Hillman Imp

Rootes, one of Britain’s largest car manufacturers, had started to develop their light economy car before the release of the BMC Mini, but the Mini was launched first in 1959. Rootes pressed on with their Hillman Imp and a brand-new manufacturing facility at Linwood, launching their car in 1963, but despite an ‘inspirational’ design it did not rival the Mini’s popularity.

The Imp’s unconventional design included a rear mounted all aluminium overhead camshaft Coventry Climax performance engine of 875cc that gave 39bhp at 5000rpm. This was very advanced compared to the Mini or any other economy car and gave a great drive, but the layout was not thoroughly tested in the rush to market.

This, and initial poor production control, gave the Imp a poor reputation from the outset and from which it never completely recovered. Industrial relations problems at the time affected Linwood’s inexperienced new work force, and the Imp’s production never reached much above 25% of capacity.