#rootes

The Rootes Group mastered "badge engineering" to appeal to different rungs of the British social ladder. Using one core chassis (codenamed the Arrow), they created unique identities by varying styling, trim, and luxury levels, turning a single design into a range that spanned from budget-friendly workhorses to executive cruisers.

The single core platform spawned several distinct models, each targeted to a specific type of buyer and several badge-engineered marques by the Rootes Group, such as; Singer, Vogue, Sunbeam and Humber.

The most prolific model within the Arrow range, the Hillman Hunter, was the Coventry-based company's major competitor in the small family car segment. In its 13-year production run which this post is covering.

1950 Rootes Humber Super Snipe

On 2nd May 1963 The Rootes Car Factory opened at Linwood it went on to produce Scotland's answer to the Mini.

The Hillman Imp enjoyed a brief moment in the sun. However, a mixture of poor management and industrial disputes resulted in a low quality product that was notorious for breaking down.

In 1987, The Proclaimers released Letter From America, a heart-felt lament to the countless industries and communities lost to Scotland in recent generations, Linwood amongst the places mentioned.

Compact models were very much in vogue after the 1956 Suez Crisis, and the Hillman Imp, while never able to match the Mini, sold relatively well - especially in Scotland, where buyers were imbued by the knowledge that it was the first car to be built here in 35 years.

With an 875cc rear-mounted engine tilted at an accessible 45 degree angle, the wee motor could reach 0 to 50 in just under 15 seconds and boasted top speeds approaching 80 miles per hour. Popular variants included the Sunbeam Stiletto, the Californian, the esate-sized Hillman Husky, and the most exquisite of all, the Singer Chamois. Hillman Imps were even favoured by Dunbartonshire Police, who first adopted the car in 1967.

The car was also celebrated for its cutting-edge design principles and quirky features. There were fold-back seats, indicators, stalk controls for the windscreen wipers and the rear window opened. Above all, though, with a launch price of £500, the Imp represented great value for money - or so it first appeared. Thanks to a host of internal design flaws, which included an inadequate cooling system, poor steering, gearbox and clutch problems, faulty chokes and a tendency to leak water, the Hillman Imp developed a reputation for unreliability. Break-downs became a common occurrence for Imp owners, with the car’s main saving grace being that it was generally easy to fix, provided you knew what you were doing.

The Hillman Imp also tasted some success as a racing and rally car. In 1964, a 998cc version of the Imp won the Tulip Rally, while other variants would go on to dominate the British Saloon Car Championships in the early 1970s. In June 1965, racing driver Alan Fraser drove an Imp on the circuit for the first time, with the car making an instant impact. Fraser Imps, with the Saltire painted on to their roofs, became famous throughout the motorsport world and the iconic vehicles still compete in vintage races to this day.

Despite its shortcomings - and there were several - the Hillman Imp would go on to become the most successful car model to ever come out of Scotland. In total, almost half a million cars left the Linwood assembly line, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Rootes from going to the wall. The firm was taken over by Chrysler, with the Imp ceasing production in 1976. Peugeot-Citreon eventually purchased the factory before it closed too in 1981. And with that, car production in Scotland came to an end for good.