One of the most popular car designers in India – Dilip Chhabria was arrested earlier this year for doing several loan and registration scams. The famous designer is currently in custody. In the past, Chhabria has designed numerous vehicles and some of them became quite popular in the market too. Many of these vehicles were designed as concepts too. One such vehicle was the Amberoid.
DC Design showcased the Amberoid as a concept at the Geneva Motor Show and Auto Expo in India. Based on one of the most popular cars ever in India – the Hindustan Ambassador, the Amberoid is Dilip Chhabria’s vision into the future. He wanted to give a new lease of life to the Ambassador through his design but he never launched the car in India. Sometime after revealing the Amberoid, DC Design launched the Avanti, which became India’s first sports car.
The Amberoid concept got the same design language as the original Hindustan Ambassador but in a much modern way. The three-box design was carried forward to the concept. However, the Amberoid received a lot of curvy lines and a sweeping bonnet design that added a touch of futuristic design. Nonetheless, the Amberoid did look like a modern-day Ambassador. The car sat on a BMW chassis, and featured a massive, V12 petrol engine.
Since it was only a concept, DC Design added massive alloy wheels filling out the flared wheel arches of the vehicle. The headlamps used in the vehicle were all-LED just like the tail lamps. It was a two-door four-seater vehicle that was mainly targeted at the politicians and enthusiasts who want to own a piece of history in its modern avatar.
The future of the Ambierod: Sadly, the future looks bleak
Quite recently, DC Design revealed an electric concept vehicle based on the Amberoid. In an interview with Electric Vehicle Web , Chhabria revealed that he will launch the Amberoid electric in the future. He planned to sell the electric car to the politicians and influential people. To make it roomier, DC Design made the concept wider and longer than the original Ambassador. All this currently amounts to nothing as Dilip Chhabria is currently in jail, accused of a multi-crore Avanti sportscar scam. It’s not just Dilip Chhabria who’s in big trouble, even his sister and son have been named as co-accused in the scam, which was unearthed by the Mumbai Police’s crime branch last month. The court has denied bail to Mr. Chhabria, and without the top man at the helm, the future of DC Design looks very uncertain.
What the Electric Ambassador could have been… Dilip Chhabria also revealed that the car is engineered in Switzerland by a Swiss manufacturer. Almost all the electrical connections and the layout of the vehicle is engineered by the Swiss firm. To keep the memories of the original Ambassador alive, the dashboard looks heavily inspired by the original vehicle. However, underneath, it had all the advanced and modern technology.
The electric version of the Ambassador also came with gullwing doors and they also revealed the plan of production. DC Design planned to manufacture about 5,000 units of the car every month and export it to various markets around the world. The plan was to launch the car by the end of this year.
Without revealing the powertrain details, Chhabria said that the vehicle will be able to do 0-60 km/h in just four seconds and the range of the vehicle would be around 250 km in a single charge. DC planned to launch the vehicle at around Rs 30 to 35 lakh by the end of 2021. However, with the whole DC management and the owner himself caught in the scam, it does not look like that the car will come out anytime soon.
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