1977: Hampton Adapts to the Unleaded Age
Left to right: Fennec 1.6i in Bittersweet Vermilion, Valiant III 2.8 Prime in Olive Green, and Nevis II in Sand Beige.
The 1970s would see the most drastic changes to the Hampton lineup since the company’s inception. After the oil crisis, performance was out, while economy, comfort, and safety were in. To that end, the Sprint and SuperSprint trims of the mid-size Valiant were axed with the 1977 redesign, which adopted a sleeker shape and larger bumpers in accordance with new Federal regulations. However, the upmarket Deluxe trim was retained.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the range, Hampton’s entry-level economy car, the Fennec, debuted in 1974 on the company’s first-ever transverse-engined, front-wheel-drive platform, before being updated three years later with a larger engine. This, along with all other Hampton passenger car engines, was fitted with mechanical fuel injection as standard - a company first. Chairman Toby had deemed it a necessity to take full advantage of the reduced emissions brought on by a combination of unleaded fuel and the catalytic converter mandate in the US market.
The Nevis also received a redesign for 1977, but its mechanicals were similar to those of its predecessor: a carbureted 3.2-litre straight-six up front, solid axles front and rear, and a galvanized steel ladder-frame chassis. These simple underpinnings were deliberately chosen to keep purchase and maintenance costs down.
Above: Vanguard MkIII 3.5 (left) and Ferret 2.0 (right).
As part of the wholesale changes to the entire Hampton line-up, the compact Ferret and flagship Vanguard were also redesigned for 1977. The former was available exclusively with mechanical fuel injection as standard in the U.S. market, with engines displacing up to 2.0 litres, and slotted in between the entry-level Fennec and mid-size Valiant. The Vanguard lost its V8 option, and in its place was a fuel-injected version of the long-serving Hampton straight-six, developing 150 horsepower.
In short, Hampton’s focus on efficiency and safety - two of the most important selling points in the US market in the immediate aftermath of the oil crisis - left it in better shape than many other British car manufacturers. However, this meant that the much-loved but aging Shrike and Peregrine also had to be discontinued after two decades of continuous production. This would have left Hampton without a true sports car (or any high-performance cars, for that matter) in its lineup for the first time since 1955, if it were not for a last-minute decision to use the Valiant platform for the basis of a new sports coupe, called the Harpy. Performance would eventually return to pre-crisis levels, but not until long after the oil crisis had ended.
Even more worryingly for enthusiasts, 1977 also saw the axing of the original Hampton V8 engine. Chairman Toby, after seeing sales of his V8-powered cars fall off a cliff in the aftermath of the first oil crisis, realized that he had to take drastic action just to save his company - and the V8 line was the first to go. Hampton as a whole would not have a V8 in its lineup for well over a decade afterwards. It would return during the 1990s - and this time it would be developed entirely in-house - but that is a story for another post.
Postscript: A Rude Awakening and a New Transtar
The earliest examples of the 1977 Nevis II were powered by a carbureted straight-six due to cost-cutting measures imposed after the fuel crisis. However, this resulted in an unusually unreliable car, and this engine was replaced by a fuel-injected version from late 1977. The resulting Nevis II 3.2i fixed its predecessor’s Achilles’ heel, and was more efficient to boot. In fact, all carbureted examples were re-engined with the new fuel-injected powerplant shortly after the 3.2i was released to the market.
In addition to this, Hampton also redesigned the Transtar for 1977. Still built on a separate chassis with solid axles front and rear, it now had a more angular body, and shared its 2.2-liter inline-four with the Valiant III. This new van was not an off-road machine in the vein of the Nevis II, but a work van primarily intended for use on tarmac.
Above: Nevis 3.2i (left) and Transtar 2.2i (right)
Along with these two, Hampton also launched a smaller, cheaper truck based on a shrunken version of the Nevis platform - the Fairlie. Despite only having 70 horsepower from its fuel-injected inline-four, its light weight, off-road suspension and tires, closely spaced gearing, and a permanent 4x4 system borrowed from the Nevis made it very suited to rock crawling.
The botched launch of the Nevis II marked the first time that Hampton rushed a product to market in an attempt to beat its rivals to the punch - but after seeing this plan backfire spectacularly, Chairman Toby did everything he could in his power to make sure it would be the last, by decreeing that no vehicle or its powertrain should be launched unless it has been properly tested in all conditions. This was an essential part of his “Quality Improvement Plan”, as he called it, and ensured that the next generation of Hamptons would be better built than their predecessors.