well. That Jag though

[vredesbyrd]

Say what you might. The man has got taste and knows his wheels, unlike bollywood celebrities and certain people living in a strange looking building. Never thought I'd hear an Indian owning two of my all time favourites, the CLK-GTR and the XJ220. He beat me to it. Though I am a bit surprised at this point that his garage lacks an F50 or a Mclaren F1 (or a really classy 550 Maranello or an air-cooled 911).

[Taronish_E]

Originally Posted by lemedico

Each one is sweeter than the last! Great taste, kudos to the (ex) king of good times!
Now, how long before we see him riding in one of these

Highly unlikely we will ever see him in one of these. The UK still has not approved his extradition and even if they do, the King of Good Times will not arrive at lock up or court in one of these.

Originally Posted by TrackDay

That sound when the engine fires up at 0:05 ! Simply priceless. By the way is the car a convertible or permanently roofless ? Only noticed it now since most CLK GTRs are seen with a proper roof.

The CLK-GTR roadster is permanently roof-free and hence a roadster, not a convertible. The car is 1 of 6 ever produced, 1 of only 2 in this shade of grey and thanks to the Sultan of Brunei, the only CLK-GTR in the world in RHD. There’s unicorns and then there’s this car.


Personally to me, the 275GTB and the CLK-GTR Roadster are the best of his collection. He also has Aston Martins, some modern Lambos and some other muscle cars too but I’m guessing details are more obscure on the same.

To answer another question on this thread, he does not own two Aventadors AFAIK.

[autocrat]

One of the most celebrated and admired industrialists having everything a man can desire, stands stripped of most of his possessions today. A lifetime of building a brand and business all decimated in a matter of a few years.

I think the turning point in his business was acquisition of debt laden Air Deccan. To add to this the business environment changed for worse. Mallya was in a hurry to open Kingfisher on international routes - where the money is - and acquiring Air Deccan was to help him with this objective.

Just shows how one bad move can ruin a seemingly infallible man.

One has to put oneself in the shoes of this man before making judgmental comments - he has had a prolific rise and a spectacular fall - how many of us are willing to risk our everything to make an idea or concept successful? This man has the gut to play such risks.

His rise and fall will remain a lesson for the leaders of today and tomorrow - and who knows? He may have a spectacular rise again.

When Amitabh went bankrupt post ABCL debacle, people wrote him off, but he bounced back, and how?

[Taronish_E]

What’s astonishing is that people think Mallya is bankrupt. He is not, KFA is and owes debts to the tune of crores. The man still has plenty of money to live a lavish life, enjoy his ‘forced exile’ as he has been quoted saying himself in the UK and avoid extradition. He may not be part of the ‘jet set’ anymore with court hearings keeping him from leaving the UK but he’s not broke by any stretch of the imagination.

His assets in India are frozen & are being sold to repay debts and as usual with the GOI auctions, no one creates proper valuations for anything or the corrupt babus help keep the reserve prices down and barely anything is fetched from such sales.

[D33-PAC]

Originally Posted by Taronish_E

What’s astonishing is that people think Mallya is bankrupt. He is not, KFA is and owes debts to the tune of crores. The man still has plenty of money to live a lavish life, enjoy his ‘forced exile’ as he has been quoted saying himself in the UK and avoid extradition. He may not be part of the ‘jet set’ anymore with court hearings keeping him from leaving the UK but he’s not broke by any stretch of the imagination.

His assets in India are frozen & are being sold to repay debts and as usual with the GOI auctions, no one creates proper valuations for anything or the corrupt babus help keep the reserve prices down and barely anything is fetched from such sales.

Mallya is always ahead mentally, whether it is his thinking or his brand of yachts.

What people are forgetting is Mallya has assets all over the world and the proceeds of any criminal activities will be in banks that GUESS WHAT:

A) Place priority on client well being than doing societal justice.


Long story short, he wont be driving a Toyota Corolla any time soon or flying economy class.

[autocrat]

He is not bankrupt but he has lost his social standing - no longer seen as a successful entrepreneur. Losing pride hurts more than losing money.

Originally Posted by Taronish_E

What’s astonishing is that people think Mallya is bankrupt.

[v1p3r]

I don't know why this thread exists without a note at the start pointing out that the man in question is a criminal. To willfully not pay your employees while siphoning off money and 'living the life' is amoral, and has been held as criminal.

Originally Posted by autocrat

One of the most celebrated and admired industrialists having everything a man can desire, stands stripped of most of his possessions today. A lifetime of building a brand and business all decimated in a matter of a few years. .....
....

His rise and fall will remain a lesson for the leaders of today and tomorrow - and who knows? He may have a spectacular rise again.

When Amitabh went bankrupt post ABCL debacle, people wrote him off, but he bounced back, and how?

He was handed a cash cow industry on a golden platter, which is the reason for his wealth. He is extremely intelligent for sure, and had a great management team at UB and KF. That's it. His own management skills are the reason KFA went bust. There was no 'risking it all' or anything. And please do not compare him to AB - AB is a self-made man who built his fortune and reputation on hard work.

D33-PAC and Taronish seem to have the right information.

[aniketi]

One silly question, don't laugh please

Does he still own this epic collection? Or most of his cars are seized by various banks like his other properties? Kindly confirm if someone has any idea about this.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

I don't know why this thread exists without a note at the start pointing out that the man in question is a criminal. To willfully not pay your employees while siphoning off money and 'living the life' is amoral, and has been held as criminal.

Thank you for saying it as it is. One can always rely on you for that. I have dealt with this chap at close quarters and one day I can tell my grandchildren that I too was on Mallya's list of creditors waiting in a forever queue. The man may be clever, so are many others. The man may have taste in cars and wines, then so do many others. I would badge him as a deeply insolent and deeply dishonest chap and a more than a bit of a narcissist to boot. He was protected by the politicians from both sides and thought nothing of cheating both the banks and the employees and his suppliers. I have preserved my email and letter exchanges with VM for the pure insolence they reflect. I for one will celebrate the day he is locked up in Arthur Road jail. The manner in which his assets are being handled to pay off the creditors is a monkey dance in itself.

[vikramvicky1984]

I have said this on the ratan tata thread and will say again- much to the chagrin of some members.
Let's stick to cars and not how good/great/humble/criminal/crook/gunda the owner is/ was

One can always argue on either side- tata looting tribal land to mallya being made scapegoat. There are many supercar owners in this country whoever eventually got accused of looting banks and or other scams. Rest might be on the way. We have few members here too who are in that sort of legal trouble and have fancy cars.
Everyone is a saint till they are caught- but cars are never the criminal

Mallya had a great and aspirational collection, let's discuss the cars. If he is riding illegal cars say unregistered or illegal imports, then maybe talk about it a bit.

On how the money was amassed, there are courts and the almighty above.

We should also have a thread on cars of babas too:one had rolls, someone in Punjab had the old maybach and I saw one in g class and ducati bike, MSG had some crazy machines

[D33-PAC]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Thank you for saying it as it is. One can always rely on you for that. I have dealt with this chap at close quarters and one day I can tell my grandchildren that I too was on Mallya's list of creditors waiting in a forever queue. The man may be clever, so are many others. The man may have taste in cars and wines, then so do many others. I would badge him as a deeply insolent and deeply dishonest chap and a more than a bit of a narcissist to boot. He was protected by the politicians from both sides and thought nothing of cheating both the banks and the employees and his suppliers. I have preserved my email and letter exchanges with VM for the pure insolence they reflect. I for one will celebrate the day he is locked up in Arthur Road jail. The manner in which his assets are being handled to pay off the creditors is a monkey dance in itself.

Although this is slightly OT it is still relevant.

I've always wondered whether for men like Mallya, this image of the tasteful playboy business magnate with rare posessions was also a part of the nasty scheme .

Think about it. Who wants to entertain a guy in a simple Benz or BMW ? Let's flash pics of the private jet and the parties with the Prince of Monaco and voila, now everyone from the bankers to the Ministers want to hang out with you !

Long story short, I think this entire "rare cars" thing may have been part of the story to sell.

The men Mallya dealt with in high income nations where he has many friends from executives to high society members always cherish a man with personal passions.

I've always wondered whether this was a social lubricant.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by D33-PAC

Think about it. Who wants to entertain a guy in a simple Benz or BMW ? Let's flash pics of the private jet and the parties with the Prince of Monaco and voila, now everyone from the bankers to the Ministers want to hang out with you !

This is correct. This fellow would wow PSB bankers with his flashy lifestyle, and charm them. He definitely has the ability to do so, and he had the resources.

I am no fan of his, but he is genuinely passionate about cars and motorsport. It isn't all for show. Of course, with autos and motorsport being very expensive and glamourous, it certainly helped his image. But that wasn't the primary motivation.

[avishar]

Originally Posted by Stribog

The real genius was Vittal Mallya. He stated buying shares in a then tiny and unknown company named UB as a teenager. By 24 he wrested management control becoming the Chairman and director. He was known as a philanthropic man, a teetotaler but a ruthless corporate raider. When in Aug 77 Moraji Desai promised total prohibition in India, mallya rather than react defensively, went on the attack and acquired many smaller breweries who were distress selling.

He died early at the age of 59 (was at a Cathay Pacific cocktail party when a massive stroke killed him) and was fighting a Corp battle for Spencers (the retail and hotel chain), if he had been around a decade or so longer, the group and Vijay Mallya might have turned out differently.

I was reading through some old issues of India Today and he was quite the empire builder. By the late 70s, he owned or was the chairman of a large number of companies.

For example,

Mr Mallya through UB used to own Kissan - the jam and condiments brands (later sold to Unilever)

He was in the pharma business too, bringing Hoechst AG's to India which later through sales and acquisitions is Sanofi India today.

Mr Mallya was associated with Singer sewing machines and also bought up stake in Cadbury India. His subsidiaries made everything from batteries, paints (Berger), petrochemical products, tea plantations etc. As mentioned, he was trying to get into retail.

If he had survived another decade or so, I think UB group could have been something akin to what Godrej is today, with a few more sunrise sectors.

They said that he was like India's Howard Hughes, reclusive socially, reticent in giving interviews but a very fast and efficient mover, snapping up companies.

Unlike VJM's cavalier attitude to finances, it was said that Senior Mallya could see a through balance sheet within a short period of time and would acquire the company, usually on the cheap to turn it around. And he was very successful in that.

That is not to say VJM was not a great businessmen. I think he - maybe unlike his father - could see things outside of a balance sheet. VJM recognized the potential of the brand and how to grow a brand. He nearly pulled it off too, but his side quests became a bit too much to handle.

It is said that VJM had implored Senior Mallya to get into the cola space when Coke exited the company, but his father was not invested. In his earlier interviews he often mentions that and how UB could have built a cola brand before the Coke and Pepsi returned to the country.

[MSJ]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Mercedes CLK GTR Roadster
Attachment 2142981
Note the custom "VJM" plates!

The latest Update about the CLK GTR Roadster is that The Car no longer wears the Fancy "VJM" Plates.