HOW THE IMP TOOK ON THE MINI

THE Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design 2016 celebrates innovation, breathtaking architecture and brave, bold designs.

But what about the innovation that didn’t have quite such a happy ending?

Grampian Transport Museum in Alford, Aberdeenshire, is currently showcasing the engineering of the Scottish motor industry.

It was inevitable that Scottish engineers would take a keen interest in the new motor carriage and the first was George Johnston, who imported a Daimler and then a Panhard in 1895 to assess their qualities.

Johnston joined forces with Sir William Arrol, builder of the Forth Bridge, to form car maker Arrol-Johnston and an industry was born. Two more of the ‘3 As’ – Albion and Argyll – promptly followed and within a decade there were more than 60 car makers at work in Scotland.

The exhibition describes the better known of these firms, drawing on the museum’s photographic collection.

Sadly, the early optimism did not last and intense competition caused a rapid collapse, with only Albion continuing in Scotland until the mid-20th century.

In 1963 the Duke of Edinburgh opened the Rootes Group factory in Linwood, Renfrewshire, where Rootes took on the BMC Mini with its Hillman Imp.

The Linwood story is another well told story within this fascinating exhibition at Grampian Transport Museum.

www.gtm.org.uk/