1969 Hillman Hunter Royal Saloon

Description

Introduced in 1966, the year before the troubled Rootes Group became part of the giant Chrysler Corporation, the Hunter was a largely conventional, family-sized sedan designed to compete with the likes of Ford’s Cortina. The modern, squared off styling was shared with several other brands within the Rootes Group, including the Singer Vogue, Humber Sceptre and Sunbeam Vogue, illustrating the fondness for badge engineering at the time. Local Hunter assembly began at Australia at Chrysler’s Port Melbourne facility in 1967 from knock-down kits and two versions of the new HB series were initially sold, the Arrow and more upmarket Hunter. As a competitor for Holden’s Torana and the aforementioned Cortina, the Hunter proved reasonably successful, remaining in production until 1973. The facelifted HC range was introduced in 1969, dropping the Arrow name and with the addition of the Safari estate car to the model line-up. The final update to the Hunter took place in 1971, with the revised HE model boasting a new grille, headlamps, and taillight arrangement along with a collapsible steering column. Mechanically, the Hunter was available with a 1725cc engine - although a smaller 1496cc unit was introduced in 1970 - and trim levels ranged from the Super, GL, DeLuxe, Royal and GT, along with several limited-edition models. When Chrysler Australia shifted its focus to the Mitsubishi Galant, it spelled the end for the Hunter and production ended in 1973 although the Hunter lived on as the Paykan in Iran for the next 30 years.