Small Car, Big Ambition

When Rootes Group unveiled the Hillman Imp in 1963, it promised nothing less than a revolution in British motoring. Compact, innovative, and daringly different, the Imp was Britain's answer to the Mini-powered by an all-aluminium engine derived from Coventry Climax racing technology and built in a brand-new factory in Linwood, Scotland. Yet behind its engineering brilliance lay a story of ambition and adversity: the challenges of modernisation, the tensions of labour and management, and the politics of industrial hope in a changing nation. Small Car, Big Ambition tells the complete, factual story of the Imp from conception to legacy, tracing its journey from bold postwar experiment to beloved cult classic. Drawing on the social, political, and engineering forces that shaped its creation, the book explores how one small car came to symbolise both Britain's technical ingenuity and its industrial struggle. From boardroom strategy to shop-floor pride, and from rally stages to collectors' garages, this is the definitive chronicle of the Hillman Imp-a car that failed to conquer its market, but succeeded in capturing hearts. Rich in detail and narrative flow, this is not just an automotive history but a portrait of mid-century Britain itself: inventive, idealistic, and restless for change.