Colombo - The invasion of a horde of sleek and swanky foreign models maybe giving the good old Ambassador car some anxious moments back home in India. But in Sri Lanka, it is taking on the fashionable world brands with gusto. Sri Lanka, a sophisticated automobile market, already chock-a-block with the latest from across the globe, is grabbing the Ambassador Classic 2000 DSZ no sooner than it is put up for sale.

"We have sold 12 cars in 14 days," said P Sarath Selvarajah, Group Manager Yuni Motors, which is assembling the cars and selling them in the island. And hold your breath, the typical buyer of the Ambassador here is upper middle class. Selvarajah says that Sri Lankans are looking at the Ambassador, especially the diesel version, as an additional family vehicle which can be used for long distance journeys and safely entrusted to a chauffeur.

"It is seen as a sturdy vehicle which is at the same time compact, roomy and comfortable," he said. Sri Lankan chauffeurs, used to the sophisticated Toyotas and Nissans, need not worry, as the Ambassador has modern features like power steering and good air-conditioning.

And it is a cheap car too. Sold at Lanka Rs. 1.3 million inclusive of VAT, it is a better buy than a reconditioned, three or four year old Japanese car, says Selvarajah. "For the same price you get a brand new car which will not give you any trouble for five years." Interestingly, the Ambassador Classic is assembled in Sri Lanka at a plant in Veyangoda, near Colombo. Ten engineers from Hindustan Motors in Kolkata are helping the locals put the vehicle together.

The most visible user of the Ambassador in the island is Milinda Moragoda, the high profile cabinet minister and a confidante of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Scion of an aristocratic family, Moragoda has chosen the Ambassador as his official car with the avowed intention of demonstrating that Indian products are second to none in the world and that Sri Lankans should look to their neighbour for inspiration whether it is IT or cars, rather than the advanced countries.

However, Moragoda is not the first top drawer Sri Lankan leader to use the Ambassador. Former Deputy Defence Minister, the late Ranjan Wijeratne, was using it for his official work. "If only Wijeratne had used the Ambassador on the day he was targeted by a terrorist bomber, he would have survived the blast," Selvarajah said.