Hindustan Ambassador with gull wing doors is pure drool

A gull-wing Hindustan Ambassador is what happens when imagination is let loose. CarToq’s rendering artist Vipin  Vathoopan has put together this very tasteful render of the Ambassador, which we hope will give some enthusiasts keen on resto-modding this car some ideas. This one’s inspired by the iconic Mercedes Benz 300 SL roadster.

 

As the render indicates, the gull-wing Ambassador is based on an older model of the car, which was chrome heavy. The four door saloon form factor has been dispensed with and there are only two doors now, both of which open in gull-wing style. The car has also been lowered, to give it a sporty stance while the wheels are now larger and inset, instead of offset. The tyres wrap around deep dish, inset steel wheels and chrome dominates both the front end and sides of the car as a proper, retro touch.

The insides show some opulence, with tan coloured cross stitched leather dominating the interiors. The car dumps the five seat layout for a twin seat layout, which means that will be a few acres of space for the driver and co-  passenger.

The Hindustan Ambassador is the grand old lady of Indian cars, and before it went off production a couple of years  ago, it had been around for nearly forever. Serial production of the Ambassador began in India in 1958, and carried  on till up to 2014, making it a near-60 year old machine considering that the original silhouette of the car never  really changed in all of six decades.

For all its 6 decades of production, the Ambassador rolled out from a single factory – Uttarpara in West Bengal. In  fact, the car was Hindustan Motors’ staple product for nearly all of its existence. The Hindustan Ambassador,  especially in white, was a symbol of power and prestige given the fact that top politicians including the Prime  Minister of India, and top ranking government officials were seen in one.

Here are a few more Ambassador renders we have carried in the past few weeks. 

The first examples of the Ambassador sold in India featured the 1.5 liter BMC side-valve petrol engine, and this  engine was around for over 3 decades, before it made way for a Isuzu-sourced 1.8 liter petrol. Hindustan Motors also  offered a 1.5 liter diesel engine on the car. A rear wheel drive layout was standard.

 

While the initial models came with a 4 speed, column shift gearbox, the final version got a 5 speed gearbox with a conventional floor shifter. The Ambassador was a monocoque bodied car that was known for its good ride quality and ability to soak up the worst roads India could throw at it. It was particularly known for its ample back seat, which offered sofa-like comfort.

The Hindustan Ambassador has seen various shapes over its near-6 decade production run. While the saloon version was the most popular, Hindustan Motors also built a station-wagon model called the Porter. There was also a pick up truck iteration of the Ambassador under the Porter badge. Just before it was discontinued, the pick-up truck version of the latest Ambassador, which never really took off, was launched, and it was called the Veer.

Over the years, there have been many customized examples of the Ambassador, with the most famous of them being the one put together by noted Indian car designer, Dilip Chhabria. Called the Ambierod, DC Design gave the car a hot rod look. Currently, car enthusiasts around India are now restoring, and resto-modding the Ambassador, which has gone from being a regular fixture on Indian roads to a rarity.