HILLMAN IMP AT 60
John Ashford spent decades in the front line of British car design. He recalls his early years with Rootes, where he helped to shape the Imp
‘I was born in Birmingham in 1934 and my uncle was trim superintendent at Austin’s HQ at Longbridge,’ says John Ashford, best-known for his part in sculpting the Hillman Imp. ‘Other members of the family, including my father, were also employed at Longbridge and this got me interested in cars as a youngster – sketching them as a hobby in particular.’
There was no doubt in John’s mind that he would work in the motor industry. He applied for a design job with Austin after leaving school in 1951, confident that an enquiry would elicit a favourable response. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. Rebuffed at the first hurdle, he had a series of jobs in local government before his mind returned to cars and design.
‘In 1958, aged 24, I had the chance to join the Rootes Group based in its styling studio at the Humber factory at Binley, Coventry,’ he explains.
When John joined Rootes the use of clay to produce models was a new technique that had only just been introduced. ‘I was one of the first two clay modellers within the company. The introduction of clay had been initiated by stylists who had recently joined Rootes from Ford. I’d never done any sculpting before and we had only basic tools, such as a scraper with a serrated edge on one side and a conventional blade on the other. We worked by trial and error in acquiring the necessary skills in applying and shaping the clay as we progressed.’
Rootes’ cars of the early Sixties were mid-market models comprising saloons, estates, convertibles and a sports car, then badge-engineered as Hillmans, Singers, Sunbeams and Humbers to attract brand-conscious customers. Few observers could have imagined that the range would be joined by a totally new small rear-engined two-door model in 1963.
John explains: ‘The decision to go rear-engined with the Imp design was based on several factors. Newly appointed engineering director, Peter Ware, had experience of rear-engined cars and small-car design of the Fifties had been migrating toward rear-engine layouts – for example, the VW Beetle and the Fiat 500.’
What ultimately emerged as the Hillman Imp began as a concept for a small car developed by two junior Rootes engineers, Tim Fry and Mike Parkes. ‘Called “Slug”, reflecting its appearance in prototype form, it was initially powered by a rear-mounted Citroën 2CV engine and gearbox. However the Rootes board deemed it too rudimentary a solution.’
The specification for ‘Slug’ duly matured into an all-new model, codenamed ‘Apex’. John says: ‘We re
