Nash's streamlined 1949 Ambassador folded its seats flat into something that could actually sleep three adults — a built-in bed, decades before anyone called it "van life."
Median 74 hp across 86 similar cars
Lead trim: Ambassador 234.8 cu in 1-bbl I6 (112 hp, 1949) · up to 115 hp
Nash Ambassador Airflyte1949–1951
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Nash Ambassador Airflyte yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactNash's streamlined 1949 Ambassador folded its seats flat into something that could actually sleep three adults — a built-in bed, decades before anyone called it "van life."
The 1949 Ambassador Airflyte replaced the separate-frame chassis with unibody construction (a design Nash introduced with the 1941 600), on the same 121 in wheelbase, the chassis claimed to have 8,000 welds and be "1 1/2 to 2 1/2 times as rigid as conventional cars"; George W. Mason wanted "cars noticeably different" from the Big Three, and the Airflyte had fully reclining seats able to turn the car into a bed for three adults, a one-piece curved windshield (new for 1949) and, in 1950, GM's Hydramatic, the first on a non-General Motors car. Only four- and two-door sedans were sold, built at Kenosha and El Segundo, California. The 234.8 cu in (3.8 L) 1-bbl I6 made 112 hp in 1949 and 115 hp in 1951 with a 3-speed manual or (1951) 4-speed automatic and coil springs; the 1949 car was 201 in long, 77.5 in wide and 63 in tall, the 1951 210 in long and 63.5 in tall.
Collectors Spotted in the Nash Ambassador Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Nash Ambassador yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambassador 234.8 cu in 1-bbl I6 (112 hp, 1949) | 1949–1949 | 3.8 L Inline-6 | 112 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ambassador 234.8 cu in 1-bbl I6 (115 hp, 1951) | 1951–1951 | 3.8 L Inline-6 | 115 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
In 1954 the Nash Ambassador became the first American car with a fully integrated front-end heat-and-air system — a compact, hood-mounted unit priced at $345 while Oldsmobile's trunk-mounted setup ran $550.
Nash's streamlined 1949 Ambassador folded its seats flat into something that could actually sleep three adults — a built-in bed, decades before anyone called it "van life."
This Ambassador’s wagon looked like a classic wood-bodied wagon, but the wood was just cladding over an all-steel roof and doors underneath.
The 1941-42 Ambassador 600 was the first popular American car built with single-welded "unibody" monocoque construction - what Nash branded "Unitized" - instead of a separate body-on-frame.
While the Great Depression wrecked the auto industry, Nash — maker of the Ambassador Eight — stayed in the black through 1932, the only American carmaker besides General Motors to manage it.
In 1927 a Swedish prince personally traveled to Nash's Kenosha, Wisconsin factory, where Scandinavian factory workers themselves delivered his custom Ambassador Six sedan.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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