HillmanMinx

01

Origins

Few badges served one purpose as long as the Minx, introduced in 1931 and renewed continuously until 1970. It was the Rootes Group's heartland product: a family saloon of resolute conventionality, updated in careful steps — synchromesh early, unitary construction in 1940s 'Phase' cars, full-width styling in the fifties, the Audax generation styled with Loewy-studio input from 1956 — so that a Minx buyer was never frightened and rarely disappointed. Estate, convertible and Husky derivatives multiplied its usefulness; export versions built Rootes's overseas business; wartime production served the forces. It was mocked by enthusiasts and bought by hundreds of thousands. As a barometer of what middle Britain actually drove between the Depression and the Heath government, no car reads more accurately than the Minx.