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Hillman

The original company named Hillman-Coatalen was founded by William Hillman with the Breton Louis Coatalen as designer and chief engineer. Coatalen left in 1939 and Hillman persevered.

The first cars were large featuring a 9.76 litre 6 cylinder engine or a 6.4 litre four cylinder engine. A smaller car, the 9 hp of 1913 with a 1357 cc side valve four cylinder, was the first to sell in significant numbers and was re-introduced after World War 1 as the 11 hp. In 1925 the introduced a larger hp car which was successful and spread further the company’s image. However, Hillman but soon gained a reputation for big end problems.

Rootes too over the brand and suprisingly Hillman went on to become the dominant brand within the Rootes empire.

Cars such as the Wizard were extremely popular; with that particular car having a very large engine and remaining in production untill the end of hostilities in WW2. After the war their car, the Minx was reintroduced with the same 1185 cc engine. This model was reinvented numerous times by the flourishing auto maker and each remake was given a number in roman numerals. A complete departure in 1963 was the Hillman Imp using a Coventry Climax all alloy, 875 cc rear engine and built in a brand new factory in Linwood, Scotland. This location was chosen after the governmet promoted it and encouraged Hillman to move there. It brought employment and a level of wealth to the area. A fastback version, the Californian, and an estate re-using the Husky name were also made. The hunter was introduced in the 60s and was successful on the home market. They continued on with typical Hillman styling and engineering but were revamped to cope with the stylistic changes of the swinging sixties.

Their final model was the Avenger. It was funded by Chrystler and was finished production in the sixties. Peugeot bought the right to the Hillman name and used its factories for the production of Peugeot cars right up until January 2007.