Classic Car Reviews

Honest John Classics Reviews Hindustan
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Hindustan Ambassador (1957 - )

Last updated 9 January 2014

 
2
A nostalgic reminder of how cars used to be, still very much an Indian workhorse
The reality of how cars used to be - heavy, cumbersome, rust all too easily and badly built - and how they still are in the case of the Ambassador
Updated 1 December 1998
Imports to the UK cease

Fullbore motors faded into history in early 1998, and took with it the Ambassador and Mark 10 from the UK. Back in India however the Amby remains a much-loved part of the urban landscape across the...

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2,000,000
were produced
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Introduction

Best known as the bright yellow taxi that's still a common site in Southern Indian cities, the Hindustan Ambassador remains one of the few classic cars you can still buy brand new. It's been built since 1959, and although it's received many running changes along the way the basic Morris Oxford Series III character still shines brightly.

It's been imported into the UK on and off since the 1990s - and it's currently off - but a lack of quality and high price here has always been the Ambassador's undoing. The Hindustan Ambassador remains a low-volume mainstay, with production still ongoing, despite its maker having a bash at replacing it in the 1980s with the Contessa, essentially, a localized version of the 1972 Vauxhall Victor FE. All models now powered by Isuzu diesel engines.

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