45-593: The Hillman Super Minx is a family car which was produced by Hillman from 1961 to 1967. It was a slightly larger version of the Hillman Minx , from the period when the long-running Minx nameplate was applied to the "Audax " series of designs. (The Minx underwent many changes throughout its history, and the Super Minx name was not used during production of non-Audax Minx designs.) Announced in October 1961,
90-565: A Humber shortly before launch, while the two-door Rapier based on the 'Audax' Minx continued unreplaced until 1967. The Sceptre nevertheless was able to be successfully promoted as a more sporty car than the larger traditional Humbers. Unlike the Hillman and Singer versions, the Super Minx-based Humber Sceptre retained the same roof, with large panoramic windscreen and shallow wrap-around rear window with fins, until
135-578: A bigger boot. For the Mark VIII , in 1954, a new ohv 1390 cc engine was installed. This engine, two years later, went into the first of the new "Audax series" Minxes. For a short time in the early 1950s, Hillman Minxes were sold in the US to Americans seeking better gas mileage. American reviews of the vehicle were lukewarm. The Mark VI to Mark VIII was produced in Japan by Isuzu between 1953 and 1956, as
180-629: A modified version they called the Minx Mark II . A much more modern-looking Minx, the Mark III , was sold from 1948. Three different body styles were offered initially, these being saloon, estate car and drophead coupé (convertible). Beneath the metal, however, and apart from updated front suspension, little had changed: the Mark III retained the 1185 cc side-valve engine of its predecessor. Claimed power output, at 35 bhp (26.1 kW),
225-617: A newly arrived immigrant in New Zealand spots one and exclaims: "Humber 80? There's no such car!" In Australia, a Series Va model was released in 1965. It was fitted with a more powerful 1592cc engine and the all-synchromesh gearbox destined for the forthcoming Series VI model. The Audax Minx was also built in Japan by Isuzu Motors as the Isuzu Hillman Minx , under licence from Rootes, between September 1956 and June 1964. Isuzu produced their own unique estate car version,
270-624: A radio remained optional. The car could be ordered in single colour or two tone paint. The four-speed manual transmission featured synchromesh on the top three ratios from the start and had a floor lever: "Smiths Easidrive" automatic transmission was option. A car was tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1962 and had a top speed of 80.0 mph (128.7 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 21.6 seconds. A "touring" fuel consumption of 27.9 miles per imperial gallon (10.1 L/100 km; 23.2 mpg ‑US )
315-634: A revised axle ratio. For buyers of the automatic transmission cars, 1962 was the year that the Smiths Easidrive option was replaced by the Borg-Warner 35 transmission . In 1964, with the launch of the Super Minx Mark III the Super Minx was facelifted, and the wrap-around rear window gave way to a new "six-light" design with a larger side windows aft of the rear side doors. The windscreen and side windows were also made taller and
360-509: A slightly different grille arrangement and front trim to the Vogue as well as a taller panoramic windscreen, sloping rear roofline and larger rear fins. It had been intended that the Sceptre be a sports saloon until shortly before its launch as a Humber, hence its sprightly performance compared with other Humber models. Nearly five years after its launch, a Singer Vogue Series IV saloon tested by
405-459: A two-door hard-top coupé with, slightly unusually, a b-pillar that wound down out of sight along with the rear side window to give an unbroken window line when all windows were fully opened: the rear window assembly was of a three-piece wrap-around form. The wheelbase and overall length of the car remained the same as those of the four-door saloon and convertible permutations. The Mark VII , also introduced in 1953, featured longer rear mudguards and
450-700: A van derivative known as the Commer Cob. The Minx model name was revived briefly – along with the "Rapier" name, as applied to the Sunbeam Rapier version of the Audax family – as a special edition late in the life of the Talbot Alpine / Talbot Solara cars, produced by Chrysler Europe after its takeover of the Rootes Group. The original Minx was announced to the public 1 October 1931. It
495-512: Is a straight swap for both of these units and looks almost identical - it provides a useful boost in power to an already swift automobile. The unique Sceptre interior featured full instrumentation, including a tachometer marked up to 6,000 rpm, and a four-speed floor-mounted transmission with self-cancelling overdrive (with column-mounted control and indicator) on third and fourth gear for a total of six separate ratios in standard form. The lockout could be removed on first and second gears, and this
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#1732781021856540-691: The Isuzu Hillman Minx , prior to their 1961 introduction of the Bellel . A 2-door coupé utility variant of the Minx Mark VIII was produced by Rootes Australia as the Hillman de luxe Utility , circa 1956. The Audax body was designed by the Rootes Group, but helped by the Raymond Loewy design organisation, who were involved in the design of Studebaker coupés in 1953. Announced in May 1956
585-583: The " Arrow " family and essentially a basic version of the Hillman Hunter . Generally, the Minx was available in four-door saloon and estate forms, with a 1496-cc engine. The Hillman Super Minx was a slightly larger model offered during the Audax era. Throughout the life of the Minx, there was usually an estate version—and, from 1954 to 1965, a short-wheelbase estate, the Hillman Husky , and
630-492: The 1,592 cc engine had twin single Zenith downdraught carburettors - later 1,592/1,725 cc engines used a Solex twin choke downdraught carburettor for simplicity. The twin Zenith carburettors had been hard to keep balanced. Other modifications included a water-jacketed inlet manifold, timing adjustments and stronger valve springs to eliminate valve bounce at high engine speeds. The later H120's 107 hp (80 kW) engine
675-621: The 1938 model, became a pressed alloy component rather than a composite. During the Second World War, British car companies produced simple Utility load carriers, the Car, Light Utility or "Tilly" which was later developed into the experimental Hillman Gnat . For Hillman it was the Hillman 10HP, a Minx chassis with a two-person cab and covered load area behind. The basic saloon was also produced for military and essential civilian use from 1940 to 1944. The Minx sold between 1945 and 1947 had
720-522: The Britain's Autocar magazine in August 1966, now with an advertised power output of 85 bhp (63 kW; 86 PS), had a top speed of 93 mph (150 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 25 seconds. An overall fuel consumption of 22.0 miles per imperial gallon (12.8 L/100 km; 18.3 mpg ‑US ) was achieved. The test car was priced by Rootes in
765-475: The Humber 80 and Humber 90, badge-engineered models based respectively on the Minx and Super Minx, to give Humber dealers a smaller car to sell alongside the locally assembled Hawk and Super Snipe. Although the 90 was identical to the Super Minx apart from badging, the cheaper 80 featured a horizontal bar grille design. The Humber 80 was acknowledged in the 1980s Roger Hall play Prisoners of Mother England , in which
810-774: The Isuzu Hillman Express, from 1958 to 1964. Launched late in 1961, the Hillman Super Minx was intended at one stage to replace the Minx Series III. In the event the Series III would be replaced in 1963 by the Series V, while the Super Minx was launched as a separate, albeit closely related, model. A replacement Minx (sometimes identified, retrospectively, as the New Minx) took over from
855-463: The Minx over that period, as well as badge engineered variants sold by Humber , Singer , and Sunbeam . From the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, the Minx and its derivatives were the greatest-volume sellers of the "Audax" family of cars from Rootes, which also included the Singer Gazelle and Sunbeam Rapier . The final version of the Minx was the "New Minx" launched in 1967, which was part of
900-506: The Super Minx gave Rootes , and particularly its Hillman marque , an expanded presence in the upper reaches of the family car market. It has been suggested that the Super Minx design was originally intended to replace, and not merely to supplement, the standard Minx, but was found to be too big for that purpose. An estate car joined the range in May 1962, and a two-door convertible in June 1962. The convertible never sold in significant numbers:
945-585: The UK at £911 including taxes, at a time when the Austin 1800 was retailing for £888 and the Ford Corsair GT was offered at £925. The performance was felt to be lively, and the gear change, supported on the test car with an optional overdrive, ‘crisp’ with well chosen ratios. Comfort and fittings were also commended, but the fuel consumption and the tendency of the heavy brakes to fade when used hard disappointed
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#1732781021856990-489: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 222677695 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:03:42 GMT Hillman Minx The Hillman Minx was a mid-sized family car that British car maker Hillman produced from 1931 to 1970. There were many versions of
1035-801: The car went through a succession of annual facelifts each given a series number, replacing the mark number used on the previous Minxes. The Series I , introduced in 1956, was followed by the Series II in 1957, the Series III in 1958, the Series IIIA in 1959, the Series IIIB in 1960, the Series IIIC in 1961, the Series V in 1963 and the Series VI in 1965. There was no Series IV. Over
1080-477: The engine moved forwards to give more passenger room. The rear panel, previously vertical, was now set at a sloping angle, and the manufacturers offered the option of a folding luggage grid attached to the rear panel for "two pounds, seven shillings and sixpence" (slightly under £2.40) painted. A Commer-badged estate car was added to the range. The final pre-war model was the 1938 Minx. There were no more factory-built tourers but some were made by Carbodies . The car
1125-557: The last one was made in June 1964, ahead of the introduction, in September 1964, of the Super Minx Mark III. The car was powered by the Rootes 1,592 cc (97.1 cu in) unit, which had first appeared late in 1953 with a 1,390 cc (85 cu in) capacity. The original Super Minx had the cast-iron cylinder head version of the engine, though on later cars the cylinder head was replaced with an aluminium one. Suspension
1170-585: The model was replaced, in the Humber's case in 1967, by a Hillman Hunter-based successor. The cars differed in subtle ways, with the Singer being positioned slightly above the Hillman and gaining such extras as quad headlights , and the Humber topping the range, commensurate with Humber's traditional role as a producer of upmarket and luxury models. The styling of the Sceptre (as well as the Vogue) somewhat recalled previous, larger Humbers. The Sceptre marks 1 and 1A had
1215-674: The original cars survives. The Super Minx saloon and its Singer variants were replaced by the Rootes Arrow range when the Hillman Hunter and Singer Vogue were launched at the London Motor Show in October 1966. However, the Hunter was initially offered only as a saloon and accordingly the Super Minx estate car remained in production until April 1967. Family car Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1260-492: The roof-line flatter. Engine capacity was increased to 1,725 cc (105.3 cu in) for the Super Minx Mark IV launched at the London Motor Show in October 1965. (The larger engine outlived the Super Minx, to be used in later models too.) Like many other Rootes products including the Minx, the Super Minx was one of a badge-engineered series of models, sold under various marques. The Singer marque
1305-517: The same 1185 cc side-valve engine, the same wheelbase and virtually the same shape as the prewar Minx. This postwar Minx became known as the Minx Mark I (or Minx Phase I). This was the first Minx with a protruding boot (trunk) that nodded to the Ponton , three-box design by then replacing the 'flat back' look, inherited from models that had debuted in the 1930s. Between 1947 and 1948, Hillman offered
1350-446: The testers: this would presumably not have been an issue had the road test been of a Humber Sceptre which had its stopping power from a servo-assisted 10-inch (250 mm) front disc/rear drum arrangement. The Humber was also, at launch, fitted with a high tune version of the 1,592 cc and, from September 1965, 1,725 cc oversquare engine producing 80 hp (60 kW) and 85 hp (63 kW) respectively. Early models with
1395-461: The years the engine was increased in capacity from 1390 cc (in the Series I and II) to 1725 cc in the Series VI. A variety of manual transmissions , with column or floor change, and automatic transmissions were offered. For the automatic version, the Series I and Series II used a Lockheed Manumatic two-pedal system (really only a semi-automatic), the Series III a Smiths Easidrive, which
Hillman Super Minx - Misplaced Pages Continue
1440-705: Was a sporty Sunbeam version of the Minx (the Sunbeam Rapier ) but no Sunbeam version of the Super Minx. In addition to assembling the Super Minx, Rootes Australia produced variants of the Singer Vogue from 1963 to 1966 as the Humber Vogue and Humber Vogue Sports . At least six Humber Sceptre development mules were built with the same engine as the Sunbeam Tiger, a 289 cui Ford V8 unit. These never entered production, but at least one of
1485-562: Was also unchanged. However, in 1949 the old engine was bored out and compression ratio increased, for the Minx Mark IV , to 1265 cc, and power output increased by 7 per cent to 37.5 bhp (28.0 kW). A Mark IV saloon tested by The Motor magazine in 1949 had a top speed of 67 mph (108 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 39.7 seconds. A fuel consumption of 32.1 miles per imperial gallon (8.8 L/100 km; 26.7 mpg ‑US )
1530-607: Was designed by Rootes' technical director Captain John Samuel Irving (1880-1953) , designer of Sunbeam aero engines and Sunbeam's Golden Arrow ' in conjunction with Alfred Herbert Wilde (1891–1930), recently chief engineer of Standard and designer of the Standard Nine . The 1936 model had a new name, the Minx Magnificent, and a restyle with a much more rounded body. The chassis was stiffened and
1575-464: Was independent at the front using coil springs with anti-roll bar and at the rear had leaf springs and a live axle . Un-assisted 9 in (229 mm) Lockheed drum brakes were fitted. The steering used a recirculating ball system and was as usual at the time not power assisted. Standard seating, trimmed in Vynide, used a bench type at the front with individual seats as an option. A heater was fitted but
1620-432: Was not the final iteration before the outbreak of war, however, as the 1939 model was considerably different mechanically, with virtually the entire drivetrain improved to the extent that few parts are interchangeable with the 1938 model. This includes gearbox, differential, half shafts, steering box, and a great many other mechanical and cosmetic changes. Even the front grille, which to the casual eye looks almost identical to
1665-470: Was often done by Rootes in cars used for competitions such as rallying. In addition, the Sceptre was from the beginning provided with servo-assisted braking control and, unusually in 1963, 10-inch front disc-brakes. The Marks 1 and 1A were not available with an automatic option - although this was rectified with the Mark II cars, using a three-speed unit with automatic kick-down. This was a cheaper option than
1710-478: Was recorded. The test car cost £505 including taxes, the price including radio (£36), over-riders (£5) and heater (£18). The Mark V , introduced in 1951, featured side chromium trim and a floor-mounted handbrake. The Mark VI of 1953 featured a new grille, revised combustion chambers and a two-spoke steering wheel. A fourth body variation was added, badged as the Hillman Minx Californian,
1755-458: Was recorded. The test car cost £794 including taxes of £265. There were Singer Gazelle and Sunbeam Rapier variants of all these Hillman Minx models and the names were again used on derivatives in the later Rootes Arrow range. Some models were re-badged in certain markets, with the Sunbeam and Humber marques used for some exports. The New Zealand importer/assembler Todd Motors created
1800-603: Was recorded. The test car cost £854 including taxes, which was then slightly less than the recently upgraded Austin Cambridge A60 . The first Super Minxes featured the 1,592 cc (97.1 cu in) engine as used in the Hillman Minx, providing in this application a claimed 62 bhp (46 kW; 63 PS) of power. A year after the car was launched a Mark II version was presented, in October 1962, with greasing points eliminated, larger front disc brakes and
1845-645: Was represented by the Singer Vogue which had been announced in July 1961, four months earlier than the Hillman Super Minx. The range was joined in 1963 by a Humber : the Humber Sceptre . The Singer Vogue and Humber Sceptre names would be retained by the successor Rootes Arrow model range. The Sceptre was developed as a four-door replacement for the Sunbeam Rapier , but was re-designated as
Hillman Super Minx - Misplaced Pages Continue
1890-440: Was straightforward and conventional with a pressed-steel body on separate chassis and 30 bhp 1185 cc engine producing cushioned power . It was upgraded with a four-speed transmission in 1934 and a styling upgrade, most noticeably a slightly V-shaped grille. For 1935 the range was similar except that synchromesh was added to all forward gears and this Minx became the first mass-produced car with an all-synchromesh gearbox. it
1935-528: Was the first production dual-clutch transmission , while the V/VI a Borg Warner . The Series VI was fitted with an all-synchromesh gearbox. A Series III deLuxe saloon with 1494 cc engine tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1958 had a top speed of 76.9 mph (123.8 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 25.4 seconds. A fuel consumption of 31.8 miles per imperial gallon (8.9 L/100 km; 26.5 mpg ‑US )
1980-618: Was usual at the time due to the deletion of the Laycock De Normanville overdrive fitted to the Manual cars. There was a Singer variant of the smaller Minx as well (the Singer Gazelle ) but no equivalent Humber version of the Minx, (except for the Humber 80 version of the Minx released in New Zealand, as is Humber 90 to the Super Minx) which would have been uncharacteristically small for the Humber marque; conversely there
2025-554: Was visually similar to the Magnificent, with a different grille, and access to the luggage boot (trunk) was external (that on the predecessor was accessed by folding down the rear seat). There were two saloon models in the range, the basic "Safety" model with simple rexine trim instead of leather, no opening front quarter lights, and less luxurious trim levels. The De Luxe model had leather trim, opening quarter lights, extra trim pads, and various other comfort benefits. The 1938 model
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