Do you Remember the Singer Hunter?
By Harry Brown |
6th March, 2020
The answer to the question is probably ‘no’, as the Hunter was in production for just two years, and it was never a major seller.
Yet, as the swansong to the independent Singer marque and a motor car of integrity, it deserves to be better remembered.
The Hunter was the final incarnation of the 1948 SM1500, the first new post-Singer with an unusual 1.5-litre chain driven SOHC engine and 1946 Kaiser-Frasier inspired coachwork that offered the owner ‘‘Dignity, style and perfect balance’ Full production began in 1949, and Barry Paine of the Singer Motor Club kindly send us these thoughts:
‘How good it must have been after all that time to get a completely new Singer car into production. Out went the old Tens and Twelves with their beam axles and pre-war bodies, and in came a spanking new car with independent front suspension and transatlantic styling in keeping with the fashion of the day. There must have been a feeling of optimism. The basic overhead camshaft engine layout which had been so successful on most Singers since 1926 was retained, although the cylinder head was quite innovative, with a built-in induction manifold, and flute-like tubes to direct coolant where needed. Road testers of the day praised it for its comfort, lively performance and economy. One pre-production car had even been used by journalists from The Motor to accompany the 1948 Alpine Rally, during which it performed exceedingly well. Surely the scene was set for an upturn in Singer’s fortunes.’
Yet, the SM1500 did not sell in major numbers, and so in late 1954, it was facelifted as the Hunter. The car for ‘for the connoisseur who likes his spirited motoring in comfort’ gained a new radiator grille, a modified front end, and a GRP bonnet, although the last-named soon developed quality issues.
In the following year, Singer unveiled the entry-level “Hunter S” (the early models even lacked a spare wheel!) and the twin-cam “Hunter 75”, although a mere 20 examples of the latter are believed to have left the Coventry factory.
There was also a quixotic attempt cinematic product placement, although having a Hunter appear in Fire Maidens of Outer Space stood little chance of enhancing the brand.
Readers might also like to note that the ‘13th moon of Saturn’ seems to look just like the Home Counties.
On 29th December 1955, Singer Motors ‘succumbed to an offer from Rootes’, and by September 1956, the Hillman Minx derived Gazelle replaced the Hunter.
The name was revived ten years later on the Arrow-series saloon, but in 1970 Chrysler UK discontinued the famous marque. By then the SM1500 family was as much a faded memory as de-mob suits and ration books.
Yet, the Hunter was a car of genuine appeal. It was extremely well-appointed – fog lamps, a heater, windscreen washers – contained any amount of thoughtful detailing such as the tool tray incorporated in the boot, and the cabin was tastefully decorated.
The Singer was also comfortable, dignified and, as Wheels magazine of Australia put it, the Hunter was ‘a fitting addition to the traditional British preserve of luxury cars’.
So why did the Singer Hunter not enjoy the success that was its due? Firstly, the 1950s was a very challenging decade for the smaller players in the British motor industry and secondly at £975 1s 8d the Hunter was competing against the six-cylinder likes of the Ford Zephyr-Zodiac Mk. I and the Vauxhall Cresta E.
Thirdly, there was the issue of the controversial styling, for despite the new grille, the Singer’s body remained that of the SM1500 – which was seldom-regarded as a conventionally good-looking car. As Barry observes:
‘Various theories have been put forward as to why the SM1500 wasn’t more successful, one of which blames its appearance. In this respect, it is important to view the car in the context of its day. The transatlantic styling, with the ‘dollar bill’ grille, is a matter of taste, although personally, I would say that the frontal aspect is no better or worse than many of the car’s contemporaries such as MO Oxford and Standard Vanguard. The car was very much Leo Shorter’s baby, and it seems clear that appearance may not have been his number one priority. His objectives were different – he wanted room for six people with adequate headroom, and seating for rear passengers ahead of the axle to ensure a good ride and avoid intrusive wheel arches. The provision of seating for three in both front and back meant that the floor needed to be flat, i.e. there could be no foot-wells.’
Construction of the SM1500 presented a further challenge as:
‘Singers had no experience of unitary construction, so the car was going to be chassis built, and given the need for flat floors was going to ride fairly high. It was these constraints that led to the shape the car eventually turned out, and it has to be said that engineering design factors took precedence over aesthetics. So the car ended up as an excellent engineering design with much to commend it in the way of spaciousness, ride, performance and economy, but with an appearance which could perhaps have been improved by the incorporation of some features to break up the look of the rather large high sides. It looked longer, higher and narrower than many of its contemporaries.’
Perhaps it was not so much that the Hunter appeared slightly dated by 1955 – the rival Sunbeam 90 Mk. III could trace its roots to the 1939 2-Litre – it was more that it appeared functional as opposed to luxurious.
Even on its launch, the Hunter seemed out of step with automotive trends. However, those who own the last of the pre-Rootes Singers are more than aware of their virtues and Mr. Paine remarks ‘they are extremely good cars, with high reliability and can be used as daily family transport.
They have an advantage over the more popular sporting ragtops in that they are warm and comfortable’.
In short, the Singer Hunter is a very fine motor car. Even if it did guest-star in Fire Maidens…
With Thanks To: Barry Paine of the Singer Motor Club - http://www.singermc.club/
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