THE ZIMP – THE ZAGATO-BODIED IMP COUPE THAT NEVER WAS

When Motor Sport previewed the 1964 London Motor Show, the editor’s attention was drawn by an elegant Zagato-bodied small car with “a 4 - seater coupe body of light alloy panels on a space-frame structure, mounted on a virtually standard Hillman Imp chassis with braced platform and altered front-wheel camber. It will be imported to Dorchester-on-Thames from Italy, as a high-class coupe for discerning motorists”.

Shortly after the Imp’s debut in 1963, Zagato of Milan saw its considerable potential as the basis of an aluminium-bodied small grand tourer. The styling was by Ercole Spada, who was previously responsible for the Aston Martin DB4 GTZ and the Lancia Flaminia Sport. The result stood four inches lower than a standard Imp, weighed over 200lbs less, was ten mph faster – and looked to be a serious potential rival to the Fulvia Coupe. So, in 1964, Peter Thomas and Anthony Charles formed ‘British Zagato Ltd.’ with a verbal undertaking from Lord Rootes that he would supply them with Imps. Their long-term plan was to build the Zimp in the UK to avoid import duties.

Thomas bought two Imps from an Oxford dealer, which he and his wife drove to Milan. Meanwhile, Zagato was already converting a second-hand model. All three were quickly transformed into Zimps for display at Earls Court. The January 1965 edition of Small Car thought the Zagato-bodied Hillman would appeal to “drivers who can afford to pay more for elegance and style” and that it deserved to succeed. In Italy, the journalist Franco Lini wrote, “The Zimp is the first of the series; soon British Zagato will put others in the pipeline”.

Sadly, the Rootes Group’s financial issues meant that Chrysler took a major share in the firm in 1964 and one of its first decisions was to cancel the Zimp - a significant loss. The Zagato Imp certainly would have been an expensive prospect for a British motorist, and Ryton believed the construction costs were unlikely to be less than £1,000. The result would have been a coupe with a £1,200 price tag far above the Mini Cooper S and more expensive than a Ford Zodiac Mk. III - but then it was aimed at the affluent buyer who sought a rather exclusive ‘second car’. When this writer first encountered the Zagato-bodied Hillman nine years ago, he noted, “Even in repose, the Zimp conveys the ethos of a sun-shaded Vittorio Gassman in Il Sorpasso. It is exquisite in design and execution, from the angular lines to the Nardi steering wheel and richly upholstered seat”.

And it is almost impossible not to have a mental image of a red Zimp parked in Carnaby Street circa 1965…