The man who won the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally has died.
His death was announced by a family statement.
They said Hopkirk died peacefully at the hospital.
Hopkirk is survived by his wife Jenny, three children, and six grandchildren.
"First and foremost, Paddy was a loving husband, father and grandfather, whose passing will leave a huge hole in the lives of those closest to him."
His hard work in support of the British motorsport and wider car industry continued until his final days.
His family, friends and fans will always remember his wit and smile. He brought joy and fun to everyone he met.
He won the famous Monte Carlo Rally in a Mini Cooper S after competing for many years in Ireland.
The basics of car control were learned by Hopkirk when he was nine years old.
A sidecar was added at the insistence of his father, who thought it would be safer.
He used to make his rally debut with an Austin 7 'chummy' Tourer.
Hopkirk dropped out of university to work for Dublin's Volkswagen assembler's retail operation in Ballsbridge, where he bought a string of used Volkswagen Beetles to enter contests.
He was offered a free car for the first Circuit of Ireland appearance after he won his first race at the Cairncastle Hillclimb in 1953.
In 1955, he won a class win at the Circuit of Ireland and was awarded the most successful Irish rally driver. He won the trophy for the third year in a row.
By this time he had graduated to a Triumph TR2 and his success with that manufacturer was noticed by the Standard Motor Company, who offered Hopkirk his first factory drive in a Standard Ten in March of that year.
He traveled outside of Britain and Ireland for the first time in the Tulip Rally in the Netherlands.
He was forced to retire from the competition after over driving his car at the Alpine Rally in an attempt to make up time lost due to a puncture on the Stelvio Pass.
After reigning F1 World Champion Mike Hawthorn was killed in a road accident, he joined the Rootes Group as a works driver and picked up a drive in a car he was supposed to drive.
He took a class win at the Alpine Rally in a Rapier and was the leader of the 1960 Safari Rally until his Rapier suffered a differential failure.
He won the Circuit of Ireland three times and the Alpine Rally twice. The 1960 British Grand Prix was supported by a touring car race in which Hopkirk won his class.
He finished third at the 1962 Monte Carlo Rally in a Rapier, but was frustrated by the car's lack of reliability, and all three of the works cars blew their engines within a kilometer of each other.
He made his debut in a 3000 at the Lige-Sofia-Liege rally in August after being impressed by a test drive of the Austin-Healey 3000.
He finished in second place despite having to complete two miles of a special stage with a shredded tire.
He first competed in a Mini at the Monte Carlo Rally in 1963, where he finished sixth and a year later he won the Monte Carlo rally.
They are the most recent all-British crew to have won the event and he led the team to the victory.
The victory made Hopkirk a household name, as he received telegrams from the then UK Prime Minister Alec Douglas- Home and the Beatles, as well as being granted the Freedom of the City of Belfast.
He drove an Austin-Healey to victory at his next international rally in Austria.
He won a car at the Alpine Rally in 1965, the Circuit of Ireland Rally in 1967, and the Alpine Rally in 1968.
Hopkirk was a life member of the British Racing Drivers' Club and president of the Historic Rally Car Register.
At the London-Sydney Marathon in 1968, Hopkirkly gave up his chance of victory on the last stage to save the team that had just been involved in a head-on collision.
The life of severely wounded Jules Bianchi is thought to have been saved by the actions of Hopkirk and Nash.
There was an accident just ahead of Austin 1800. Hopkirk and Nash probably prevented another crash by returning to warn onlookers and the police.
The crew completed the rally in second place.
At the end of that year, Hopkirk decided to step away from full-time competition, at the same time as British Leyland decided to close their competition department.
In 1977, with co-driver Taylor Mike, he took part in a revived edition of the London-Sydney Marathon, the Singapore Airlines London toSydney Rally, and took third place overall in front of another car.
He and co-driver Brian Culcheth won the RAC Golden 50, a historical anniversary race celebrating the 50th RAC Rally, with the Mini Cooper they were driving.
He entered the Monte Carlo Rally in 1994 and drove a Mini Cooper that was very similar to the original car, but now produced by Rover Group.
Thirty years after Hopkirk's famous win, he and his co-pilot finished the race in 60th place.
In 2010 he was one of the first four people to be in the Rally Hall of Fame and in 2016 he was one of the first people to be honoured with an Order of the British Empire.
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