Singer Gazelle
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The Singer Gazelle name has been applied to two generations of motor cars from the
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, ...
manufacturer
Singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
. It was positioned between the basic
Hillman Hillman was a British automobile marque created by the Hillman-Coatalen Company, founded in 1907, renamed the Hillman Motor Car Company in 1910. The company was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry, England. Before 1907 the company had b ...
range and the more sporting Sunbeam versions.


Gazelle I and II

The Gazelle was the first Singer to be produced following the take-over of the Singer company by the Rootes Group in 1956 and was a version of the mainstream
Hillman Minx The Hillman Minx was a mid-sized family car that British car maker Hillman produced from 1931 to 1970. There were many versions of the Minx over that period, as well as badge-engineered variants sold by Humber, Singer, and Sunbeam. From t ...
differing mainly in retaining the Singer overhead cam engine. Externally the only significant difference was a restyled nose based around a traditional Singer grille. The new car was announced in late September 1956. The body style followed by the Gazelle between 1956 and 1967 came to be known as the "Audax" body, with significant input from the US based Loewy design organisation, highly regarded at the time partly on account of Loewy's input to several iconic
Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...
designs. The Gazelle was initially offered in saloon and convertible body styles. The Gazelle Series II, offered from autumn 1957, was also available as an estate car, and had optional overdrive and larger fuel tank. The suspension was independent at the front using coil springs while at the rear was a live axle and half elliptic leaf springs. The steering gear used a worm and nut system. As standard, the car had a bench front seat but individual seats were available as an option. To allow for the bench seat, the handbrake lever was between the seat and the door. The
convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...
version had a two position hood where it could be either completely lowered or rolled back to just behind the front seats described as the '' coupé de ville'' position. All side windows could be completely lowered. To compensate for the loss of body rigidity by the removal of the roof, extra cross bracing was fitted under the car. A car with overdrive was tested by the British magazine ''
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 ...
'' in 1957. It had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 24.8 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £1016 including taxes of £332. This included the optional overdrive, heater and radio.


Gazelle IIA to IIIC

The Gazelle II was re-designated as the IIA in 1958. The standard Hillman pushrod overhead valve engine replaced the Singer overhead cam unit. The new engine was more powerful, developing 56 bhp against 49 bhp. In line with Rootes Group policy the car kept getting small upgrades each with a new designation. In September 1958 the Gazelle, now re-designated III, received better seats, enhanced at the front by a folding central arm rest. A new two-tone paint became available with this upgrade. The IIIA, introduced September 1959, gained small tail fins and a larger windscreen. The engine was upgraded with twin Solex carburettors replacing the single Solex, distinguishing it from the Minx, and lifting output to 60 bhp. Home market cars got a floor gear change and as well as overdrive, Smith's Easidrive automatic transmission also became an option. Autocar Magazine carried out a Used Car Test, No.214 in their famous series, on a Singer Gazelle III first registered on 2 January 1961. What is not made clear is whether this was a Gazelle IIIb or an earlier Gazelle IIIa model, fitted with the twin carburettors. In comparison with the new Gazelle IIIb tested on 17 March 1961, it reached 0-60 mph in 23.9secs,compared with the used car at only 19.9secs. A 4sec saving. The standing quarter mile was also covered in 21.3sec. compared with 22.2 for the new IIIb model. The IIIB, launched September 1960, reverted to a single carburettor which improved fuel consumption and facilitated servicing "in remoter territories". The IIIB also received a new back axle featuring a
hypoid A spiral bevel gear is a bevel gear with helical teeth. The main application of this is in a vehicle differential, where the direction of drive from the drive shaft must be turned 90 degrees to drive the wheels. The helical design produces less ...
bevel in place of the former model's spiral bevel. The IIIC, launched July 1961, was fitted with a larger engine of 1592 cc developing 53 bhp. The convertible was discontinued in February 1962 followed by the estate car in March 1962. A Series III convertible with the 1494 cc engine was tested by ''The Motor'' in 1959. It was recorded as having a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 21.2 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £1,003 including taxes of £295. This included the optional overdrive. The convertible cost £67 more than the saloon. File:Singer Gazelle Series III Saloon.jpg, Singer Gazelle III Saloon File:Singer Gazelle Convertible Rear.jpg, Singer Gazelle III Convertible File:Singer_Gazelle_Interior.jpg, Singer Gazelle III Convertible File:Singer Gazelle Series III (15895644366).jpg, Singer Gazelle III Station Wagon (Australia) File:Singer Gazelle Convertible (1960).jpg, Singer Gazelle IIIA Convertible of 1960 File:1960.singer.gazelle.arp.jpg, Singer Gazelle IIIB Convertible of 1960


Gazelle IV

In July 1961 the
Rootes Group The Rootes Group or Rootes Motors Limited was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. Run from London's West End, the manufacturer was based in the Midlands and the distribution and de ...
released the new
Singer Vogue The Singer Vogue name has been applied to two generations of motor cars from the British manufacturer Singer. Vogue Series I/II/III/IV The first generation Singer Vogue I/II/III/IV models of 1961 to 1966, was a badge engineered version of the ...
, using the body of what was intended to be the Gazelle IV. As a consequence, the Gazelle IV designation was not used.


Gazelle V

The Gazelle V was introduced in August 1963, following the Hillman Minx update. It had an updated body with longer rear doors and no longer having a wrap-around rear window. The front brakes became discs and from 1964 it gained a new gearbox with synchromesh on first gear. The optional Borg Warner automatic got a floor mounted selector lever. File:Singer Gazelle V of 1964 (back).jpg, Singer Gazelle V of 1964


Gazelle VI

The Gazelle VI, which was introduced in 1965, was the last of the "Audax" Gazelles. The engine was all new, with a five-bearing crankshaft and capacity of 1725 cc at first developing 65 bhp but this was later reduced to 59 bhp. The grille, now rectangular instead of the traditional Singer oval shape, was no longer attached to the opening bonnet but remained fixed to the front panels on opening.


Gazelle VII

The Gazelle VII was introduced in 1967 as one of numerous models in the
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 f ...
range. It was offered only as a 4 door saloon. Initially only available with automatic transmission and a 1725cc engine, subsequently a manual transmission variant with the 1496 cc engine was introduced. Production ceased in 1970, the last example produced also being the last Singer to be built.


Australian production


Singer Gazelle

The Singer Gazelle was also produced in Australia from 1957 to 1961 by
Rootes Australia Rootes Australia was the Australian affiliate of the Rootes Group, a British motor vehicle manufacturing company.The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 413 The company was formed immediately after the Second World War initially operati ...
. It was offered in Sports Saloon, Station Wagon and Estate Van models.


Hillman Gazelle

Following the purchase of Rootes Australia in 1965,
Chrysler Australia Fiat Chrysler Australia, officially FCA Australia, is the official Stellantis subsidiary in that country, operating as distributor of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Abarth, Alfa Romeo and Fiat vehicles. However, there had previously been a "Chrys ...
produced a variant of the Gazelle VI as the
Hillman Gazelle The Hillman Gazelle is an automobile which was produced by Chrysler Australia from 1966 to 1967. Based on the British Singer Gazelle Series VI, the Hillman Gazelle was offered only as a four-door sedan and was essentially an upmarket version o ...
.


Scale models

*Meccano
Dinky Toys Dinky Toys was the brand name for a range of die-cast zamak zinc alloy scale model vehicles produced by British toy company Meccano Ltd. They were made in England from 1934 to 1979, at a factory in Binns Road in Liverpool. Dinky Toys were am ...
; No. 168 (production 1959–63), Series 1 Gazelle, (1:44, approximately
O scale O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad sca ...
).


References

{{Reflist 1960s cars 1970s cars Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...
Cars introduced in 1956 Sedans Station wagons