One of my favorite British cars tends to get overshadowed by the legendary Mini, which is sort of a shame, because while the Mini is unquestionably an iconic and remarkably engaging little car, this thing is, too, just not nearly as successful as the famous Mini. I’m talking about the Hillman/Sunbeam Imp, that rear-engined little marvel from the Rootes Group.
We never got Imps here in America, but that doesn’t mean the Rootes folks would have loved to have big sweaty fistfuls of crumpled American dollars, so they certainly imagined and plotted ways to break into that tricky American market. And, based on this pair of Imps shown at the 1965 New York (and maybe San Francisco, too?) Auto Show, the way the Rootes people planned on getting into the American market was by chugging watering cans full of gin and then smacking one another in the face with sheets of drywall, which allowed them to come up with ideas like Lord and Lady Imp.
Both cars were based on the clever and well-packaged rear-engined Imps known in the UK, which, as you can see here, had externally-accessible luggage stowage at the rear to go along with the bonnet in the front. A fronnet, if you will, which I do hope you won’t.
The two concepts were, as their names suggest, designed to be targeted at men and women separately and specifically, and as such are interesting examples of how traditional gender roles and preferences were seen at the time. Well, according to some British automakers, at least, who seemed to think that all men were, above all, married to the sea.
I say this because of the wildly nautical tone of the Lord Imp:
Just look at this thing! There’s the US Navy seal on the hubcaps and center of the steering wheel, the headliner and doorcards are blueprints of naval ships, the doorhandles are chromed sheepshanks or something, there’s nautical wood paneling on the sides, and the seat pattern are the Code of Signals flag for the letter “U” which can also mean “you are running into danger.” I wonder how much they thought that one out?
The PR copy for the Lord Imp is pretty incredible, too:
“FOR MEN ONLY: Designed specifically for men, the new Lord Imp has features such as ship-to-shore radio, a marine compass, ship’s bell, air horns and portable bar. It has nautical theme upholstery and the trim inside and out carries forth the boating motif. A prototype of the Lord Imp, which is based on the popular Sunbeam Imp sports sedan, was exhibited by Rootes Motors of England at the New York International Auto Show.”
Yeah, back off ladies, this is for the men. Men who like to pretend they’re commanding proud naval vessels as they pilot their 875cc city cars around town, pretending they’re delivering a broadside of cannonfire into the diner on the corner.
The Lady Imp is just as ridiculous, just in a very different, “feminine” way:
Doorhandles that look like either jewelry or silverware, matching luggage that matches the seat upholstery, door cards, and headliner, which are all densely floral’d in lilac and violet, along with perfume dispensers and a hair dryer and other exciting girlie things. From Rootes PR, again:
LADIES’ CAR: A new car a man wouldn’t want to drive, but would be more than happy to give to his wife – as the “ultimate present” is this Lady Imp, exhibited by Rootes Motors of England at the New York International Auto Show. The Lady Imp comes complete with such totally feminine features as a hair dryer, Princess mobile telephone and cosmetic perfume console. It is richly upholstered in a bright and striking floral pattern, and interior and exterior trim are equally feminine.
They could have used the word “feminine” maybe a few more times, right?
Both cars, interestingly, featured communication options that were ahead of their time: a telephone (presumably radio-based) on the Lady and a “ship-to-shore” radio on the Lord, though I suspect it was an early CB-type radio, because what the hell business does a land-car have making ship-to-shore radio calls?
Oh man, I forgot about those naval-knot floor mats on the Lord there. I also forgot I seemed to have written about these cars back in 2014 at the Old Site, but also, I don’t care. They’re still interesting, and, besides, those Old Site articles never show images. It’s also late and I have to get up early to drive to Monterey! So maybe I recycle some interesting content. What is that, a crime?
It’s not. It’s beautiful. Besides, these bonkers things are worth revisiting, I think.
Were dudes really that into Naval Kitsch in the ’60s? I mean, I know about the old midcentury rich-guy caricature of the ascot-and-captain’s-hat, Mr.Howell-style. But was this a mainstream thing? Maybe?
Somebody really should break the news to Don McCoy, owner of McCoy Motors, Lake Worth, Fla:
https://live.staticflickr.com/7375/11454394945_26b30fdc89_b.jpg
When I woke up this morning, I was NOT expecting to see a Motorola mic and head unit in a Lord Imp.
Less well known was the Hillman Gimp, which featured leather clad coachwork and doors that opened with zippers.
Lord Imp greets us: “Ahoy, hoi polloi!”
c’mon Jason. giving us text on Lord Imp that mentions including a portable bar !?!? and then not expanding on that perfect automotive accessory is a huge missed opportunity. it’s already 5 o’clock somewhere. drink up and expound.
We never got Imps here in America, but that doesn’t mean the Rootes folks wouldn’t have loved to have big sweaty fistfuls of crumpled American dollars, so they certainly imagined and plotted ways to break into that tricky American market.
Fify.
Were dudes really that into Naval Kitsch in the ’60s?
As a child in the 70s, I vividly remember my grandfather’s den/office/man cave in my grandparents’ condo. It was literally like walking into a naval museum. Dark wood panelling and furniture, ship’s wheel on the wall, more naval prints than an Annapolis pub. I still have a couple of the prints and a ship’s bell clock.
My dad’s den/office is similar, except with aviation kitsch.
However he can lay legitimate claim, being an air force veteran and a private pilot for about 55 years now
In the link about the Lady Imp they reference a November 1964 newspaper article about Edie Adams buying a Lady Imp:
“Edie Adams stars in Imp … Edie Adams, popular stage-screen-television star, is first Hollywood personality to acquire the new Sunbeam sportsedan. Edie took a look, called it a ‘doll’ and ordered one for her personal transportation. Scene here is in driveway of her Beverly Hills home. “I’m delighted with my Imp”, says the ‘Muriel Girl’.”
Yeah, Edie Adams already had some familiarity with rear-engined cars, as she and her husband, Ernie Kovacs, a pioneering TV star, had a Corvair station wagon (if a ’61 it would’ve been called a ‘Corvair Lakewood’ & if a ’62 it would’ve been just called a ‘Corvair Wagon’) in addition to a Rolls-Royce. Sadly, Kovacs died in January 1962 when he crashed while taking a curve too quickly in the Corvair in West Los Angeles.
One wonders what else Adams drove, as it’s indeed of some note that Adams would have had at least two rear-engined cars in the 1960s that weren’t VWs (or Renaults) and it’s doubtful that her Rolls-Royce would have been rear-engined…
The British really didn’t understand the concept of a land yacht, did they?
Old Spice is still around!
I always thought a fronnet was something you found in ladies underwear.
Never mind that, it has the automotive world’s only hatchmid
One of these came into the shop back in the middle ’70’s with (no surprise) electrical issues. Driving it revealed a just ok experience, not the kind of fun and tossable Fiat 850-ish thing that was hoped for.
Interiors that are actually interesting. Floral’s a bit much for me, but the seats in the dude version? I’d have those today.
Whan that Auguste with the groupe of Rootes
The heat of June hath sweated all the scrootes.
And bathed every man at least twice a day
“Impin’ ain’t easy but it’s fun to play”
They tried a Chaucer Edition but the wattle-and-daub coachwork added a significant weight penalty.
It would only be appropriate for one to purchase a Lord Imp if one had a woman named Brandy at the port.
She’s a fine girl.
Yes, but my lady is the sea.
Pretty sure Imps were available in the USA. I remember seeing one on a dealer’s display floor, and my father actually considered buying one for my sister when she graduated college back in the early-mid 1960s.
Jason, you’ve missed one special Imp: Zagato did a restyle of one, and showed it at an auto show. It was called the “Zimp.”
No foolin’.
He fools not! If you are curious, here is what it looked like. Although, warning, Zagato apparently invented Jeep Angry Eyes in 1963 with this Zimp.
Oh hell, that looks awesome. Like a Hillman Alfa Guilia. I’d take one.
Nice. Not perfect, but there’s a lot to like there.
I read it less as angry, and more as “tired of your shit.”
They were definitely imported in small numbers. I saw one at the 1965 NY Auto Show and am fairly confident that I saw a sales poster for them in 1969 at my local Plymouth dealer. Canada certainly had them and some were brought over the border as well.
Even if they weren’t “officially” imported (and I too think they were) back in those days there were no restrictions on personally importing anything you wanted. Stick it on a steamer, pay the import duties when it gets were, and drive whatever you want in those pre-FMVSS and pre-EPA glory days.
This is one of the Good Zagatos (they design two kinds of cars, good ones, and fugly ones)
But where’s the double-bubble roof? I thought that was a key part of the Zagato style?
The double-bubble was invented in part to create space for helmets while also keeping the roofline–and frontal area–low. That’s good for the go-racing models but I don’t think Rootes wanted a race car. The bubbles would probably look strange on this “folded-paper” design.
Oooh, Dodge should bring back the Demon and the Imp as a pair of high performance trims. An Imp is just a little Demon, right? Jam the 3.0L supercharged sixpack engine into the Imp (a shortened 2-door Hornet) and you’ve got yourself a hot little death trap right there, worthy of Satan himself.
If Rootes had actually tried to sell these in North America, do you think GM would have sued them first or Nader would have written a book about them first?
Any connection to the rootes blower? asking for a friend
Rootes wants you
Rootes wants you
Rootes wants you as a new recruit
In the Navy!
You can sail the seven seas!
In the Navy!
You can put your mind at ease!
FOR MACHO MEN ONLY
Sticking with the stated themes of these two models, they should’ve named them the ShrImp and the PrImp.
Found one!
Well, some of one.
We complain about ladies (people in general, right?) distracted on cell phones. Imagine a hair dryer and makeup counter?
Ok, they’ve made both of these… a little much. But I’d take an Imp with that rad teak exterior trim, the naval floor mats, and I kind of dig the floral interior. Regular door handles though please.
There’s no chance these things are still in a garage at Stellantis, right? ‘Cause they’re both pretty fabulous in an “Austin Powers” sort of way.
So in 1965, they came standard with phones in them? Did I get that right? Just seems a bit too far fetched for me to believe.
In 1965, the *concept* cars came with phone in them, at least!
And a Western Electric Princess, no less: https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1694826
Car phones did exist at the time, in 1964 the Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS) allowed direct dial calling from a handset like this. Before that, the Mobile Telephone Service (MTS) could make operator assisted calls.
It’s not clear if that is really what was proposed here or just part of conceptual design. MTS and IMTS required a box to house the radio equipment and an external antenna.
Indeed. In 1971 my landlord had a car-starting business (those being the olden days when temperatures might drop to -20F overnight, carbureted cars used 20W oil, and polar bears roamed the winter streets). He got a “car phone” for his pickup so that he could get job orders from his home base (his kitchen). I recall there was a significant radio box, but can’t remember where it was mounted. Must have been in the cab, I guess. But am pretty sure no Princess phone was involved.
It never occurred to me that a car starting business would be a thing. Did he just have jumper cables and a can of ether?
Cars could be difficult to start in the cold. People who didn’t have a block heater would come out in the morning to go to work, and discover they couldn’t. Or, in one case, the construction crew couldn’t start work until somebody got their crane started. He had a gas-powered generator in the back of his truck.