Hindustan Motors will launch a sub-4m version of the Ambassador in the next fiscal year, the company's CEO Uttam Bose revealed yesterday. He was speaking to the media in Kolkata at the market launch of the Ambassador Encore, a BS4-compliant variant of the unstoppable Amby.
Bose commented that due to its size, the smaller variant would attract lower excise duties. He added that a name for the compact car had not been decided still. We take for granted that the sub-4m Amby would use the same BS4 1.5-liter diesel engine that outputs 48.6hp@4,000 RPM and 112.5NM@2,000 RPM. In contrast, the BS3 edition makes an ungainly 35.5hp and 73Nm.
Meanwhile launched at 4.98 lakhs, the Ambassador Encore comes with power steering, power windows and air conditioner for higher passenger comfort. Over 450 units have been booked so far, with an optimistic Bose expecting 2,000 units to be sold per month with wider availability.
The aforementioned features along with a digital tripmeter, mobile charger and music system, should duly be transferred to the cabin of the sub-4m variant.
The Encore reopens sales of the Ambassador in 17 cities which upgraded to BS4 emission grade in April 2010.
