THE LEGEND HINDUSTAN AMBASSADOR

              HINDUSTAN AMBASSADOR

The Hindustan Ambassador is an automobile manufactured by Hindustan Motors of India, in production from 1958 to 2014 with few improvements and changes over its production lifetime. The Ambassador was based on the Morris Oxford series III model, first made by Morris Motors Limited at Cowley, Oxford in the United Kingdom from 1956 to 1959.

On 11 February 2017, Hindustan Motors executed an agreement with PSA Group for the sale of the Ambassador brand, including the trademarks, for a consideration of ₹80 crore (US$11 million) .The

tie-up entails two joint-venture agreements between the companies of the two groups.

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT 

The Ambassador was basically the same Morris Oxford Series - III, launched by Morris, then a part of British Motor Corporation. In 1956 it sold the rights and tooling to Hindustan Motors as it had done for its previous Series - I and Series - II models which were sold by Hindustan Motors as Hindustan 10 and Landmaster. The Series -III model itself was a derivative of the Morris Oxford Series - II model which was developed prior to the Austin and Morris merger.

The car was quite spacious due to its semi-monocoque design which was quite an advancement in the early 1950s in vehicle engineering. The car was designed by Alec Issigonis whose other famous designs were Mini and Morris Minor.

MODELS AND VERSIONS

Mark I (1957 to 1962)

In 1957, Hindustan Motors, to further earlier collaboration with Morris Motors, who by then had become British Motor Corporation after merger with Austin Motors, entered into an agreement to manufacture 1956 Morris Oxford series III in India. All the tooling was transferred to Uttarpara plant in India. The car was rebadged as Ambassador (later called Mark 1) was launched in mid-1957 and the early model Morris Oxford series II derived Hindustan Landmaster was discontinued. The new model included deep headlamp cowls and small rear wing "tail fins". The dashboard and steering wheel were completely redesigned. The Landmaster's flat-plane two-spoke steering wheel gave way to a dished steering wheel with three spokes made-up of four wires per spoke, for the Ambassador. Also a new, dimpled bonnet made its debut. These models had an Austin Motors derived 1476 cc side-valve petrol engine. In 1959 the side-valve engine was replaced by a 1489 cc, 55 bhp overhead-valve BMC B-series petrol engine

Mark II (1962 to 1975)

In January 1964 the Ambassador underwent a frontal facelift with a closely chequered grill more reminiscent of Morris Mini. The interior had a redesigned dashboard and instrument cluster. The early models have sun mica sheet but it was replaced by wood grain coated plywood and aluminium bezel in later models (1968 onwards). This model was named as Ambassador Mark II, and the early version quickly got dubbed as Mark I in the market, while it was never officially christened such in its production days.

Mark III (1975 to 1979)

In 1975 the Mark 3 version was launched with another frontal facelift. The front grill had horizontal louvres giving it a modern feel and a round profile indicator lamp now isolated from the grill. At the rear a more modern looking number plate bezel replaced the early design which was commonly used by many other British cars as well. The interior now had a new dashboard with 3 standard instruments mounted on a black recessed mesh again moving away from the early coated wooden base with aluminium strip design. By 1978, the Mark 3 was available in its Standard and Deluxe versions. 

In 1977 and 1978 the Ambassador Mark 3 was available with a 1760 cc version of the Morris 1.5-litre inline-four, specifically to have enough power to propel a full air conditioning system. This option continued to be available as a Mark IV, but very few were sold and it was discontinued in 1979.

Mark 4 (1979 to 2014)

In 1979 the Ambassadors front went through a major facelift departing from the flatter design of the 1950s which was retained till its end in 2014. The front grill was much smaller in height with a larger chequered grill and square park lamps. Now separate amber indicator lamps was incorporated on the semi front lip spoiler below the bumper, which was mounted higher up. This model was named as the Mark 4. In addition to the existing petrol version, a diesel variant was launched in 1980, powered by a 1489 cc, 37 bhp BMC B-series diesel engine. It was the first diesel car in India and was well received by the Indians, although it was initially only available as a taxi or for government usage, as the Indian government restricted private ownership of diesel automobiles. It was, at the time, the most expensive car built in India, at a 25 percent markup over a petrol Mark 4.

The Mark 4 was the last of the Mark cars. For a short period the cars were available as "Deluxe" and later it was renamed Ambassador Nova. 

Ambassador Nova

The Ambassador Nova was launched in 1990 in two variants—a 55 bhp petrol-powered Deluxe version and a 37 bhp diesel-powered Diesel DX version. The Ambassador Nova received a newly designed steering wheel, new steering column, better brakes and electricals. The brake pedal was now top-hinged, while the earlier central instrumentation flanked by two glove compartments was replaced by a more conventional setup with a single glovebox. It also had some cosmetic changes which included a new radiator grille, while retaining the square turn signals of the earlier Mark IV.

Ambassador 1800 ISZ, Classic

In an attempt to increase its appeal, in 1992 another version was released. Dubbed the Ambassador 1800 ISZ, this model featured a 75 bhp 1817 cc Isuzu inline-four engine and a five-speed manual gearbox with a floor shift. This also had the benefit of allowing the option of bucket seats, as opposed to the earlier bench seats. Also, the entire dashboard was redesigned. Instrumentation panels were shifted from the centre of the dashboard to the right, behind the steering wheel. Seat belts became standard.

Final Generation

Ambassador Grand

The Ambassador Grand was launched in 2003 and as per the manufacturer, the new version had 137 changes compared to its predecessor. The notable changes included body coloured wrap around bumpers, camel coloured interiors, fabric seats, remote shift gear lever, moulded roof and door trims, Salisbury axles, bigger rear wheel drums, improved suspension with anti roll bar and Metlon bushes, central door lock, factory fitted music system and an optional sun roof. The acoustic insulation of the Ambassador Grand was developed by Trèves S.A.S.  of France. The Grand version of Ambassador was available only in 2.0L and 1.8L engines at first and later in 2007 the 1.5L model was added to the line.

Ambassador Avigo

The Avigo model launched in 2004 is the most radical revision of the venerated Ambassador, a part of a brand revitalisation kicked off in the middle of 2003. The change of name, a break from the Ambassador marque, indicated a different marketing strategy. The Avigo was launched in the summer of 2004. The revitalized lineup consisted of the Ambassador Classic of mid-2003, the Ambassador Grand of late 2003, and the aforementioned Avigo, with the exterior designed by Manvindra Singh. However, the most overpowering influence on the front bonnet has been that of the original Landmaster series (also based on Morris Oxford). The main panels at the rear remained the same but the tail lamp and name plate bezels were redesigned. In interior the Avigo, however, has much more classic-touch internals. The entire dashboard console was redesigned with a classic retro theme reminiscent of the early models with central mounted meter new clusters (like the Mark IV models). Seats were specially built for this model with dual tone beige coloured scheme and wood-grain interiors.