The following photosets are tagged Rootes - click on the thumbnails for more images and descriptions of each vehicle
1953 Commer QX mkII 5-ton flatbed truck. 4752cc. Smashing old lorry, that has spent most of its life working on farms in Bedfordshire, UK. Beautifully restored and now a regular on the classic car scene. Registered November 1953. Fab!
The Hillman Imp is such a cool little car - Scotland's answer to the Mini. Famous for its 875cc aluminium engine, and cleverly designed to fit a lot of car into a small space. This example, registered in May 1970, is one of the 'Chrysler' Imps. (Chrysler bought out Hillman-manufacturer Rootes Group in 1967), or (unofficially) mk3 Imp. This 2-door saloon variant remained in production at the Linwood plant near Paisley right through to 1976. They sold 1/2 million Imps in 13 years of production!
A nice example of the third generation Hillman Imp - built in 1975 at Rootes' purpose-built Imp factory in Linwood Scotland. 875cc engine at the rear, 2-door saloon. Rootes had been bought out by Chrysler (in 1967), who kept the Imp in production until 1976.
The Hillman Imp was offered in numerous incarnations, marketed under different marques, including as the Singer Chamois (luxury version) and the Sunbeam Imp Sport (twin-carburettor performance model). The Singer Chamois Sport combined both luxury and performance for a very special Imp indeed! This example was registered in May 1968 and is equipped with the famous 875cc aluminium block rear mounted engine for which the Imp was famous. The Singer Chamois Sport had a top speed of 90 mph! Built at the Rootes / Chrysler plant in Linwood, Scotland. Great little car!
The Rootes Sunbeam Rapier was in production from 1955 up until 1976, with 15,368 series III models manufactured between September 1959 and April 1961. Fitted with a 1494cc engine, the convertible had a top speed of 92mph, and a list price of £1042 7s 6d. This lovely example in two tone Moonstone blue, with Powder blue side flashes. This is the two door convertible, though a saloon model was also available.
