The Austin Ambassador was a large hatchback automobile introduced by British Leyland in 1982. The car was a heavily updated version of the Leyland Princess, an ageing model which lacked a hatchback. Only the doors and inner structure were carried over, but the slightly wedge-shaped design betrayed the car's Leyland Princess origins, and it was not considered a truly new model. Sales were very low and the model was discontinued in 1984.
Unlike the Princess, there was no 2.2 litre version.
The Ambassador was initially offered in 1.7 and 2.0 litre variants, in L, HL and HLS trims.
Instead of the premium 2.2 models, there was an Austin Ambassador Vanden Plas with a twin-carb version of the 2.0 litre engine. HLS was no longer the top-specification trim level, unlike the Princess.
In 1983, the 2.0 HLS was upgraded to the more powerful twin-carb engine. This was also used on versions sold in Europe.
The Ambassador discontinued in 1984, with no official replacement, though its gap in the Austin-Rover range was effectively filled by the slightly smaller Montego.
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