Our Imp
Our Hillman Imp is the Deluxe version, with a
compact rear engined motor. It was built by Rootes Motors, by then
a subsidiary of Chrysler, at Linwood in Paisley in Renfrewshire in
July 1973. The car only had one owner from new and is now on
display in the Scotland: A Changing
Nation gallery.
Photo © Jenni Sophia Fuchs
Where was it made?
Rootes pioneered the use of aluminium engines in a mass produced
car and built a new computerised assembly plant in Linwood,
near Paisley. A Government grant supported the plant, which
created 6,000 jobs in an unemployment blackspot that had suffered
many redundancies in the declining Clyde shipbuilding industry.
However, the workforce, who were mainly recruited from the
shipbuilding industry, were inexperienced in the intricacies of
motor vehicle assembly, and Imp build quality and reliability
suffered accordingly.
The Hillman Imp Deluxe courtesy of www.imps4ever.info.
The Imp was seen as a 'Scottish car' and was popular. At one
point the basic Hillman Imp was the cheapest new car on the British
market, which temporarily pushed up rather sluggish sales
figures.
Sporty Imp
The Imp enjoyed modest success in both club and international
rallying and Rootes produced a special build called the Rally Imp
in 1964. The Rally Imp featured many modifications over the
standard model, the most important of which was an engine enlarged
to 998 cc.
Imps were also successful racing cars. The private team of
George Bevan dominated the British Saloon Car Championship in the
early 1970s and won the championship in 1970, 1971 and 1972.
Tales of a Changing Nation
The Hilman Imp is one of the objects that features in our Tales
of a Changing Nation project. Around 80 objects in the Scotland: A
Changing Nation gallery have been 'tagged' with QR
codes. Using a smartphone, you can scan these codes to
uncover a treasure trove of hidden information about the exhibits.
You can find out more about the project
here.