1956 Hillman Minx

Hillman Minx (Audax series) (Saloon/estate), 1956-1967

The Hillman Minx was in production from 1956 to 1967. Styled in house, it is a front-engine, rear wheel drive family car range seating four adults.

The Minx was to form the mainstay of Rootes's middle range for the decade in which it was produced. Audax was a new platform and the shell was all new, created with the help of Raymond Loewy and showing a clear Studebaker influence. Alongside the Minx sat an upmarket Singer version, the Gazelle - and a sporting two door Sunbeam Rapier. The Minx, however, stood opposite rivals from Austin and Morris as a no-nonsense, quality car with little in the way of frippery. Hillmans spoke of fiscal prudence and good taste, rather than of flash - but the Minx's nods to Detroit hinted at a change of direction within Rootes.

The saloon had been introduced in May 1956, alongside the Deluxe and the convertible. It took a year for the estate to appear in June 1957 - just two months before the Series 1 gave way to the Series 2. 1958's Series 3 brought a larger 1592cc engine, while the Series 3a brought more power and bigger brakes the following year. Series 3b and 3c would follow by 1961, before a two year wait for the Series 5 - no Series 4 was officially made, the assumption being that the larger Super Minx "counted" as a Series 4. The estate and convertible didn't make it to Series 5 - discontinued in 1962 after the launchof the equivalent Super Minx models. Finally for 1965, the Series 6 Minx was unveiled with a larger 1725cc engine, and this would continue in production until March 1967.

The best period alternatives to the Minx depend on the period, given that it spanned generations. Early in its life the Austin A55 Cambridge and the last of the Series Morris Oxfords are ideal alternatives - but by the mid 1960s, the Ford Cortina would have made the Minx look old hat. Many buyers would also have looked toward the smaller BMC ADO16 series by the mid 1960s, or indeed to Rootes's larger Super Minx family. The later Arrow models would also be good alternatives today.