Introduction

Founded in 1907, the Hillman Motor Car Company was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore near Coventry. Before building its first car under the Hillman brand in 1907, William Hillman was into production of bicycles. The Hillman Company was then over by Humber in 1929, then by Rootes Group in 1931 and finally by Chrysler in 1967. Hillman cars continued to be manufactured by Chrysler until 1976.

William Hillman worked as an engineer at the Coventry Sewing Machine Company. The company then turned to production of velocipedes and changed its name to Coventry Machinists Company. In 1870, Hillman and James Starley made the “Ariel” bicycle and by 1885 Hillman was a partner in the Hillman Herbert and Cooper bicycle manufacturing company. The second bicycle he produced was the “Kangaroo”. After success in bicycle manufacturing, Hillman turned to cars. In 1907, the Hillman-Coatalen Company was established by Hillman and Breton Louis Coatalen. The latter joined the Sunbeam Car Company in 1909 and Hillman re-registered his company as the Hillman Motor Car Company in 1910.

The 24 hp Hillman-Coatalen was the first car to come out of the company stable in 1907. Hillman succeeded in penetrating the market with the 1913 9 hp car. After World War I, the car was converted into an 11 hp model and continued to sell till the 1920s. The 14 hp model was hugely popular and the only one to be produced from 1925 to 1928.

In 1928, Hillman was sold to Humber. Three years later, both companies were taken over by Rootes. The 6-cylinder Hillman Wizard was introduced n 1931, which was followed in 1932 by the first Minx car. 1934 saw the entry of the 20/70 which was replaced by the 1936 Hawk. The Minx car saw a revival after the war and was redeveloped in various models. The Husky introduced in 1954 became the inspiration for the Sunbeam Alpine. The 1963 Hillman Imp was built in a Scotland factory.

The 1964 Rally Imp boasted a 998 cc engine and has won the first and second places in the 1965 Tulip Rally. The Bevan Sunbeam Imp has three wins in a row from 1970 to 1972 in the British Saloon Car Championship. The Hillman Imp also achieved singular success in the ‘under 1000 cc Special Saloon’ category in UK club races and in other parts of the world.

New cars continued to be produced under the Hillman brand by Rootes till it was acquired by Chrysler in 1967. The 1970 Hillman Avenger was the first car built by Chrysler. Later Chrysler renamed the Avenger and Hunter cars as Chrysler till 1979 when Chrysler was bought by Peugeot which still owns the Hillman name.