Return of the Ambassador

H. Kishie Singh

It seems this king never died, just attained immortality! To prove the point, the king appears from time to time in various parts of the planet. Always loved, revered and respected.

This is Morris Oxford aka Hindustan Ambassador. It has left an image that even the sands of time will not be able to erase. The Himalayan Challenge 2018 will be run in India. We will see a scintillating assembly of vintage cars up to 1947 and classic cars up to 1975. Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Porches and possibly some American cars. The oldest will be a 1907 Itala, and the snazziest and the latest, a 1975 Mercedes Benz 280 Coupe. The star of the show, and a lot of Indian auto aficionados will agree with me, will be the Morris Oxford.

What is known is that the New Zealand Team of Steve Partridge, driver, and co-driver, Corgi La Grouw, will be coming in a 1958 Morris Oxford. Yes, our very own Ambassador. For sure, it will be the only Morris Oxford in the fray.

The organisers, Endurance Rally Association in the UK, experienced veterans for providing adventure events, say the route has hither to unmapped roads, which will provide hair-raising mountain drives. Of course, the Himalayan scenery will be the icing on the cake!

The event, 7,200 km long will cross passes 5,000 metres high in Nepal and the Himalayas.

The competition will be the TSD format as it will run on regular roads. This means timing is very important.

For most Indians, the Amby, as it was lovingly called, was a rattle trap, addicted to breaking down if the driver sneezed or even burped!

My friend Sunny Jind will disagree. He was one of the few entrants for The Himalayan Rally of yore in an Amby. But then, Sunny is a daring and fool-hardy adventurer.

Partridge/La Grouw paint a completely different picture of their Morris Oxford/ Amby, which knocked me for a six! Says Steve partridge, “By no means is the Morris Oxford, 1800 cc, the most powerful or the fastest rally car. However, it has a proven endurance rally car record. It is a great car because it is easy to fix if anything does break.

“The best thing about the Oxford is that all spares that fit on the right, fit on the left as well. So, you carry half as many spares. “It’s a really comfortable car with lots of head room and leg room. Our suitcases and spare tyres sit in the back seat”.

This leaves the boot empty to carry the workshop trolly-jack, spare axle and spares of every description. 

The Morris has a roll-cage, a sump-guard, and, according to rules of the rally, it carries a fire extinguisher and full medical kit. A GPS is mandatory.

To provide exceptional comfort over the rough roads, the Oxford has been fitted with Mercedes Benz seats and arm rests sourced from a Range Rover. Really? Is that the only contribution that Range Rover could make for comfort? Only arm rests, and not the complete seat.

Steve Partridge bought the car in 2012 and prepared it for the 2013 Peking-to-Paris Rally. The two adventurers finished 17th out of the 100 entrants.

In 2015, the Kiwi duo participated in The Rally of the Incas from Buenos Aires to Lima. For the Rally of the Incas, the Kiwis were awarded “The most self-reliant crew”. In all their events, these two have never had a service crew. 

“In South America, we blew the head-gas kit and I changed it and we were going in 90 minutes”!

In addition to The Peking-Paris, Rally of the Incas, the Morris has been on a drive to the Swiss Alps, Mongolia and across the Gobi Desert.

In Siberia, they broke the windscreen which Partridge fixed himself from plastic bits. “They call me ‘Jack-fix-it-all’”, says Partridge. 

In 1961, the Kiwi duo competed in The Trans American Rally. However, their car was a 1961 Ford Galaxy Convertible. Just the challenger for the fast North American roads.

It is expected that 40 cars will take the Starters Flag in Delhi on September 21. The finish will be on October 11 in Agra in the shadow of The Taj Mahal. 

It could well be the best rally for Steve and Corgi, who have always been hankering for something more adventurous than a Sunday drive!

Bon voyage!