The Desi Muscle Car: HM Contessa
Before starting, for those who don’t know what is Muscle car then here is short note on the Muscle car.
The word ‘Muscle car’ came to use in 1966. According to ‘Britanica Dictionary’ the Muscle car is described as a two-door sports car with a big and powerful engine with long boxy hoods along with rear wheel driver most importantly the car should be made in America. Example: Dodge – Challenger, Chevrolet – Camero, Ford – Mustang etc.
Introduction:
Back in time India used to have its own type of muscle car. Though it had 4 doors, less power but it had luxury interior, best in class features and more over the long boxy hood gave this car a muscle car look. If you still thinking about which car, I am talking about then let me clear I am talking about Hindustan Motor’s Contessa.
History of Contessa:
After selling Ambassador for almost 30 years Hindustan Motors wanted to expand their line-up and give ambassador a company. Hindustan Motors purchased manufacturing rights and tooling technology of “Vauxhall Victor FE” from General Motors in 1980. The purchased costed Hindustan Motors around ₹13 Crores.
The name ‘Contessa’ Hindustan Motor took from a Japanese Car named ‘Contessa’ produced by Hino (1961 – 1969). The word ‘Contessa’ means countess in Italian.
The manufacturing plant for Contessa was set-up at Uttarpara near Kolkata, alongside with Ambassador’s manufacturing plant. The testing started from 1982. The series production of HM – Contessa started from the spring of 1984.
Engine & Specs of Contessa:
The BMC Era:
In 1984 Contessa launched with 1950’s 1.5L BMC – B series carburetted petrol engine same as Ambassador with slight change. The gearbox was also Hindustan Motor’s from 1950’s same as the Ambassador. This combination used to produce only 50HP. The top speed of Contessa was 125 km/h. This car used to come with factory fitted AC. Although the engine might not be very good but the interior was best in class so, this car was perceived as a luxury vehicle back then. But the lack of power made this car “All show, No go”.
The Isuzu Era:
By the end of 1980s Hindustan Motor and Japan’s car manufacturer ISUZU made a tie-up. Then from October, 1987 Hindustan Motor introduced 1.8L 4ZB1 petrol engine along with a 5-speed transmission in Contessa, this combination used to produce 75HP and manged to get 165 km/h top speed. Now, the Contessa got the ‘Classic’ & ‘1.8GL’ badging in the rear. Overall, the design remained the same but minor specification updates were there like power steering, power windows, larger bumper and updated split headlights helped to competitive in Indian premium car market.
In 1990s Hindustan Motor 2.0L Isuzu 4FC1 diesel engine in Contessa. By this upgrade the sales started going up. As the diesel version was more economical. Later Hindustan Motor also introduced a turbo charged diesel engine.
In 1999 – 2000 due to new emission norms Hindustan Motor introduced an fuel-injected petrol engine in Contessa but by this time no-one was interested in Contessa as a result in the year 2002 the journey of Contessa comes to an end.
Relationship of Contessa with public:
HM placed Contessa as luxury car. In the 1st model, the interior of the car was undoubtedly good but there was a major lack of power. Despite of having the power lack this car became the 1st choice for ministers and government officials as they only care about the comfort not the power. After launch in mid-1984 by the end of the 1985 Hindustan Motor sold around 1826 units were delivered.
After upgrading the engine, the good speed and comfortable rides attracted not only ministers but also attracted the actors. Contessa became their 1st choice. The sale of Contessa started picking up, those who have some extra money in spare also inclined to buy Contessa. They might want to look mean and rule the streets. During 1990s some movies like Bazzi, Kismat and several others had Contessa as the centre of actions.
Although the average sale of Contessa was around 2000 – 4000 units yearly. But in the year 1988 HM sold around 4982 units of Contessa.
Cause of dis-continuation:
New sleek, budget friendly & economical cars like Maruti Suzuki – Esteem, Daewoo – Cielo, Opel – Astra ware not the only competitor. After ending the Licence – Raj, international car manufacturers like Hyundai & Honda came to India. As a result, the journey of Contessa came to an end in the year 2002.
Conclusion:
If you have read this blog from beginning, you might have these questions,
1. Was Contessa really a Muscle car?
Ans. – Well the answer in NO, Contessa is not a muscle car at all. But the body structure (Long boxy hood and a short deck) gave it the looks like a Muscle car. May be for this reason Contessa is known as the Indian Muscle car.
2. Will it make a come-back?
Ans. – This question is very difficult to answer. I can’t say absolute NO or absolute YES either. Let me explain,
I can’t say NO because, Hindustan Motor again applied for the trademark ‘CONTESSA’ in March, 2022 and on 28.08.2023 the trademark got approved.
I can’t say YES either because, Peugeot trademarked ‘Ambassador’ back in 2014. But still had not gave any clue to bring back the Ambassador. Some rumours are there, saying it will launch in mid-2024 but nothing is official till the writing of this blog.
3. If it makes come back, will it be an EV?
Ans. – Well, I will be more than happy if Contessa makes it’s come back as ICE vehicle. But watching the current trend there is a strong possibility that new Contessa will be an EV.
In this blog we have mention Ambassador several times. If want know more about Hindustan Motor’s Ambassador then -> Click Here <- to read detailed blog about Ambassador.
Thanks for tuning in. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this post as much as I have enjoyed writing it. But this is just the beginning. There’s still so much more to explore in the world of cars and bikes, and we’ll be back soon with more exciting content that’s sure to get your engines revving. So don’t forget to subscribe our newsletter and stay tuned for our next instalment. Until then, keep on exploring all the thrilling adventures that the open road has to offer!
— by Shubhradwip Paul
