The Singer SM1500 is a

small family car The C-segment is the 3rd category of the European segments for passenger cars and is described as "medium cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "small family car" size class, and the compact car category in the United States. In 2011, the C- ...

produced by

Singer Motors Singer Motors Limited was a British motor vehicle manufacturing business, originally a bicycle manufacturer founded as Singer & Co by George Singer, in 1874 in Coventry, England. Singer & Co's bicycle manufacture continued. From 1901 George S ...

from 1948 to 1956. The first new design produced by Singer after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

it was planned to replace their Super Ten and Super Twelve. Following a minor facelift in 1952 the SM1500 was given a traditional Singer radiator grille in 1954 and in that form, known as a Singer Hunter, it remained in production until shortly after the business was sold to Rootes Securities at the beginning of 1956. The sturdy Singer engine was briefly installed in a modified Hillman Minx named

Singer Gazelle 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. Gazelle I and II The Gazelle was the ...

Design and development

Both the completion of a first prototype and a general description of the new unnamed car were announced in November 1947 and an early production car was displayed at the Earls Court Motor Show in October 1948. Singer's first demonstrators were sent overseas at Christmas time 1948. Production finally commenced just before the end of July 1949 with export-only deliveries beginning after that. The chairman explained to the shareholders' meeting in December 1950 that Singer made no motor vehicles from March 1940 until after the end of the war and for this reason the SM1500 employed and was built using out-dated pre-war technology.

SM1500

Singer's SM1500 had a pressed-steel body mounted on a separate

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

with at the front a Packard designed coil spring independent suspension built under licence.Heon Stevenson, pps 106-108, ''British Car Advertising of the 1960s'', McFarland & Co, London 2005 The brakes were hydraulically operated using a Lockheed system with drums. The four-speed gearbox had a column change which made it difficult or impossible to select second and reverse. "Many an exasperated driver rammed his knuckles into the mock-wood-painted metal dashboard in the attempt". The car was almost unique among

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

volume-produced saloons in featuring an overhead camshaft engine though both Wolseley's postwar cars and the

Morris Six MS The Morris Six Series MS is a six-cylinder midsize car from Morris Motors Limited which was produced from 1948 to 1953. Announced with Morris Motors' Minor, Oxford and Wolseley ranges on Tuesday 26 October 1948, it was Morris's first post-war ...

did also use Wolseley's normal single overhead camshafts. Singer's engine was based on the one used in the Super 12 but with larger bore and shorter stroke, giving a capacity of 1506 cc. From 1951 the stroke was further reduced to give a capacity of 1497 cc to bring it into the sub 1500 class. From 1952 a twin-carburettor version was available for an extra £28. It was reported that the engine block was so tough that the manufacturers were happy to quote 65,000 miles (105,000 kilometers) as a "normal" interval between rebores. The body was styled by Leo Shorter, Singer's chief engineer since 1937. He had been inspired by Howard Darrin's 1946

Kaiser-Frazer The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation (1947–1953 as Kaiser-Frazer) was the result of a partnership between industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and automobile executive Joseph W. Frazer. Inside, the car had a bench front seat with folding armrest and was optionally covered in leather. The metal trim was given a wood-grain finish. The car was considered well equipped in 1952, with a "heating and demisting unit" fitted as standard. The SM1500 as well as spacious and stable was sturdy and reliable but all the controls were too heavy for most women and the steering column gear change defeated many. At first, it sold well and was used by some police forces. It became a popular choice for provincial taxis but in the longer term there were fewer and fewer buyers. Full-width bodies became common and the car was over-priced.Heon Stevenson, page 83, ''British Car Advertising of the 1960s'', McFarland & Co, London 2005

Face-lift

In 1952 the car was face-lifted with a reworked grille and raised headlamps. Offered only as an optional extra was leather upholstery for slightly less than £39 (UK market). Otherwise the interior trim used Vynide, "a plastic material". A twin-carb version tested by

The Motor ''The Motor'' (later, just ''Motor'') was a British weekly car magazine ''Car'' is a British automotive enthusiast magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. International editions are published by Bauer Automotive in Republi ...

magazine in 1952 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 23.5 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £1168 including taxes. A single carb version tested by

The Autocar ''Autocar'' (originally ''The Autocar'') is a weekly British automobile magazine published by the Haymarket Media Group. It was first published in 1895 and refers to itself as "the world's oldest car magazine". There are now several internationa ...

Magazine that same year managed a top speed of only , a 0- time of 27.9 seconds and an impressive overall fuel consumption figure for the road test of . A

coupé utility A coupé utility is a vehicle with a passenger compartment at the front and an integrated cargo tray at the rear, with the front of the cargo bed doubling as the rear of the passenger compartment. The term originated in the 1930s, where it wa ...

variant was produced. It was advertised in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

as "specially designed for Australian conditions". 17,382 SM1500 cars were made.

Singer Hunter

In September 1954 the car was re-branded as the Singer Hunter with a traditional radiator grille and

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

bonnet lid. The Hunter was well equipped with twin horns and screenwash as standard. A horse-head mascot was fitted over the radiator. 4772 Hunters were made. ''The Times'' motoring correspondent tested the new model and reported in June 1955, under the headline "Reversion to "Traditional" Radiator Shell" followed by "Cushioned Comfort", that this car was intended for the motorists who are prepared to pay for a rather better finish and more complete equipment than usually available in cars of this size.Reversion To "Traditional" Radiator Shell. ''The Times'', Tuesday, 14 Jun 1955; pg. 10; Issue 53246. He remarked that the Singer was unusual in having a completely flat windscreen — less expensive to replace — and a good view through it was spoiled by unusually thick pillars, door surround and ventilator window surround. He put the car's fast cruising speed at 67 mph. Top gear acceleration was excellent and the engine quiet beneath its plastic bonnet. The steering column gear lever was "rather stiff". A central old-fashioned floor-mounted lever was now available. The car's outstanding feature was its springing, its ride smoother than most cars provide.

Hunter S and Hunter 75

New models were announced for the October 1955 Earls Court Motor Show, a more basic model, the Hunter S, and a more powerful Hunter 75 which had a twin overhead camshaft engine (using an HRG designed cylinder head). Very few, possibly 20, of the 75s were made before the range was cancelled. The

was announced in September 1956 but the Hunter remained available.Fine Interior Finish In New Singer Gazelle. ''The Times'', Tuesday, 20 November 1956; pg. 7; Issue 53693 The Hunter name was revived by Rootes in 1966 for their

Rootes Arrow Rootes Arrow was the manufacturer's name for a range of cars produced under several badge-engineered marques by the Rootes Group (later Chrysler Europe) from 1966 to 1979. It is amongst the last Rootes designs, developed with no influence from fu ...

range, in the form of the Hillman Hunter.

In popular culture

A Hunter appears in the film ''

Fire Maidens from Outer Space ''Fire Maidens from Outer Space'' (US: ''Fire Maidens of Outer Space'') is a 1956 British independent black-and-white science fiction feature film. It was written, produced and directed by American filmmaker Cy Roth as a collaboration between C ...

'' by

Cy Roth ''Fire Maidens from Outer Space'' (US: ''Fire Maidens of Outer Space'') is a 1956 British independent film, independent black-and-white science fiction film, science fiction feature film. It was written, produced and directed by American filmma ...

, which has been called the worst film ever made. The car is shown in several rather pointless tracking shots at the beginning of the film, and it may be that this was an early example of product placement.

References

External links

{{commons category, Singer Hunter SM1500 Cars introduced in 1948 1940s cars 1950s cars Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Compact cars Mid-size cars Sedans Pickup trucks