Bob Blackman and Colin Valentine own the only two Llamas
known to the Imp Club. Bob's car was at National 99, Colin's is
(and I quote himself:) 'almost' running, and has been since 1997.
Bob Blackman and Colin Valentine own the only two Llamas known to the Imp Club. Bob's car was at National 99, Colin's is (and I quote himself:) 'almost' running, and has been since 1997. |
A kit car designer, Neville Trickett, thought up a Mini-Mokish car using Mini parts and a steel chassis and a fibreglass body. He continued to use the Imp engine & gearbox and suspension parts in a similar looking variant. This was taken in production by Siva as the Llama.
The Siva Motor Car Company Ltd., based at Aylesbury (Bucks.), marketed the Llama in Britain as a fun and utility vehicle, starting with the 1974 Motor Show.
At the time they claimed an assembly plant in the Lebanon and other overseas locations. There were also claims of sales in Malta, Seychelles, the West Indies and Middle East. The publicity handout said: "The whole conception of the Llama is that of a cheap economical utility vehicle capable of production in developing countries where there is a shortage of skilled labour and a need for industrialisation."
Siva offered plans, tools and techniques to any (third world) country that wanted to set up an indigenous motor industry.
An 80 hours Do-It-Yourself packet: a simple glass fiber body, a tough tubular steel chassis (other source states: square steel frame chassis), and the trusty Hillman Imp engine, transmission and suspension. The kit included all glass and seats.
Detachable roof.
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Siva (1969-1976) |
It was available as a convertible, a saloon or a van, or with an open top.
Not every owner was a fan.
It seems the gear change had suffered from from the Imp-to-Llama transplant.
Other criticism:
Colin Valentine has made several attempts to track down rumours of other Llamas, but so far (21 May 1999) without success. |
When the Siva operation failed in 1978, the moulds for most of the Siva vehicles were bought by a Mr. Cyril Malem of CTG Racing Ltd. of Wimborne, Dorset. He still had them in 1984.
The Llama was produced in very limited numbers during 1976/1977.
The first one ever to be produced was seen in the television series Doctor Who, where John Pertwee drove it all through one series.
It was restored by Mike Sturrock (Iver, Bucks.), at age 15 (1983). He wrote to The Imp Club that he was amazed at the strength of the chassis and body.
| Subject: Special Imp spotted in Portugal Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2008 Hello Franka, My name is **** *****. Some years ago we exchanged some e-mails - [...]. The reason I'm writing to you: some weeks ago I came across a very strange car parked on the streets of Porto. The owner wasn't near and I tried to identify the car - all I could do then was check that the dashboard was in fact a model similar to that of the Super Imp and take 2 pictures. When I got home I went to your website (after some years, I confess) and I found the car! It is in fact a Siva Llama, yellow with black soft doors, in perfect running condition. In the Siva Llama section you wrote that very few of these cars are known - [...], would you be interested in 2 pictures I took with my cellular phone? [...] - I'll be glad to send the pictures to you. Regards Imp enthusiast from Porto, Portugal |  | |
| Subject: Re: Special Imp spotted in Portugal Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2008 Hello Franka, Here are the photos - due to lack of memory space on my phone I only had the chance to take these two. I hope I will see the car in the future and take better pictures, since the location is near my job. The license plate is from the mid to late 70's - since this is a LHD car, it is possible that it came from Angola after the 1974 revolution, but I cannot be sure about this. Please feel free to publish the photos or show them in the Imp Club Forum. If you're interested about some more detail, they were taken in Porto, Portugal, near the gardens of 'Palácio de Cristal' (Christal Palace), on the 25.04.2008. Please refer to me as an "Imp enthusiast from Porto, Portugal", without mentioning my name or e-mail. Regards Imp enthusiast from Porto, Portugal |  |
 Siva Press photo |
unknown magazine or newspaper, 1974
Inevitably, like any large company, British Leyland have made one or two unpopular decisions in their time. Not least of these was to put the Mini Moke out to grass. Its cheeky character and tough go-anywhere air found popularity with many, particularly the young and adventurous.
If you feel because of this that your ideal transport no longer exists, then focus on the Llama. No, not the furry sort, but the new glassfibre go-anywhere runabout by Siva.
Siva are best known for their gull-wing doored, Aston Martin-engined S530 that took pride of place on the styling stand at the 1971 Earls Court show. Prior to that, their designer, director Neville Trickett produced the Mule, the forerunner to the Llama and was also responsible to the Dr Who car.
Priced at £1150 for the basic vehicle, the Llama has a body in self-coloured GRP, mounted on a treated steel chassis. All running gear is supplied by Chrysler and the car is powered by the 875cc Imp engine, mounted in the rear and driving the rear wheels. Initially sales will be restricted to the UK, but eventually its designers hope the simplicity of construction and consequent ease of assembly will find it favour in countries all over the world.
Carrying capacity is 600lb, turning circle 28ft and, as Siva claim, it can of course be serviced by any Chrysler dealer. We had a quick look at several versions of the Llama and drove one briefly on the road, but sadly not on the rough. We felt the finish was as they say, basic; perhaps a little too much so by modern standards. Also, having found the unladen ride quite firm even on smooth surfaces, we wonder how it would fare on the rough, with what is actually quite a low ground clearance and if it would in fact be any better than, say, a Renault 4 - a remarkably adaptable vehicle with go-anywhere tendencies that is considerable cheaper and better equipped. Time will tell.
See for photos of a Siva Llama:
Siva Llama. - Drive : the AA magazine. - 1975 Summer
reprinted in Impressions 1993 November. - pp. 34-35
There's another company called Siva, or really S.I.V.A.: Società Italiana Vendita Automobili in Lecce, Italy. They made the sporty little Siva Sirio, which had a 2 litre V-6 with three double Webers.
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