# Hillman Imp (historic race)

- Source: https://racingcarnetwork.com/wiki/hillman-imp-race/
- Publisher: Racing Car Network (racingcarnetwork.com), the race car marketplace
- Type: car · Brand: Hillman
- Discipline: touring, historic-racing
- Series: historic-sportscar
- Era: 1960s
- Last updated: 2026-07-06

The racing Imp is British saloon racing's rear-engined giant-killer: the Coventry Climax-derived screamer — the Fraser-era class conquests — historic touring's charming David with a genuine engineering pedigree.

## Specifications

| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Engine | 875-998cc Climax-derived OHC |
| Power | ~90-110 hp race builds |
| Layout | Rear-engined saloon |
| Dynasty | Fraser preparation era |
| Ledger | Class wins vs the Mini wars |
| Diligence | Build honesty + preparation history |
| Years | 1963–present (historic) |
| Class | Historic saloon giant-killer |

## History

Rootes' Hillman Imp became British club racing's rear-engined giant-killer (1963 onward): the engineering pedigree the racing exploited — the Coventry Climax-derived aluminium engine (the FWMA lineage's overhead-cam sophistication in an economy car, the tuning headroom the racing community mined), the rear-engined balance the short-circuit craft learned, and the lightweight arithmetic the class structures rewarded — racing the British saloon wars' small classes: the Fraser-era preparation dynasty (the Scottish tuner's works-adjacent Imps the type's competition summit), the class conquests against the Mini establishment (the sixties-and-seventies battles the two Davids fought), and the club-racing careers the survivor fleet has run continuously into the historic era's grids.

The engineering story carries the type: the Climax bloodline (the fire-pump-derived racing family's economy-car descendant), the 998-and-beyond tuning culture the specialist world built, and the rear-engined handling craft the discipline's drivers celebrate.

The historic-racing identity structures the market: the HSCC-and-club eligibility the type's continuous careers hold, the Fraser-provenance premium (the dynasty's cars the collector tier), and the giant-killer affection the paddocks keep.

The present is historic-saloon custody: engine-build honesty per the specialist economics, preparation-history documentation, and the David romance throughout.

## Palmarès

Class conquests through the sixties-and-seventies British saloon wars — the Fraser-era honours against the Mini establishment — and the continuous club careers since.

## What to check before you buy

Giant-killer law: engine-build honesty first (the Climax-derived unit's specialist economics — the 998-and-beyond builds' provenance and the tuner-world custody the ownership's spine), preparation-history documentation (Fraser-lineage and period-campaign biographies pricing the premium tier against honest club builds), shell-condition forensics per the era's steel, and eligibility fit (HSCC-and-club historic classes the racing home). The Mini rivalry prices the story: the other David trades at bigger money, and the Imp's engineering-pedigree romance keeps the connoisseur tier warm.

## Did you know

- The engine came from fire pumps: the Climax FWMA lineage giving the economy car its overhead-cam soul.
- The rear engine was the craft: the Imp's balance rewarding drivers the front-heavy establishment couldn't.
- Fraser was the dynasty: the Scottish preparation house making the Imp's competition legend.

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