Ancient Web: The Imp Site Made a Linwood Car Everybody's Archive

Part of the Ancient Web Collection.

The Hillman Imp was a compact British car with an aluminum engine at the wrong end, according to people who believe engines belong at the front. Its enthusiasts have never been easily discouraged.

Visit The Imp Site

This independently maintained reference is dedicated to the Hillman Imp and related Rootes Group models. The site identifies the Imp as a rear-engined, rear-drive small car built in Linwood, Scotland, from 1963 to 1976. The homepage describes its alloy engine, overhead camshaft, independent suspension, and surprisingly capable handling.

The old-Web personality is evident in the navigation: variants, special models, photographs, history, competition, technical subjects, old literature, clubs, and an invitation to email corrections. Its maintainer signs the feedback request as Franka. The enthusiast's stated motive is telling: the only Imp material found on the Web at first was a rally photograph, so the owner decided to put more Imps online.

Racing results became an enormous table

The competition archive documents events, drivers, and cars that a general automotive history would skim past. There are results from the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally, the 1965 Tulip Rally, class wins in economy runs, Scottish rallies, ice racing, hot rods, and even Imp-powered hydroplanes.

Much of the page is reconstructed from named clippings or community contributions. A 1969 excerpt from Hot Car discusses the Rootes Group's withdrawal from competition. Elsewhere a contribution credited to Kari Tossavainen on February 4, 2001 describes a Finnish rallycross driver. A later reader message dated 2010 corrects an incomplete account of Scottish hot-rod racing.

That combination makes the collection a social archive, not merely a manufacturer's timeline. The webmaster can print the original list, add a former participant's correction, and preserve an argument about who actually competed.

The historical overview names development engineers Michael Parkes and Tim Fry and follows the unusual design back to the mid-1950s. Other navigation leads to factory history, performance variants, and engineering information.

The site does not establish its exact first publication date in the pages inspected here. What it does preserve is early-2000s enthusiast commentary embedded in a durable, hand-maintained record.

Old cars survive through parts, memory, documents, and people who care enough to correct a rally result. This site gives the last three a place to meet.

Browse the Imp competition archive and the design history.

Part of the Ancient Web Collection.