C K Birla group company Hindustan Motors is in talks with a UK-based importer of Ambassador to introduce a sports version of the old workhorse in Britain.
"We are talking to David Darrell, the sole importer of Ambassador in Britain, for a sports version of the car with convertible roof. The car will be tailormade for the British market," company officials told PTI on Tuesday.
The car with a convertible roof will be good for the British market because of climate conditions.
"We have assured Darrell of support in terms of logistics and spare parts. If it makes sense, we will go full hog in the British market with the sports version of Ambassador," they said.
Hindustan Motors has been exporting Ambassador to Britain and a host of other European countries since past many decades.
Darell approached the CK Birla group firm with plans to launch a soft-top version of the car in consultation with a number of design and engineering experts in the UK, including those at the University of Wales.
In India, cars with hardtop roof and air conditioning are popular largely due to tropical climate while convertible roofs are trendy in Europe.
"The Indian market is only interested in hardtop version with air conditioning because of the weather. But it is thought that Britain could be ripe for a soft top 'Ambassador," Darrell was quoted as saying.
"It (Ambassador) is a real classic and has been seen in countless films and television shows. It is a bit like 'Beetle' of Volkswagen, which belonged to the same era - 1930s and 40s," he said.
Apart from designing of the car, the soft top version could also be manufactured in the UK.
The ubiquitous Ambassador is now suffering from design fatigue as the car had been designed almost 50 years back.
Back home, there were reports that the Delhi government was planning to replace a fleet of its official vehicles with more swanky cars.
The car was still a preferred choice for politicians including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, the HM mandarins said.
PTI
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