Singer Ten

Last updated October 23, 2023

The Singer Ten name was used for several automobiles produced by Singer Motors between 1912 and 1949. The "Ten" in the name referred to the taxation horsepower rating in the United Kingdom.

Singer Ten (1912-1924)

The Ten launched in 1912 was a great success for Singer with possibly as many as 6000 being made.^[1] The engine was a four-cylinder unit of 1096 cc initially with side valves but changing to overhead valves in 1923. The three speed transmission was initially located with the rear axle but moved to the centre of the car in 1922 and from 1923 was in-unit with the engine. The chassis had rigid axles front and rear with semi-elliptic leaf springs until 1922 when they changed to quarter elliptic. Braking was on the rear wheels only.

On 11 July 1914, Beatrice Blore drove a Singer Ten car up the cable track of the Great Orme, with a gradient of 1 in 3 in places, becoming the first woman to drive up the steep and challenging headland. She was six months pregnant at the time and the drive was a publicity stunt developed by her partner George Wilkin Browne to help sell the cars at his Llandudno garage, North Wales Silver Motors. The cars were advertised for sale for £195.^[2]

A basic version of the car was sold under the Coventry Premier brand in 1923.^[1]

Singer 10/26 (1925-1927)

The 10/26 was an updated version of the Ten. The engine was enlarged to 1308 cc and rated at 26 bhp. Four wheel brakes were added in 1926. The car could reach 50 mph (80 km/h).^[1]

Around 15,500 were made.^[1]

Singer Ten (1931-1932)

The Ten name was revived in 1932 for a small car available as a saloon, 4 seat coupé or 4 seat open tourer. The car was powered by a 1261 cc sidevalve engine with coil ignition. The suspension used semi-elliptic springs front and rear and the brakes were mechanically operated. The number made is uncertain.^[3]

Singer Ten and Super Ten (1938-1940)

A new Ten was shown at the 1937 London Motor Show with deliveries commencing in 1938. It had an 1185 cc overhead camshaft engine that was essentially an enlarged version of the one used in the Singer Bantam and shared its 95mm stroke. It used a Solex carburettor.^[4] Two versions with saloon bodies were available, the basic "Popular" with a three speed gearbox and the Super with four speeds and a remote gearchange.^[3] The Popular had leathercloth seat covers but the Super had real leather and also featured a sunroof. Although a version with open coachwork was listed in 1939 it is not known if any were actually made. ^[4] The Popular was not listed in 1939 and the Super gained a chromium-plated radiator grille. The Solex was replaced by a downdraught SU Carburettor.^[4]

The chassis had beam axles front and rear and suspension by half elliptic leaf springs and hydraulic dampers.^[5] The brakes used a Lockheed hydraulic system.

Super Ten (1946-1949)

After World War II the car was re-launched in January 1946 with a slightly larger 1194 cc engine developing 37 bhp and a revised gearbox.^[5] Only the Super Ten was listed. Exports restarted almost immediately with a shipment to Australia in March 1946.^[4]

The Super Ten was produced from 1946 to 1949.^[6] Post War it was only offered as a 4-door saloon,^[6] although in Australia a locally-built tourer was also available.^[7] A top speed of 62 mph (100 km/h) was possible.^[5]

10,497 were built.^[6]

The car was replaced by the SM1500 model.

Related Research Articles

The Triumph Herald is a small two-door car introduced by Standard-Triumph of Coventry in 1959 and made through to 1971. The body design was by the Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti, and the car was offered in saloon, convertible, coupé, estate and van models, with the latter marketed as the Triumph Courier.

The Singer Gazelle name has been applied to two generations of motor cars from the British manufacturer Singer. It was positioned between the basic Hillman range and the more sporting Sunbeam versions.

The Humber Sceptre is an automobile which was produced in the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1976 by Humber.

The Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire is a large automobile which was produced by the British company, Armstrong Siddeley Motors Limited, from 1952 to 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MG D-type</span> Motor vehicle

The MG D-type "Midget" is a sports car that was produced by MG in 1931 and 1932. It used the engine from the MG M-type in the chassis from the MG C-type and was only available as a four-seater. Of the 250 cars produced, 208 were open tourers, 37 were salonettes and five went to external coachbuilders.

The MG K-type Magnette is a motor car produced in the United Kingdom by MG from October 1932 to 1934.

The MG L-type is a sports car that was produced by the MG Car company in 1933 and 1934.

The Rover Sixty and Rover Seventy-Five or Rover P3 series were 1.6 and 2.0-litre executive cars announced in the middle of February 1948 and produced by the Rover Company until the summer of 1949. Two months after the announcement of the new cars "a new vehicle for agriculture" was announced, the Land Rover, with the engine of the new Sixty.

The Singer Bantam is a car which was produced by Singer from 1936 to 1939. It was the first model from Singer to have an all-steel body, by Pressed Steel Company. It was offered as a new economy model at the 1935 Motor Show in London, replacing the earlier Singer Nine series.

The Standard Vanguard is a car which was produced by the Standard Motor Company in Coventry, England, from 1947 until 1963.

The Morris Ten announced 1 September 1932 is a medium-sized car introduced for 1933 as the company's offering in the important 10 hp sector of the British market. It continued through a series of variants until October 1948 when along with Morris's Twelve and Fourteen it was replaced by the 13.5 hp Morris Oxford MO.

The Singer Roadster is a nine tax horsepower open 2/4-seater sports-tourer automobile manufactured by Singer from 1939 until 1955. It was launched in March 1939 as an open version of Singer's Bantam saloon and using many Bantam parts.

The Triumph Renown is strictly the name given to the Triumph's large saloon car made from 1949 to 1954 but it is, in reality, part of a three-car series of the 1800, 2000 and Renown models. Together with the Triumph Roadster, they were the first vehicles to carry the Triumph badge following the company's takeover by the Standard Motor Company.

The MG M-type is a sports car that was produced by the MG Cars from April 1929 until 1932. It was sometimes referred to as the 8/33. Launched at the 1928 London Motor Show when the sales of the larger MG saloons was faltering because of the economic climate, the small car brought MG ownership to a new sector of the market and probably saved the company. Early cars were made in the Cowley factory, but from 1930 production had transferred to Abingdon.

The Rover 12 was a name given to several medium-sized family cars from the British Rover car company between 1905 and 1948.

The Daimler DB18 is an automobile produced by Daimler from 1939 until 1953. It is a 2½-litre version of the preceding 2.2-litre New Fifteen introduced in 1937. From 1949, the DB18 was revised to become the Daimler Consort.

The Lanchester Ten and Lanchester Eleven were sold by The Lanchester Motor Company Limited from the Ten's announcement in September 1932 until 1951. Quite different from previous Lanchesters, the Ten was the second of Lanchester's new owner's new Daimler-linked Lanchester range. The names Ten and Eleven referred to the engine's rating for the annual tax and did not relate to the engine's power output.

The Vauxhall 14-6 is an automobile produced by Vauxhall in the United Kingdom from 1939 until 1948.

The Singer Nine is a car which was produced by Singer Motors Limited from February 1933 to 1937, and then again from 1939 until 1949 as a Roadster only. It was offered as a new economy model, replacing the earlier Singer Junior series. The "Nine" engine was briefly fitted inside the body of the earlier Junior as a solution to production problems in 1932. The hybrids are known as the "Junior Nine" and are recognisable by the cursive "Nine" badge adorning the radiator stone-guard.

The Singer Twelve name was used for several automobiles produced by Singer Motors. The "Twelve" in the name referred to the taxation horsepower rating in the United Kingdom.

References

1 2 3 4 Nick Baldwin, A-Z of Cars 1920s, Bay View Books, 1994, page 167
↑ Bloor, Roger N. (2016). The winged wheel grave of Llandudno : the life of Beatrice Blore Browne. [Place of publication not identified]. ISBN 978-1-5376-2182-1. OCLC 1231051081.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
1 2 Michael Sedgwick & Mark Gillies, A-Z of Cars 1930s, Haymarket Publishing Limited, Revised paperback edition published 1993, page 179
1 2 3 4 Wood, Jonathan (July 2004). "Singer Ten". The Automobile. 22: 726–29.
1 2 3 Graham Robson, A-Z British Cars 1945-80, Herridge & Sons, 2006, page 388
1 2 3 Michael Sedgwick & Mark Gillies, A-Z of Cars 1945-1970, Haymarket Publishing Limited, Revised paperback edition published 1993, page 179
↑ Keith Windsor, Australian Used Car Market, Summer 1961 Edition, pages 95 & 96

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[A-Z_1920-1] 1 2 3 4 Nick Baldwin, A-Z of Cars 1920s, Bay View Books, 1994, page 167

[:0-2] Bloor, Roger N. (2016). The winged wheel grave of Llandudno : the life of Beatrice Blore Browne. [Place of publication not identified]. ISBN 978-1-5376-2182-1. OCLC 1231051081.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[A-Z_1930-3] 1 2 Michael Sedgwick & Mark Gillies, A-Z of Cars 1930s, Haymarket Publishing Limited, Revised paperback edition published 1993, page 179

[automobile_mag-4] 1 2 3 4 Wood, Jonathan (July 2004). "Singer Ten". The Automobile. 22: 726–29.

[A-Z_British_cars-5] 1 2 3 Graham Robson, A-Z British Cars 1945-80, Herridge & Sons, 2006, page 388

[Sedgwick_45-70_179-6] 1 2 3 Michael Sedgwick & Mark Gillies, A-Z of Cars 1945-1970, Haymarket Publishing Limited, Revised paperback edition published 1993, page 179

[7] Keith Windsor, Australian Used Car Market, Summer 1961 Edition, pages 95 & 96

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]