It’s no secret that British culture has embraced the trappings of their former colony India in a way that would make Mangal Pandey flip his lid. From curry, which is the sort of cheap Asian fare that’s to the British what Chinese all-you-can-eat buffets are to our MSG-laden posteriors, to the comical and ironic Indian ownership of such vaunted companies as Jaguar and Royal Enfield, the cross-cultural relationship between Great Britain and India has made long-lasting impacts on both nations. And if it wasn’t for this promotion of trade and cuisine, India would have never seen the likes of the one car that’s helped them achieve mobility through the 20th century.


Reader TMcA sent these pictures from Calcutta of the Hindustan Ambassador, the giant tortoise of the automobile world. It would have surprised even Alec Issigonis, original designer of the Morris Oxford III, to see that the Ambassador’s basis has lasted for even longer than his other famous creation. As India’s “king of the road,” the “Amby” has attained iconic status. And as a Calcutta taxicab, it mirrors another icon of public transportation—the equally iconic, equally enduring Crown Victoria, of New York taxi fame.

But what’s more, McAndrew spotted this rare Rover P4 down on the Calcutta street. Dating back to between 1949 and 1954, the P4 was known as the “Cyclops Eye” because of its bizarre third eye smack-dab in the middle of the grille (which makes it predate 1952).

It’s a rare sight on English roads, but it shouldn’t be a surprise that it’s still kept alive and ticking in India, like many a British institution.