Hillman Hunter History

Introduced in October 1966, the Hunter was the lead model of Rootes' new 'Arrow' range — a conventional, rear-drive mid-size saloon engineered to be light, simple, and inexpensive to build. It replaced the ageing Minx-class cars and, via badge engineering, underpinned a family of Singer, Sunbeam, and Humber siblings on the same platform.

The Hunter's reputation was made in October 1968 when a works car driven by Andrew Cowan won the gruelling London–Sydney Marathon, an 10,000-mile endurance rally — a high-profile victory that became central to the car's marketing.

Robust and easy to maintain, the Hunter outlived its maker's independence. Chrysler, which had taken full control of Rootes by 1967, kept it in production; from September 1976 the car was rebadged as the Chrysler Hunter as the Hillman name was phased out, and a version was assembled in Iran as the Paykan for decades afterward.