Wolseley Hornet vs Citroën Bijou: compacts with class

By Andrew Roberts

| 1 Jul 2021

Classic & Sports Car – Wolseley Hornet vs Citroën Bijou: compacts with class

Assembled in the grounds of the Great Central Railway in Nottinghamshire are two prime examples of the 1960s ‘second car’: the Wolseley Hornet and the Citroën Bijou.

Both are derivations of familiar machinery, the former obviously Mini-based but for its illuminating ‘ghost light’ badge and the latter bearing little similarity to any 2CV.

And both were destined to grace only the most respectable of driveways.

Both were seeking to elevate their humble underpinnings

The British Motor Corporation’s first attempt at an upmarket Mini was the Super, which made its debut in June 1961.

Unfortunately, sales were slow, and it would be the Wolseley Hornet and its Riley Elf stablemate that became the perfect vehicles for haute suburbia.

The upmarket duo took a bow in October of that year, and BMC proclaimed that: ‘For those who applaud the functional but nevertheless find satisfaction in quality for its own sake, the Wolseley Hornet is an obvious choice.’

The price of a Hornet was £672 1s 5d, and the Elf was £693 18s 11d; the Riley’s higher fee was due to its full-width fascia with twin lidded glove compartments.

It takes the Wolseley Hornet 24.1 secs to hit 60mph from rest

This meant the Wolseley was vastly more expensive than a Mini De Luxe, but then what price cutting a dash at the local tearoom?

A Hornet was equally suited to the sort of executive housing estate that often appeared in the B-film series The Scales of Justice.

However, not everyone was enamoured of the Riley and the Wolseley. Mini designer Alec Issigonis, perhaps somewhat inevitably, lamented the ‘styling gimmicks’ and writer LJK Setright ranted that the Riley and Wolseley were for: ‘Those small-minded snobs who found the idea of a Mini intriguing but the name of Austin or Morris offensive and the evidence of austerity.’

But the nation’s social climbers ignored such negativity and revelled in the trappings of the Elf and Hornet

The walnut veneer surround in the Wolseley Hornet ensures occupants know they are in no mere Mini

When Autocar tested the Riley in 1962, it wrote: ‘To many, the higher price asked for this “executive Mini” (or, perhaps, executive’s wife’s Mini) will be fully justified.’

By November of that year the Mk2 featured a 998cc detuned Cooper engine in place of the 848ccc unit.

In another piece of casual sexism, the 1964 Motor Sport test regarded the Elf as: ‘An appropriate present for debutantes, daughters, wives and mistresses.’

It really was another world; a Wolseley advertisement of the same period boasted: ‘Her errands were never easier.’

The saloon adds extra refinement inside the Wolseley Hornet and offers increased boot space, too

Looking at ‘our’ duotone Hornet is to be reminded how unusual it was in 1963.

There was no equivalent Ford or Vauxhall, while the Triumph Herald was considerably larger and the Rootes Group would not unveil the Singer Chamois until 1964.

A buyer in search of an upmarket British-built front-wheel-drive small two-door saloon had only one other option: the Citroën Bijou.

The French company established its Slough plant in 1926 to circumvent import duties and produce cars for British and Empire markets.

‘Buyers in search of an upmarket, British-built, front-wheel-drive small saloon had only one other option to the Hornet: the Bijou’

The factory commenced assembly of the 2CV in 1953, and at just £593 7s it was an ideal alternative to the Morris Minor and Austin A30.

Yet, despite the endorsement of The Motor – ‘A sensible buy for a significant number of British motorists’ – sales remained low.

Citroën’s claim that here was family transport capable of negotiating ‘all European mountain passes without overheating’ mattered less than the Deux Chevaux’s unconventional appearance.

And so the Bijou came about at the suggestion of Nigel Somerset-Leake, the sales manager of Citroën GB, and Louis Garbe, the director of the company’s British division.

The Bijou is all roll and tilt – but charming with it

It was a bold move, for while the Slough-built DS used local components to comply with local content rules, it retained the coachwork of the parent car.

In contrast, the Bijou’s glassfibre body – by Peter Kirwan-Taylor of Lotus Elite fame – bore little resemblance to any of the company’s line-up.

If the British 2CV appealed to only a select number of sandal-wearing bohemians, Slough intended the new model for those affluent DS drivers who wished to own a second Citroën.

Nor was it supposed to compete directly with popular mass-produced small cars, because the Bijou was for the discriminating motorist.

The DS donated its steering wheel to the Citroën Bijou’s typically quirky cabin, while out back is a tidy boot

Whether you favoured a Daffodil, Coral, Dove Grey or Sherwood Green paint finish, it would surely add distinction to any home.

Better still, the company boasted that the rust-resistant body wouldn’t require the building of another garage.

Citroën unveiled the Bijou to the press shortly before the 1959 London Motor Show where, so the story goes, the rear windscreen fell out of the demonstrator due to a journalist slamming the door.

Such Norman Wisdom moments aside, it had the misfortune to make its first major public appearance in the same year as a certain BMC product.

Visitors to Earls Court must have wondered how the Citroën’s price-tag could be £674, as opposed to £536 for a De Luxe version of the Morris Mini-Minor/Austin Se7en.

The Bijou has a one-piece front end

The Bijou possessed an undoubted charm; the 1961 Autocar test found the bodywork: ‘Transformed the appearance completely, making it acceptable in British eyes.’

Yet it was simply too expensive for its intended customer base. The 1962 budget resulted in a significant price reduction, but it was to no avail.

A further challenge was that Bijou production was so labour-intensive that the model made Citroën no profit.

The company initially planned to build 1500 examples per annum, but sales ended in 1964 after a mere 211 in total.

The proud owners with their disparate variations on a similar theme

Of all the Hornets in the country, 669 GGF is probably one of the finest.

“It was subjected to a £15k-plus restoration back in 2002,” explains owner Phil Caunt, who came by the Wolseley in 2019 after it had been stored for over a decade.

“I have all receipts,” he adds. Since then it has covered a mere 500 miles, and now shows just under 25,000 on the odometer.

Caunt is a Mini enthusiast of many years standing – his Moke from The Prisoner starred in C&SC in March 2018 – and he thinks the Mk2’s 998cc unit is an improvement over the earlier engine.

“It can just about keep up with modern traffic,” he explains. “It is not really a motorway car, but around town and in the suburbs it more than holds its own. The direct-link gearchange is a bit of a pudding-stirrer, but I am used to that from the Moke.”

The Hornet gets 38bhp from its single-carb, four-cylinder engine

The Hornet is 8in longer than an Austin/Morris Mini, resulting in 2.5 cu ft of additional luggage space.

It is also somehow dated compared with the timeless standard design, the vestigial tailfins and upright radiator grille firmly locking its styling into the Harold Macmillan era.

Similarly, the interior is a strange mélange of Issigonis Minimalism – see the sliding windows – and petit-bourgeois aspirations with the walnut-veneered instrument nacelle.

The Wolseley’s appearance is best described as ‘early-period June Whitfield’ – Terry Scott might have ordered a Hornet as an anniversary present in Terry and June – while the Citroën veers more towards Juliette Gréco in Bonjour Tristesse.

The Wolseley Hornet is 3302mm long, the Citroën Bijou 3937mm

The Bijou’s cabin is starkly spartan, for all its DS steering wheel, PVC-coated cloth upholstery and carpeted floor.

‘Our’ car, 937 FRX, was one of the last examples built and was registered at Forge Garage in Berkshire in January 1964.

“I bought it in 1976,” says owner Gary Whelan. “At that time, the Bijou was laid up due to it having failed its MoT.

“The bodywork was a bit distressed, and the paintwork needed tidying up. The restoration process took some 30 years, on and off.”

Though built in England, the Bijou continues the left-field interior and exterior styling familiar to all classic Citroëns

The proud owner of a Bijou benefited from a pleasant level of appointments such as a folding rear seat, internally adjustable headlamps, a trip recorder, ashtrays on both doors, removable front seats and a heater (via hot air from the cylinders) with separate controls for the driver and passenger.

Citroën referred to the car as an ‘occasional’ four-seater.

“The driving position is not hugely comfortable,” Whelan says. “I have to lean back to have a clear field of vision.”

Aside from the limited cabin space and the price-tag, a further Bijou drawback was its performance – or, rather, the lack of it.

The Citroën’s 425cc was not aided by added weight compared to the already pedestrian 2CV (left); the rebranded 998cc Wolseley unit here was lifted from the Cooper and detuned by losing a carb

Despite the delicate appearance, a combination of the multiple-section moulded hull and a metal floor meant that it was nearly 2cwt (100kg) heavier than a 2CV.

Autocar posted a top speed a fraction under 51mph, with 40mph achieved from rest in 31.3 secs – ‘Hills have a considerable influence on the car’s performance,’ it added.

Such complaints were echoed by The Motor, which managed just 44.7mph and grumbled that it was: ‘Difficult to avoid obstructing the normal brisk flow of rush-hour suburban traffic.’

It concluded that the Bijou was: ‘Unlikely ever to kindle the same enthusiasm bordering on fanaticism with which other Citroën models inspire many owners.’

Nothing else on the road looks quite like a Bijou

Whelan believes his Citroën is capable of a heady 47mph, and agrees with both titles: “Compared with anything modern the Bijou does feel sluggish. I would sometimes say that it can be a nuisance to other road users!”

Yet the Citroën offered many advantages to the discerning buyer, with benefits to its 425cc engine. “It will run and run. I’ve only had to adjust the tappets,” points out Whelan. “The handling is great, and the ride is very smooth.”

Another Bijou plus point is the ease of operation of the three-speed transmission with overdrive. The specification includes a centrifugal clutch that operates on first and second gears and, being a Citroën, the system also works on reverse.

“If you are in slow-moving traffic, you can depress the clutch, select the gear, operate the foot brake and take your foot off the clutch,” explains Whelan. “When the lights change, you just release the brake.”

The high rake of the Bijou means the rear stands 6in higher than the nose

The Slough plant closed in 1966, and the Bijou became a footnote in Deux Chevaux history.

Meanwhile, BMC continued to develop the Elf/Hornet, fitting Hydrolastic suspension in 1964 and offering AP automatic transmission in ’65.

The Mk3 of the following October came with a remote-control gearchange, reclining front seats and fresh-air vents. There were even winding windows some three years before they were found on British-market Minis.

By 1968, the final examples boasted an all-synchromesh ’box shortly before the end of production in late 1969, after 28,455 Hornets and 30,912 Elfs.

The square-nosed Clubman served as their successor, but it was a less ornate form of Mini. Artificial materials replaced timber and leather, and the ethos was more out-of-town Sainsbury’s than gymkhana transport. The true heir to the Elf and Hornet was probably the 1982 Metro Vanden Plas.

The Hornet’s upright grille changes the ‘face’ of the Mini

Both the Wolseley and the Citroën are, in their very individual ways, the perfect second car for the early 1960s.

The Bijou was probably best suited to the solo motorist – a family of four plus holiday luggage would find some difficulty in actually leaving their driveway.

Had Citroën decided to use the 602cc engine it might have proved an intriguing town car and a better seller in the UK than the Ami 6.

As it is, 937 FRX is a demonstration of the sheer ingenuity of the Slough works and a vehicle that still causes a minor sensation at any classic show.

The contrasting profiles highlight the dainty proportions of both these classic cars

The Wolseley has – somewhat ironically, given its image – too often been the victim of automotive snobbery.

For many years enthusiasts tended to dismiss the Hornet and its Elf twin as a minor joke compared to the other major new Mini of 1961, the Cooper.

The standard narrative was that the racy Mini not only redefined rally competition, but also became the epitome of ‘Swinging London’ transport.

The Wolseley and Riley, meanwhile, were merely the embodiments of faded mock gentility, forever trapped in 1954.

‘Both the Wolseley and the Citroën are, in their very individual ways, the perfect second car for the early 1960s’

The truth is that the Cooper and the Elf/Hornet had equally important roles and each carved a distinctive niche.

Caunt regards the Wolseley as streets ahead of other Minis of that time, and very much a car for the 1960s. “It was perfect for a Mildred Roper-style TV housewife,” he says.

Alternatively, the Wolseley dates from that remote decade when sales brochures could suggest a Hornet was ideal for: ‘The hopping, shopping, bargain-grabbing hustle of the High Street.’

Leaving the Citroën as perfect weekend transport to the local coffee bar – provided you don’t live near any inconvenient hills.

Images: Olgun Kordal

Thanks to The Deux Chevaux Club of Great Britain; Great Central Railway

Factfiles

Wolseley Hornet

Sold/number built 1961-’69/28,455
Construction steel monocoque
Engine all-iron, ohv 998cc ‘four’, with single SU carburettor
Max power 38bhp @ 5250rpm
Max torque 52lb ft @ 2700rpm
Transmission four-speed manual (all-synchro from 1968) or AP auto, FWD
Suspension independent, at front by wishbones rear trailing arms; rubber-cone springs and telescopic dampers or Hydrolastic f/r
Steering rack and pinion
Brakes Lockheed 7in drums
Length 10ft 10in (3302mm)
Width 4ft 7½in (1410mm)
Height 4ft 4½in (1334mm)
Wheelbase 6ft 8¼in (2038mm)
Weight 1428lb (649kg)
0-60mph 24.1 secs
Top speed 78mph
Mpg 33-50
Price new £556 7s 1d
Price now £3-12,000*

Citroën Bijou

Sold/number built 1959-’64/211
Construction rectangular-tube chassis, welded floor; glassfibre body
Engine all-alloy, ohv 425cc flat-twin, with single Solex carb
Max power 12bhp @ 4000rpm
Max torque 17lb ft @ 2500rpm
Transmission three-speed manual with overdrive, FWD
Suspension independent, at front by single leading arms rear single trailing arms; underfloor coil springs f/r
Steering rack and pinion
Brakes drums
Length 12ft 11in (3937mm)
Width 5ft 1in (1549mm)
Height 4ft 10in (1473mm)
Wheelbase 7ft 9½in (2375mm)
Weight 1330lb (603kg)
0-40mph 31.3 secs
Top speed 50mph
Mpg 49
Price new £493
Price now £8-20,000*