The Hillman Minx Californian -“Drive in style for less per mile”

In 1953, Hillman introduced a new model for the dashing young driver who resembled Leslie Phillips or Diana Dors. The Minx Californian was made by the Rootes Group’s in-house coachbuilder Thrupp & Maberly, who transformed the Minx Convertible into a hardtop pillarless coupe. This 1955 model from Ken Jenkins Jaguars is “an unfinished restoration that we have in for sale as it is - https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1879236. It is also one of the few surviving examples.

As Hillman put it: “Looked at, or looked out of. the view is superb. Windows drop down clear into the body panels, and up or down, for all-round vision. With all windows lowered, the sky’s the limit”. For only £723 12s 6d (plus £15 for a heater), you too could own a very stylish machine which brought a touch of Sunset Boulevard to the North Circular. Autocar called it “a good-looker in the modern style” and praised the performance as “lively”. They also reported from the 1953 London Motor Show:

Here the Minx Californian, with a gleam of Hollywood about its heavily chromiumed radiator grille and bumper, is decked out in two-colour coachwork of apple and dark green. ‘Just the car for a girl,’ I heard many men remark, and certainly the coupe version looks very feminine and modish.

It could almost be a Harry Enfield sketch.

Your friendly local Hillman dealer could tell you the Californian had few, if any, direct UK rivals. The Austin A40 Sports ended production in 1953 and that was a drophead rather than a coupe. Perhaps the Consul Mk. I Convertible was the nearest alternative to the Californian, but Ford did not offer a hardtop version.

The Minx lineup in the early to mid-1950s can be a source of confusion due to their frequent upgrades. The Californian was part of the Mk. VI facelift of early 1953 but by the end of the year, the Mk. VII, with longer rear wings, succeeded it. October 1954 saw the launch of the Mk. VIII: “The exciting new De Luxe saloon, the Californian and the Convertible have a powerful new OHV engine giving better acceleration and a top speed of 75 mph”. There were also indicators instead of trafficators.

By now, the Californian was the car for “Touring from Calais”, “A Month at the Chalet”, and “A First Night at the Ballet”. If that were not enough, you would be “Happier with the flashway zest” and the “silk-smooth” performance. The duotone paint finishes, from Embassy Black over Magnolia to Forest Green over Tyrolean Green, only enhanced the Californian's image. The advertisement’s illustrations gave the impression the Californian was about the size of a Cadillac, which was not quite the case.

Californian production ended together with the Minx Mk. VIII in 1956. Rootes had already launched its replacement the previous year with the Sunbeam Rapier, the first of their ‘Audax’ range. The name denoted the company’s hopes for US success, but the Californian was rather better suited to the needs of UK motorists.

Any Hillman Minx Californian is now a rare sight but in 1955 it was the perfect car to cut a dash outside the Palais de Danse. What the Californian offered the discerning buyer was affordable yet practical glamour, with a clear view of the highway via the ‘opticurve’ windshield. After all, a 1953 advertisement promised: “The exciting international elegance of the Hillman Californian, style-setter for years to come . . .”

Not to mention, with a Californian, you too could “Drive in style for less per mile”.

With thanks to Ken Jenkins of https://www.ukjag.co.uk/store/ for his time. With thanks to Ken Jenkins of https://www.ukjag.co.uk/store/ for the permission to use the images in this blog.