In the days that were, the contessa was the car that spelt royalty. It was one of the most powerful, spacious, safest and sturdiest cars. The Contessa had an effective power steering that reduced the steering effort by 1/3 rd, and allowed you to maneuver the car with ease.

The Contessa’s powerful air-conditioning chilled the interiors even in the peak of summers. For safe and brighter night driving, it included twin headlamps .The contessa had plush interiors and an improved trunk compartment on par with international standards.

In the region of safety, it included a side impact protection system that reinforced the already strong body of steel. Its twin-walled fenders, extra wide front and rear bumpers, a large crumple zone, a special shatter-resistant laminated windshield, all made it safer. It came in two models – the Contessa 1.8 GLX and the Contessa 2.0 DLX.

The Contessa Classic was a very popular choice for government limousines. It was one of the Indian manufactured luxury cars in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The production of this car was stopped by the year 2002. There were three different versions of this car, 1.8GLX (Isuzu Petrol), 2.0DLX (Isuzu diesel) and 2.0T (Isuzu diesel, turbo (rare)). Even though it is based on a 1970s, Vauxhall Victor, the interior of this car were still extremely comfortable for passengers.

The car was first produced in 1982 and the basic design had remained the same throughout its life, though Hindustan Motors made minor updates from year to year. The last made series of the car which was in 2002 was fully loaded. It came with fuel injection, power windows, power steering, AC and lots more.

The Company officially stopped manufacturing the car in the year 2002. The car has attained a legend status, it was a sign of opulence and luxury till the advent of the open economy in India in 1991, which led to the flooding of different foreign cars into the market. Another reason why the car lost its popularity was because the spare parts of the car were rather expensive as compared to its Japanese and Korean counterparts, which discouraged many users form buying this car.
The specifications of the Petrol engined Contessa were as follows :
Engine (1800 Isuzu)
• Type- MPFI with 4 Cylinder OHC;
• Fuel- Petrol
• Capacity- 1817CC
• Bore / Stroke- 84/ 82 mm
• Compression Ratio : 8.5 : 1
• Max. Power- 88 HP at 5000 r.p.m.
• Max. Torque- 13.3 Kg at 3000 r.p.m

Transmission
• Clutch Type- Dry Disc
• Diameter- 215mm
• Gear Box- All synchromesh ,5 speed gearbox ,including overdrive