The Poor Man's Porsche 911

Rootes' little car. Sprightly with its Coventry-Climax derived engine. Really fun to drive. Remarkable gear shift. Great road-holding ! The rearmounted engine is all aluminium alloy, with an overhead camshaft. It has all-independent suspension.
It weighs 1560 lbs (708 kg). The engine in 875cc Hillman-Imp-form weighs 170 lbs (77 kg). Output was 39bhp at 5000rpm, giving the Imp a top speed of around 80mph (126 km/h) and 45mpg. Output was increased to 51bhp in the Sunbeam Sport and Stiletto versions and top speed was almost 90mph. The Rally Imp had a 998cc unit which boosted bhp to 65 and top speed well over 90mph.

Imps were built in a specially designed plant in Linwood, Scotland from 1963 until 1976. They had many innovative features for 1963 and they're not old-fashioned now. A production total of 440,032 was made, less than 20,000 are left.