Used car find of the day: Hindustan Contessa that wants to be a 1969 Ford Mustang Eleanor [Video]
Hindustan Contessa sedans, which were nearly forgotten a few years ago, are now experiencing a renaissance of sorts.From full restorations to resto-mods, Hindustan Contessa sedans are back in vogue. Here is a beautifully modified Hindustan Contessa, which has been tweaked to look like a 1969 Ford Mustang Eleanor sportback. And it’s for sale.
As the video reveals, the modification job on the Hindustan Contessa is pretty comprehensive, and beautiful. In fact, the car goes full retro and even featured red interiors. The only thing that seems out of place on this Ford Mustang Eleanor replica are the chrome bits on the sides, which seem a little excessive.
The chrome bits apart, this car has everything going for it. What hasn’t been revealed though is the price at which the owner is willing to let it go. For that you will have to get in touch with the people who run this YouTube channel, who will put you onto the owner of this car.
Powertrain changes on the Mustang replica are also unknown for now. What we do know is that it’s a petrol powered car, considering the colour (green) of the fuel nozzle that went into the car while it was being refueled at a fuel station.
Talking of the donor car, the stock Contessa was sold with 3 engine options, two of them borrowed from Isuzu. The petrol motors were the 1.5 liter-4 cylinder and 1.8 liter-4 cylinder motors from BMC and Isuzu respectively. while the diesel was a 2 liter, naturally aspirated diesel. Both Isuzu motors got 5 speed manual gearboxes, and all variants of the Contessa were rear wheel driven. However, the BMC petrol motor featured a 4 speed manual gearbox.
The Hindustan Contessa was one of the most luxurious cars in its time. From power steering to air conditioning and a plush ride, the car was a big change among the sea of Premier Padminis, Hindustan Ambassadors and Maruti 800s. The Contessa was built by Hindustan Motors, who acquired its design from Vauxhall. In the UK, the Contessa was sold as the Vauxhall Victor. Despite the apparent length of the car – an impression created by the long bonnet – interior space was quite limited and people used to even modern hatchbacks would find the interiors a little cramped. Safety features were also non existent in that period, so this Contessa – like all modded Contessas – do not even feature airbags. Remember that the car was launched at a time when even wearing seatbelts was not mandatory in India!
Coming back to the present, there are numerous resto-mods in India based on the Contessa. Most resto-mods leverage the muscle car looks of the Contessa. What we are yet to see though is a mean V8 engine under the long hood. Something like that that on a resto-mod Contessa would be really fitting, for the car has muscle car looks without actual muscle to back it up.