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Austin Ambassador 1.7HL

Austin Ambassador 1.7HL

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Austin Ambassador 1.7HLAustin Ambassador 1.7HLAustin Ambassador 1.7HLAustin Ambassador 1.7HLAustin Ambassador 1.7HL
Austin Ambassador 1.7HLAustin Ambassador 1.7HLAustin Ambassador 1.7HLAustin Ambassador 1.7HLAustin Ambassador 1.7HL
Austin Ambassador 1.7HLAustin Ambassador 1.7HL
Lot number 19
Hammer value £1,300
Description Austin Ambassador 1.7HL
Registration A802 VME
Year 1983
Colour Red
Engine size 1,700 cc
Chassis No. XZHWL1BM132956
Engine No. AMBAS0118609

In the early 1980s British Leyland’s ageing middle-range saloon, the Princess, was long overdue for a makeover.

This moderately successful but rather mundane machine, a favorite with the company car fleet managers, was clearly past its prime and the lack of a hatch-back option put it at a disadvantage compared to its rivals. The Austin Ambassador was its replacement, introduced by British Leyland in March 1982. The wedge-shaped profile had been retained, although this was more than a simple makeover since only the doors and inner structure were carried over from the earlier car, the rest of the bodywork being entirely new and including that all-important hatch-back tailgate.

Unlike the Princess, there was no six-cylinder 2.2-litre version, the Ambassador making do with a four-cylinder engine, with either 1.7-litre or 2-litre displacement. These power units resulted in the Ambassador having rather modest performance at best, but the more compact engines also resulted in a slightly lower bonnet line than its predecessor. The HLS model and the Vanden Plas, with its enhanced trim levels, eventually gained a twin-carburettor version of the 2-litre engine, but the performance was still only average for the time.

As with the Princess before it, Ambassadors were converted by specialist coachbuilders into hearse and limousine variants in which role they proved rather successful. Transmission was limited to just four speeds for both the manual and automatic versions and the lack of a fifth speed further limited the car’s appeal. Also absent from the Ambassador’s specification was a left hand drive option, and so with sales restricted to the home market, it was little wonder that the car’s prospects were limited.

The Princess had been out of production for four months by the time the Ambassador went on sale in March 1982. Production totaled 43,500 cars, but this was far short of the 225,000 racked up by the Princess, and the Ambassador was quietly shelved after just two years in March 1984.

This Ambassador HL was first registered in August 1983 and was acquired for the Stondon Collection in 1997 from a gentleman in Enfield who had covered a mere 1,300 miles in the car in his three year ownership. It still displays just under 27,000 miles on the clock which is almost certainly genuine and is largely backed up by the condition of the car.

One of only 70 Ambassadors still UK registered, of which only 13 are 1.7HL models, this icon of 1980s middle management company car culture is possibly the finest 1.7HL remaining and comes with its original handbooks in the original wallet, three old MOTs, three old tax discs and a V5. 

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