The Chrysler Avenger was the Hillman Avenger sold under the Chrysler name after Rootes became a division of Chrysler Europe. Marketed from 1976 to 1978, it kept the Avenger’s conventional rear-wheel-drive layout, coil-sprung live axle and 1250 or 1500 cc engines, and was later sold as a Talbot.
Chrysler Avenger at a glance
| Production as Chrysler | 1976–1978 |
|---|---|
| Original model | Hillman Avenger, from 1970 |
| Project started | 1963 |
| Layout | front engine, rear-wheel drive |
| Bodies | two- and four-door saloon, five-door estate |
| Engines | 1,250 and 1,500 cc four-cylinder |
| Rear suspension | four-link coil-sprung live axle |
| Construction | unitary, engineered with computer-aided design |
| Built at | Ryton-on-Dunsmore, later Linwood |
| Later name | Talbot Avenger, 1979–1981 |
| Total built | about 790,000 |
The Chrysler Avenger is the Hillman Avenger under the Chrysler name; this page is based on the English Wikipedia article on the Hillman Avenger.
History of the Chrysler Avenger
A Rootes design
The Avenger was conceived in 1963, with design director Roy Axe receiving his styling brief in 1965 and engineering beginning in 1966. It was one of the first cars to use computer-aided design in engineering its unitary body, and one of the first to address growing safety requirements with a rigid passenger compartment, a front crumple zone, strengthened windscreen glass and a heavily padded instrument panel. After its press introduction in Malta in early 1970, production began at the Rootes plant at Ryton-on-Dunsmore near Coventry, with bodies shipped by train from Linwood in Scotland and powertrains from Stoke; manufacturing moved entirely to Linwood in 1976.
Hillman, Chrysler, Talbot
Rootes sold the car from 1970 to 1975 only as the Hillman Avenger. After Rootes became a division of Chrysler Europe it was marketed from 1976 to 1978 as the Chrysler Avenger, and after the sale of Chrysler Europe to PSA Peugeot Citroën it became the Talbot Avenger from 1979 to 1981. The car’s styling used a conventional three-box shape with an American-influenced “Coke bottle” waistline and a semi-fastback rear, and its plastic front grille — 4 ft 6 in wide — was claimed at the time as the largest mass-produced plastic component used by a European car.
Range and motorsport
Early cars came as four-door saloons in DL, Super and GL trims with 1250 or 1500 cc engines; the GT of October 1970 added a twin-carburettor 1500 and was replaced by the GLS with a vinyl roof and Rostyle wheels in October 1972. Estates arrived in March 1972 with heavy-duty springing and a maximum load of 1,040 lb against 840 lb for the saloon, and a two-door saloon followed in March 1973. The Avenger was successful in motorsport, winning the 1971 Press-on-Regardless Rally as a Plymouth Cricket, the British Group 1 Rally Championship in 1975 and 1976, several British Saloon Car Championships and the 1976 Heatway Rally of New Zealand. By the end of UK production in 1981 about 790,000 had been built, though fewer than 260 were reported still in use in Britain by 2016.
Design and features
- Computer-aided design: one of the first cars engineered with CAD for its unitary body.
- Safety engineering: rigid passenger cell, front crumple zone and padded dashboard.
- Four-link coil rear axle: a sophisticated rear suspension for a family car of 1970.
- Plastic grille: claimed as the largest mass-produced plastic part used by a European car.
- Rally record: class and championship wins in Britain and New Zealand.
Chrysler Avenger versions
- DL, Super and GL: the original 1970 saloon trims with 1250 or 1500 cc engines.
- GT (1970–1972): twin-carburettor 1500 with twin round headlamps.
- GLS (1972): vinyl roof and Rostyle sports wheels.
- Estate (1972): five-door body with heavy-duty springing.
- Two-door saloon (1973): added across the range.
- Chrysler and Talbot Avengers: the 1976–1978 and 1979–1981 rebadged versions.
The Avenger was sold alongside the larger Chrysler Alpine and Chrysler Hunter, and its bodyshell also served the Australian Chrysler Centura range’s stablemate, the Valiant. More cars are in the Chrysler collection.
Video: Hillman Avenger DL
Video by Repoman8 on YouTube.
Sources
- Hillman Avenger, English Wikipedia: design, engineering, range, motorsport
- Hillman Avenger, Wikimedia Commons: photographs
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