Rootes

A rear-engined small saloon with an all-aluminium overhead-cam engine, built in a brand-new Scottish factory, the Imp was Rootes' brave answer to the Mini. A guide to why it was brilliant, why it struggled, the Sport, Stiletto and Chamois versions, its giant-killing motorsport record, and what an Imp costs today.

Nearly forty years of bread-and-butter family car, from the sidevalve saloons of the 1930s through the crisp Loewy-styled Audax Series cars to the last New Minx of 1970. A guide to the Minx generations, the Super Minx and the badge-engineered cousins, what to look for when buying, and what a Minx is worth today.

A wood-and-leather flagship built on humble family-car bones, the Sceptre ran through three marks from 1963 to 1976 and carried the Humber name into retirement. A guide to the Mk I, II and III, what made a Sceptre special, what to check when buying, and what one is worth today.

The Rootes Group was the family-run combine that built Hillman, Sunbeam, Humber, Singer and Commer vehicles from the late 1920s until Chrysler swallowed it in the 1960s. A guide to how two brothers from Kent assembled Britain's great badge-engineering empire, the pecking order of its marques, the classic Rootes cars worth knowing, and what each is like to own.

Comfortable, well-equipped and genuinely a sports car, the Alpine evolved through five Series from 1959 to 1968 and put James Bond behind its wheel before he ever drove an Aston. A guide to the Series I to V, the Harrington fastbacks, what to look for when buying, and what an Alpine is worth.

Two decades of sporting saloon-coupe, first as the rally-winning two-door Series cars of 1955 to 1967, then as the sleek fastback of 1967 to 1976 with the Holbay-tuned H120 at its head. A guide to both generations, the competition record, what to look for, and what a Rapier costs today.

The Sunbeam Tiger dropped a Ford V8 into the Alpine's body, an idea developed with Carroll Shelby's workshop and built for Rootes by Jensen in West Bromwich. A guide to the Mk I and rare Mk II, how the Tiger differs from an Alpine, why authentication matters so much, and what genuine cars are worth.