George Singer founded Singer & Co in Coventry in 1874 to make bicycles, and the company turned to motor vehicles around the turn of the century, building its first four-wheeled car in 1905. The Singer Ten of 1912 was the company’s first big seller, and in the 1920s Singer was for a time one of the largest car makers in Britain.
In the 1930s Singer made its name in motor sport with the Nine and its Le Mans sports versions, which took part in the 24-hour race, but the company struggled financially after the war. In 1956 it was taken over by the Rootes Group.
Under Rootes, Singers became better-equipped versions of Hillman models: the Gazelle was based on the Minx, the Vogue on the Super Minx, and the Chamois on the Hillman Imp. In April 1970, as part of Chrysler’s rationalisation of the Rootes range, the last Singer, a Chamois, left the production line.
