That led to the next stage of the Slug, which appeared more utilitarian with appropriate styling.Įxtensive road testing was carried out in Norway in winter conditions, East Africa in the height of summer and in Arctic conditions in Canada by a small team led by Ken Sharpe (Chief Development Engineer, Ryton) sources However, the Rootes design board were not satisfied with this approach, and ordered the design team to press forward. The early stages of development presented "The Slug", which had clear similarities to a bubble car. And he said: 'Alright, get on with it then!'". Winter, and said to him we could design you just the car we want. So we went to the director of engineering, B. Seeing an opportunity, Mike Parkes and Tim Fry offered to design the car: "Well, Mike Parkes and I were very good friends. Although the project officially began in 1955, the market for small cars was soon recognised and it was evident that the project would evolve into Rootes' first small, economical car. The BMC's Mini had already taken advantage of the opportunity, with production starting in 1959. Petrol was rationed in the UK, sales of the heavy cars for which Rootes was known had dramatically slumped, and there was a huge market for small economical cars with low fuel usage. Known internally within the Rootes Groups as the APEX project, the Imp came about because of the fuel shortage caused by the Suez Crisis in 1956. JSTOR ( May 2019) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. This section needs additional citations for verification.
The Imp continued in production until 1976, selling just under half a million units in 13 years. Ĭonsidered ahead of its time, the Imp nevertheless suffered from reliability problems, which harmed its reputation and led to the Rootes Group being taken over by Chrysler Europe in 1967. The Imp was also successful in touring car racing when Bill McGovern won the British Saloon Car Championship in 1970, 19. In 1966, after winning the Coupe des Dames, Smith was disqualified under a controversial ruling regarding the headlamps of her Imp. That led the Rootes Group to produce a special rally conversion of the Imp under both the Hillman and Singer marques, known as the Imp Rallye. The Imp gained a reputation as a successful rally car when Rosemary Smith won the Tulip Rally in 1965.
HILLMAN IMP FOR SALE SERIES
As well as the Hillman marque, there was a series of variations, including an estate car (the Husky), a van and a coupé.īetween August 12 and 14, 1964, a Sunbeam Imp sports sedan (ZT-86-20) completed the First American Rodding Magazine sanctioned endurance run and broke a world record in the process, previously set by Erwin George “Cannonball” Baker in 1933, driving from New York City, to Los Angeles, California, covering 3,011 miles in 48 hours, 9 minutes, 54 seconds at an average speed of 63.7 mph. It was manufactured at the purpose-built Linwood plant in Scotland. This unorthodox small/light car was designed for the Rootes Group by Michael Parkes (who later became a Formula One driver) and Tim Fry. Among them were a folding rear bench seat, automatic choke which was rare on compact cars outside the United States until the 1970s, and gauges for temperature, voltage and oil pressure which have been largely omitted since the 1950s in favour of emergency lights.
It incorporated many design features which were uncommon. The baulk-ring synchromesh unit for the transaxle compensated for the speeds of gear and shaft before engagement, from which the Mini had suffered during its early production years. It was the first mass-produced British car with the engine in the back and the first to use a diaphragm spring clutch. It used a unique opening rear hatch to allow luggage to be put into the back seat rest. Revealed on, after much advance publicity, it was the first British mass-produced car with the engine block and cylinder head cast in aluminium.īeing a direct competitor to the BMC's Mini, it used a space-saving rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout to allow as much luggage and passenger capacity as possible in both the rear and the front of the car.
The Hillman Imp is a small economy car that was made by the Rootes Group and its successor Chrysler Europe from 1963 until 1976. 875 cc, 998 cc straight-4 overhead camshaft water-cooled aluminium block
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