The Wolseley Hornet built at Longbridge was a revival of a previous name from the 1930’s Wolseley Hornet. This was applied to this special version of the Mini, in a similar manner to the Riley Elf, featuring a longer tail and enlarged boot, but with the appropriate Wolseley grille and better-equipped interior.
Initially the Wolseley Hornet had rubber-cone suspension along with the standard 848cc engine as with the mini, but with improved interior and more sound-deadening material than the standard Mini.
In 1963 the Mk II appeared with a larger 998cc engine increasing the power to 38 bhp, top speed to 77 mph and 0-60 in 24.1 seconds. Fuel consumption improved slightly to 35 mpg. Shortly after the Mk II launched Hydrolastic suspension was introduced in 1964.
The Mk III appeared in 1966, a notable change being the sliding windows upgraded to wind-up windows, and face level ventilation added to the fascia.
1969 saw the end of the long-tail derivative of the Mini for both the Wolseley Hornet and the Riley Elf.
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