Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group is among the most active X (formerly Twitter) users among all industry top brass. Many of his Tweets often come into focus for his witty responses or for his general warmth for fellow netizens. One of his latest posts to have caught our eye is a photograph of two HM Ambassador scale models that he has been gifted by Pratap Bose, Chief Designer at Mahindra Automotive.
Anand Mahindra on the HM Ambassador Scale Models
The picture shows two boxes of HM Ambassador scale models – one featuring black paint and another a shade of beige. The caption of the post reads: “Received a cool gift today from @BosePratap. The Ambassador will never fade from the memories of someone of my vintage. What an old warhorse it was. An inextricable part of the old Indian landscape. So it deserves to be immortalized through such scale models.” As per another picture, these scale model cars are sold by Scalearts. Mahindra even notes that he is glad the two pieces have been made in Bangladesh and not China. He further asks Pratap Bose about why they do not manufacture scale car models of Mahindra vehicles. Finally, he appreciates the attention to detail that has gone into the making of these scale models.
A Brief History of the ‘Amby’
The HM Ambassador is easily among the most significant cars to have sold in India. It was produced by Hindustan Motors from 1957 to 2014. The Amby holds the record for having the longest production run of any car in the country! The sedan was based on the Morris Oxford Series III model, which was first produced by Morris Motors Limited at Cowley, Oxford in the United Kingdom from 1956 to 1959.
In spite of the British roots, the HM Ambassador is synonymous with the Indian car market of the yore. In fact, back in the day, it was fondly called the “King of Indian roads”. It was produced by Hindustan Motors at its Uttarpara production facility off Kolkata, West Bengal. The production was axed in 2014 owing to the vehicle’s inability to comply with the latest norms. Later, in February 2017, Hindustan Motors sold the rights to the Ambassador brand to the PSA Group for Rs 80 crore (US$9.6 million). The Citroen C3X was earlier rumored to go on sale in India as the new Ambassador but the speculation seems pretty baseless.
Also Read: Hindustan Landmaster (Ambassador) Costed Just Rs 9800 in 1950s
