Good Morning
Over the next week we will be looking at some lots from Brightwells Auction to be held at Easters Court, Leominster.
With over 200 lots comprising of Cars, Tractors & Motorbikes there is a lot of tempting vehicles including a selection of restoration projects to keep you busy over the coming Winter months.
We kick off today with an interesting little vehicle in the shape of a
Hillman Zimp.
1963 HILLMAN ZIMP by ZAGATO
| Lot number |
83 |
|---|
| Estimate |
£20,000 - £25,000 |
| Description |
Hillman Zimp by Zagato |
| Registration |
9053 PG |
| Year |
1963 |
| Colour |
Red |
| Engine size |
875 cc |
| Chassis No. |
B411007821 |
| Engine No. |
411007821 |
One of the most revered of all the Italian
coachbuilders, the Milanese firm of Zagato is also one of the most
idiosyncratic with designs that range from the sublime to the (er, how
shall we put this?) difficult.
While cars don’t get much more beautiful than Zagato’s renderings of
the Aston Martin DB4 and the Bristol 406, they also don’t get much more
challenging than their reworking of the Aston Martin V8 and the Bristol
Beaufighter. What all their designs have in common though, is an
unfaltering commitment to light weight and aerodynamic efficiency.
The Zimp concept was born 50 years ago when Zagato saw the potential
for an aluminium-bodied GT based on Rootes Group's impressive new
Hillman Imp – a brilliant rear-engined coupe that could have been
Britain’s answer to the Porsche 911 if only Rootes had been allowed to
develop it. Keen to boost sales and sprinkle some Italian glamour on the
Imp, Rootes gave Zagato the thumbs up and supplied them with three
second-hand Imp Deluxe models sourced by Rootes marketing man, Peter
Thomas.
Zagato transformed them into Zimps in just nine months so they could
be exhibited at the 1964 Earl's Court Motor Show. While the floorpan and
running gear were all standard Imp, the aluminium coachwork was
designed by Ercole Spada (of Aston Martin DB4, Alfa Romeo Giulietta
Sprint, Giulia TZ and Junior Zagato fame) and was pleasingly light and
airy with an almost push-me-pull-you symmetry when viewed from the side
thanks to the droop-snoot nose and tail.
Weighing just 630kg and powered by the fantastic free-revving 875cc
all-alloy Coventry Climax FWMA-based Imp engine, the Zimp had a top
speed of 87mph. A 'Small Car' road test from January 1965 (copy on file)
praised the Zimp for its "splendid driving position, well-padded seats
and very good handling" which "never gave us a moment's anxiety even on
unexpected bends." They also praised the elegant looks and the
aerodynamics, noting how quickly and thoroughly the bodywork shed rain,
and how it seemed "to cut through the air rather than elbow it aside."
Unfortunately, shortly after the prototypes were shown (with a
projected retail price of £1,200), Rootes fell prey to the industrial
unrest that was to plague Britain for the next decade. With losses
mounting by the month, there were no funds to spare for such a frivolous
exotic and by the time Chrysler came to the rescue, the Zimp project
had been consigned to the scrapheap.
All three prototypes were given away to Rootes employees engaged on
the project in lieu of wages and, remarkably, all three still survive to
this day: two in the hands of an owner in Hampshire and this one, which
the vendor acquired in the mid-1970s.
The first of the three prototypes to be made, 9053 PG is unique in
having adjustable 'eyebrows' over the headlamps (operated via a dasboard
lever), although the reasoning behind these has been lost in the mists
of time. The vendor, a noted Zagato enthusiast, a personal friend of the
Zagato family and a frequent visitor to the Milanese workshops, has
questioned many people involved in the development of the car, including
Ercole Spada himself, but none can recall just how these eyebrows came
about.
When acquired the car had spent several years in a chicken coop on a
farm in Bedfordshire but was then dumped outside when the farmer's son,
whose car it was, went to university (dad clearly believing that
chickens came before Zagato prototypes where accommodation was
concerned!).
Luckily the Zimp had not deteriorated too badly and the vendor
embarked on a leisurely restoration which eventually saw the car
returned to the road in 1995 looking exactly as it had when it left the
Zagato works in 1964 and also benefitting from a rebuilt engine and
gearbox.
With less than 1,000 miles under its wheels since the restoration was
completed, the car remains in very good order throughout and is said to
run and drive well although it has not been used on the road since its
last MOT expired in 2006. It comes with a few spares including a new
water pump, new clutch assembly, new headlamps and new aluminium door
kick plates.
A very well-known car that has been featured in numerous magazine
articles over the years (several of which are included in the history
file), this intriguing prototype also comes with original
black-and-white photographs showing it being built at the Zagato works
in 1964 and a copy of a sketch of the car that Ercole Spada dashed off
in a matter of seconds while at a dinner party with the vendor just a
few years ago.
A fascinating machine from the ‘what might have been’ drawer of
motoring history, this unique prototype has excellent provenance, would
grace any collection and is sure to be of interest to all Zagato
aficionados.
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