If you’re going on holiday to India or backpacking through the country, you might want to give the Hindustan Ambassador a try.
Now if you already know what a Hindustan Ambassador is, then fine. But for the vast majority of readers who may be thinking this is a hotel, well, it isn’t.
The Hindustan Ambassador is that model of car you always see when images of India are shown around the world. It’s always in the background on any film made in the country to give it a little context, and yes, you often see it in Bollywood movies to.
In short, the Hindustan Ambassador is India’s all-time classic car.
It’s like the UK’s Mini from the 1960s, or Germany’s VW Beetle; it helps define a country’s culture at a point in time. Another half century from now, back-packing students may be turning to the first of the hybrid cars to get a feel of life in 2011, or perhaps the kind of eco cars UK drivers are increasingly driving. But today, it’s all about cars from 50-odd years ago.
Now what you may not realise is that the car is still manufactured. In fact, it has been in continuous production since 1958 with very few changes along the way since its first design which was based on the Morris Oxford Mk III model, made by Morris at Cowley in the UK between 1956 and 1959.
Despite its English origins, the Ambassador is definitively Indian. And an increasing number of companies organise holidays where you can drive through India in a classic Hindustan Ambassador. The car’s suspension is purpose designed for the rutted Indian roads and, better yet, you’ll feel a whole lot more “authentic” on the country’s roads than you might in a modern car.