Hillman Super Minx mk3

This car is sadly a much rarer sight that it should be, because even back in the mid 60s when this was a gleaming bright penny in a row of new cars, it looked smart, attractive and modern.

It deserves to be far more treasured in today’s line up of classics and hopefully today’s video will have you lusting after one just as much as I now am!

For those watching from abroad or who are perhaps slightly younger, you may be wondering what Hillman was and where they came from.

The Hillman marque was part of Rootes group which also produced cars under marques including Singer, Sunbeam, Talbot and Commer. At this point in time, Rootes as Britain knew it was slowly fading, being taken over by Chrysler in chunks.

Now coming back to the car we’re testing today, we’re out in the Super Minx, which is not to be confused with the Minx - which is not the same car.

In fact, to the observer looking back, you might be wondering what the heck is going on. Essentially, Rootes needed a car to fill that tricky gap of upper-mid family car market and they decided the Super Minx would do just that.

The team had intended for the car to completely replace the Minx but once all was said and done, they felt like both cars served different audiences and kept both in the range.

The car was fitted with the 1,592cc engine, as seen in the Minx, and the performance was not to be sniffed at for a modern family car of the time. It could achieve a top speed of around 80 mph and do 0 to 60 in just over 21 seconds.

It was the last of the Super Minxes to be fitted with this because with the Mark 4, they step up to the 1725cc engine - which was then used for other cars within the Rootes Group family after Super Minx closed.

On this particular Mk3, we’ve got the 4 speed gearbox with synchro on all forward gears - overdrive was optional - but has not been fitted to this car.

The braking system is more than adequate and the car is fitted with discs to front and drums to rear. I believe on earlier cars they’re fitted with drums all round.

Despite being a car which still looks appealing and less antiquated than some cars of the 60s, it is a rare beast in the classic car world. Less than 300 are left across the entire production run from 1961 to 1967 and it’s a massive shame.

The car was replaced within the Rootes line up by the Rootes Arrow cars or as many of you will know it, the Hillman Hunter or Paykan.

I could talk all day about Rootes cars and the range and the badge engineering, but we need to get back to the Super Minx we’re testing today. If you’d like to do more reading I suggest Rootes Cars by David Rowe as a starting point.

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