William Rootes, a Singer apprentice at the time of its development and consummate car-salesman, contracted to buy 50, the entire first year's supply.

[4] It appears Singer was inspired to produce a bicycle safer than the Ordinary (penny-farthing) type standard at the time, by cyclist George Dominy.

[6] In 1895, Singer Cycle faced a £600,000 "floatation by that egregious company promoter" Terah Hooley,[6] but survived.

A unique feature was that the engine, fuel tank, carburettor and low-tension magneto were all housed in a two-sided cast alloy spoked wheel.

[10] In 1909, Singer & Co built a series of racers and roadsters and entered several bikes in races, including the Isle of Man Senior TT in 1914.

[7] Muriel Hind drove a Singer Tricar in the 1906 Land's End to John O'Groats Trial, with aviation pioneer Hilda Hewlett as her passenger and mechanic.

She also drove a tricar in the twenty four hour London to Edinburgh Trial, again with a female passenger, making good time in torrential rain.

[7] For 1907, the Lea-Francis design was dropped and a range of two-, three- and four-cylinder models was launched, using White and Poppe engines.

[7] The use of their own power plants spread through the range until by the outbreak of the First World War all models except the low-volume 3.3-litre 20 hp were so equipped.

[citation needed] The Ten's performance attracted interest from former racing cyclist Lionel Martin, who bought a copy right off Singer's stand at the 1912 Olympia Motor Show.

[15] Martin gave the car a thorough going-over, improving the engine's power and raising the top speed from 40 to 70 mph (64 to 113 km/h).

[15] Martin set up shop in Henniker Mews, Kensington, England, tuning the four-cylinder cars, and did a robust business.

[15] On 11 July 1914, Beatrice Blore drove a Singer Ten car up the cable track (with a gradient of 1 in 3 in places) of the Great Orme, in Llandudno, North Wales, 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.

[15] In 1921, Singer purchased motorcycle and cyclecar maker Coventry Premier, selling a four-wheeler of their design, powered by a 1,005 cc (61.3 cu in) water-cooled V-twin, for £250,[15] under that name until 1924.

[17] At the 1926 London Motor Show, the company debuted the Junior, powered by a 16.5 hp (12.3 kW) OHV 848 cc (51.7 cu in).

[21] Singer, restricted by a built-in site,[clarification needed] acquired other companies for factory space.

[1] The Senior would be redesigned in 1928, with capacity increased to 1,571 cc (95.9 cu in) and an additional crankshaft main bearing added (up from two to three).

[22] This was, said The Autocar, "the most impressive Singer yet"[23] The 8 hp (6.0 kW) 848 cc (51.7 cu in) Junior of 1931, with styling resembling the top-priced saloon and a "waterfall" grille, which lent the car its common name.

[22] At the top of the price range was the £480 Charles Frederick ‘C F’ Beauvais-designed Kaye Don saloon, built on the Silent-Six platform.

Owing to manufacturing difficulties of the new bodywork, the "9" engine was fitted to a number of Junior chassis' as a stopgap until the production cars were ready, which gave rise to the incredibly rare "Junior-Nine".

[22] Singer earned an "excellent reputation" in racing before three works Nines appeared at the 1935 Ulster Tourist Trophy, where all three wrecked, all from the same cause (steering failure) and all, incredibly, at the same spot.

[27][failed verification] Continuing decline in sales led to financial trouble, and Singer attempted to cut costs, such as by switching back to mechanical brakes on the Nine in 1939.

[28] In 1938, the three-bearing 9 hp (6.7 kW) OHC engine of 1,074 cc (65.5 cu in) was introduced,[citation needed] the three speed gearbox only had synchro between 2nd and top.

In 1948, Singer's first streamlined car appeared, the SM1500 (designed by Technical Director Shorter[25]), which featured coil spring IFS.

[25]) In the December 2011 edition of Automobile Magazine, a 1954 SM1500 was compared to an MG TD, finding the Singer the superior roadster.

The Vogue, which ran alongside the Minx/Gazelle from 1961, was based on the Hillman Super Minx with differing front end styling and more luxurious trim.

[33][failed verification] The last car to carry the Singer name was an upmarket version of the rear engined Hillman Imp called the Chamois.