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34-511: The Hillman Wizard is a six-cylinder car produced by Hillman between 1931 and 1933. Production began in April 1931 and continued until 1933. The Wizard was produced in two models, the 65 and 75. The 65 model had a 65mm bore and was rated at 15.7 horsepower , while the 75 model had a 75 mm bore and was rated at 20.9 horsepower . The key selling point for the Wizard, the self-proclaimed "Car of

68-450: A vélocipède (French), a swiftwalker , a dandy horse (as it was very popular among dandies ) or a Hobby horse . It was made entirely of wood and metal and despite the condition of the roads at the time was sometimes ridden for long distances. It was almost 40 years until "velocipede" came into common usage as a generic term, with the launch of the first pedal -equipped bicycle , developed by Pierre Michaux , Pierre Lallement and

102-545: A car producer. Hillman had moved into Abingdon House in Stoke Aldermoor near Coventry and decided that a sensible plan would be to set up a car factory in its grounds. In 1907 Hillman-Coatalen was founded by William Hillman with the Breton Louis Coatalen as designer and chief engineer. They launched the 24HP Hillman-Coatalen, which was entered into that year's Tourist Trophy. The car was put out of

136-577: A depressed area. A fastback version, the Californian, and an estate re-using the Husky name were also made. A new car called the Hunter was introduced in 1966 with, in 1967, a smaller-engined standard version using the old Minx name. These are frequently given their factory code of "Arrow", but this name was never officially used in marketing. Chrysler had assumed complete control of Rootes by 1967, and

170-497: A framework of wrought iron . As the name implies it was extremely uncomfortable, but the discomfort was somewhat ameliorated by a long flat spring that supported the saddle and absorbed some of the shocks from rough road surfaces. The boneshaker also had a brake  – a metal lever that pressed a wooden pad against the rear wheel. The front wheel axle ran in lubricated bronze bearings, and some had small lubrication tanks that would wick oil from soaked lamb's wool into

204-574: A series of updates in body style and construction until the end of the Second World War. In 1934 the Hillman Wizard "65" and "75" were replaced by the 2110 cc Hillman "16 hp" and 2810cc "20/70" , which lasted until 1936 when a new body design in the form of the 2576 cc Hillman "Sixteen" and the 3181 cc "Hawk" and "80" , all with side valve straight-six engines , were introduced. These later cars were also sold as Humbers. After

238-462: A single person, which came to be known as a "railway velocipede" or "railroad velocipede". The three-wheel hand-pump rail car's invention is credited to George S. Sheffield of Three Rivers, Michigan. Legend has it that because of inadequate train service to his home, Sheffield built a simple three-wheel car, allowing him to commute 11 kilometres (7 mi) between home and work without having to walk. While so traveling one evening, he discovered

272-425: Is estimated that about 3,250 Wizards were sold in 1931, approximately 2,186 in 1932, and numbers for 1933 are unknown. These were disappointing results for a car with so much promise, however the tough economic circumstances of the times almost certainly contributed to the weak sales results for a car that provided its owners with a then unfashionable perception of exuberance. Meanwhile, the four-cylinder Hillman Minx

306-551: The Laufmaschine , also now called a ' dandy horse ', which he had developed in 1817. It is ultimately derived from the Latin velox , veloc- 'swift' + pes , ped- 'foot'. The term 'velocipede' is today mainly used as a collective term for the different forerunners of the monowheel , the unicycle , the bicycle , the dicycle , the tricycle and the quadracycle developed between 1817 and 1880. Velocipede refers especially to

340-815: The Olivier brothers in the 1860s. The Michaux company was the first to mass-produce the velocipede, from 1857 to 1871. That French design was sometimes called the boneshaker, since it was also made entirely of wood, then later with metal tires. That in combination with the cobblestone roads of the day made for an extremely uncomfortable ride. These velocipedes also became a fad, and indoor riding academies, similar to roller rinks, could be found in large cities. In 1891 L'Industrie Vélocipédique (Cycling Industry) magazine described 'La Société Parisienne de constructions Velo' as 'the oldest velocipede manufacturer in France', having been founded in 1876 by M. Reynard, and awarded

374-478: The 'Diploma of honour' at the Exposition Universelle (1878) (World's Fair). During the 1870s advances in metallurgy led to the development of the first all-metal velocipedes. The pedals were still attached directly to the front wheel, which became larger and larger as makers realised that the larger the wheel, the farther you could travel with one rotation of the pedals. Solid rubber tires and

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408-426: The 1880s favoured the less risky tricycle. Many innovations for tricycles eventually found their way into the automobile , such as rack and pinion steering , the differential , and band brakes , the forerunners to drum brakes . Boneshaker (or bone-shaker) is a name dating from the 1860s for the first type of true bicycle with pedals , which were called velocipedes by their manufacturers. "Boneshaker" referred to

442-633: The European market, closed in 2007. The French company still owns the rights to the Hillman name. Cars introduced after 1930 were a new range to the specification of the Rootes brothers Cars to the specification of the Rootes brothers Velocipede The term was probably first coined by Karl von Drais in French as vélocipède for the French translation of his advertising leaflet for his version of

476-514: The First World War as the 11 hp, having grown to 1600 cc. The big seller was the 14 hp introduced in 1925, and the only model made until 1928. Following the fashion of the time a Straight Eight of 2.6 litres and Hillman's first use of overhead valves came in 1928 but soon gained a reputation for big-end problems. William Hillman had six daughters and no sons. A daughter married John Black , managing director of Hillman, who left at

510-538: The Moderns", was that it had been tested for international conditions, not just those found in Great Britain. The car was reportedly subjected to every conceivable and practical test. Photos exist to this date of the Wizard being test-driven in France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Algeria, Egypt and Morocco. The Wizard was first released with five body styles, each available in a choice of three colours. The models were

544-490: The area embarked on producing velocipedes . In 1870 Hillman and Starley patented a new bicycle called the "Ariel" and by 1885 Hillman was a partner of the bicycle manufacturer Hillman Herbert and Cooper, producing a bicycle called the Kangaroo . Hillman's new company soon established itself, and before the turn of the 20th century, Hillman was a millionaire. With wealth came the means to fulfil Hillman's next ambition, to become

578-529: The bearings to help them run smoothly. Like the High Wheel bicycles that became popular later in the 19th century, boneshakers were front-wheel drive, but in comparison they had smaller wheels (only about 1 m), and were heavy, with a lightweight model weighing 14 kilograms (30 lb) or more. Railroads in North America often made use of a three-wheeled handcar designed to be operated by

612-459: The extremely uncomfortable ride, which was caused by the stiff wrought-iron frame and wooden wheels surrounded by tires made of iron . The so-called "boneshaker" was invented in the 1860s in France and first manufactured by the Michaux company from 1867 to 1869 , the time of the first bicycle craze . The boneshaker was copied by many others during that time. It fell out of favor after

646-629: The first new Hillman model whose development was financed by the American giant was the Avenger of 1970. The Avenger and Hunter ranges were badged as Chryslers from 1976 until 1979, when Chrysler sold its European division to Peugeot . At this point, Hunter production was shelved and the Avenger was rebadged as a Talbot until it was finally withdrawn from sale at the end of 1981. Hillman's Ryton factory, which had assembled various Peugeot models for

680-439: The five-seater family saloon, £270; saloon de luxe, £285; coupe-cabriolet, £299; four-door sports saloon, £299; five-seater tourer, £270. The bare chassis was available for £198. The cheaper family saloon and touring car models came with 19 inch steel artillery wheels . Wire wheels were available for an additional £7 10/-. All other models had wire wheels as standard, and Triplex Safety Glass throughout instead of only for

714-472: The forerunner of the modern bicycle that was propelled, like a modern tricycle, by cranks, i.e. pedals , attached to the front axle before the invention of geared chains and belt and shaft drives powering the rear. Among the early velocipedes there were designs with one, two, three, four, and even five wheels. Some two-wheeled designs had pedals mounted on the front wheel, while three- and four-wheeled designs sometimes used treadles and levers to drive

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748-523: The long spokes of the large front wheel provided a much smoother ride than its predecessor. This type of velocipede was the first one to be called a bicycle ("two wheel"), and its shape led to the nickname penny-farthing in the United Kingdom. They enjoyed a great popularity among young men in the 1880s who could afford them. While young men were risking their necks on the high wheels, ladies and dignified gentlemen such as doctors and clergymen of

782-599: The old side-valve engine, was also new for 1954. The floor pan of this model was later to form the basis for the Sunbeam Alpine , Sunbeam also being part of the Rootes empire. A complete departure in 1963 was the Hillman Imp using a Coventry Climax derived all alloy, 875 cc rear engine and built in a brand new factory in Linwood , Scotland. The location was chosen under government influence to bring employment to

816-683: The other forty per cent of shareholders in Humber. The marque continued to be used under Chrysler until 1976. In 1857 Josiah Turner and James Starley formed the Coventry Sewing Machine Company, and recruited skilled engineers from the London area to join them, one of whom was William Hillman. In 1869 the firm changed its name to the Coventry Machinists Company, and like many other manufacturers in

850-544: The race by a crash, but it had made a splash. Coatalen left in 1909 to join Sunbeam and the company was re-registered as the Hillman Motor Car Company in 1910. The first cars were large, featuring a 9.76-litre 6-cylinder engine or a 6.4-litre four. A smaller car, the 9 hp of 1913 with a 1357 cc side-valve four-cylinder engine, was the first to sell in significant numbers and was re-introduced after

884-566: The rear wheels. The earliest usable and much-copied velocipede was created by the German Karl Drais and called a Laufmaschine (German for "running machine"), which he first rode on June 12, 1817. He obtained a patent in January 1818. This was the world's first balance bicycle and quickly became popular in both the United Kingdom and France, where it was sometimes called a draisine (German and English), draisienne (French),

918-429: The summer of 1869 and was replaced in 1870 with the type of bicycle called "ordinary", "high-wheel", or " penny-farthing ". Few original boneshakers exist today, most having been melted for scrap metal during World War I. Those that do surface from time to time command high prices, typically up to about $ 5,000 US. The construction of the boneshaker was similar to the dandy horse : wooden wheels with iron tires and

952-495: The time of the Rootes takeover and went to Standard Motor Co . Another daughter married Maurice Wilks who left Hillman in the same period and eventually went to Rover Company . In 1928, Hillman fell under the control of the Rootes brothers and then merged with Humber . The Rootes brothers obtained further backing from Prudential Assurance during 1931 and brought their holding up to 60 per cent of Humber. Then, in stages, Hillman

986-670: The war, the Minx was reintroduced with the same 1185 cc engine. It went through a series of models given Phase numbers and the Phase VIII of 1955 saw the arrival of an overhead-valve engine 1390cc, the Mk 8. The later 1956 Two Tone version of this model, the Mark 8A, was called the "Gay Look" and led to the advertising slogan "As Gay as a Mardi Gras". A smaller car, the Husky with van like body and using

1020-538: The windscreen. A Hillman Wizard was supplied to the Mechanical Warfare Experimental Establishment MWEE seemingly for testing between 26 September 1931 and 10 November 1932. Source National Archives Kew Both engines had a 106 mm stroke, meaning the 65 model measured 2,110 cc and the 75 model measured 2,810 cc The 75 model was predominately targeted towards export markets, given the additional £5 horse-power tax that

1054-551: Was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore , near Coventry , England. Before 1907 the company had built bicycles. Newly under the control of the Rootes brothers, the Hillman company was acquired by Humber in 1928. Hillman was used as the small car marque of Humber Limited from 1931, but until 1937 Hillman did continue to sell large cars . The Rootes brothers reached a sixty per cent holding of Humber in 1932 which they retained until 1967, when Chrysler bought Rootes and bought out

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1088-565: Was having a far more successful time, selling around 20,000 vehicles per year. The Wizard was discontinued from production in 1933. Rootes entered the six-cylinder market again in 1934, with the introduction of the Hillman 16hp & 20/70 models. Hillman Hillman was a British automobile marque created by the Hillman-Coatalen Company, founded in 1907, renamed the Hillman Motor Car Company in 1910. The company

1122-458: Was payable owing to its larger capacity. The straight-six engine featured side valves , a detachable head and coil ignition . There was a dry single-plate clutch and the gearbox had four speeds with silent third. Suspension was provided by half-elliptic springs at both front and back, with hydraulic shock absorbers . Brakes were a Bendix-Perrot duo-servo series on all four wheels, operated through armoured cables by pedal or lever. It

1156-523: Was switched to manufacturing small cars and became the best known brand within the Rootes empire alongside Humber, Sunbeam and, in the Rootes Group's final decade, Singer. The 1930s saw a return to side valves with a 6-cylinder Wizard first produced in April 1931 and, in 1932, inspired by the Rootes brothers, the first car to carry the Minx name. This had a 1185 cc four-cylinder engine and went through

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