Not many people today will remember the Rootes Group, a British car-maker that was tip-top in its day — or the Hillman marque that did much to sustain it.

The Hillman Avenger was created to replace the Hillman Minx, Rootes’ best selling car. However, the Arrow range — that was intended to replace the Minx and Super Minx — was already being developed by this time. It became the Hillman Hunter in 1966. The Arrow was already taking most of Rootes’s development resources.

Company executives still saw a need for a smaller, smarter model. The new car would bridge the gap between the Imp and the Minx, and take on the rampant Ford Cortina.

In November 1965, the Avenger was called the “B Car”, and its product guidelines had been determined. The engineers knew it would need to be compact, cute, spacious and fast — by the standards of the day. It would have to offer more than its rivals. Rootes also wanted to take advantage of the new fashion for “company cars”.

The main problem was that British cars were cheap and cheerful at the time, almost thrown together by a stroppy workforce that cared little for Britain’s past proud achievements in car making. Unions ruled the roost, with many a connection direct into the Kremlin. One thing would make the Avenger stand out from the pack — its name. The Avengers television series gave it a cachet it scarcely deserved, and made it “cool” in a jaded marketplace.

In February 1970, the Hillman Avenger was launched, with reviewers praising its excellence on the road, and its contemporary styling. There was a real sense that the car would be the making of the ailing company, and that under Chrysler’s direction, what was the Rootes group would go on to prosper (for a while) in the emerging company car market.