The oldest and probably the most adventurous Singer

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It’s common to hear an old-car enthusiast waxing lyrical about how, once upon a time, everything was built to last. It’s not untrue, but it doesn’t mean much when a car only has to cope with pottering along to the local pub meet and the odd spot of vigorous polishing. For real proof of endurance, look no further than a car that was restored 82 years ago and was still in the rudest of health when it came to completing a 1000-mile drive at 105 years of age.

This 1907 Singer 12/14hp is not only the oldest surviving Singer car, it is most probably also the most adventurous. Discovered by an employee of a Singer agent in 1938, when it was utilised as a hen house inside a cart shed, it was already visiting rallies and charming celebrities and the motoring press before the outbreak of the war. When custody of the car transferred to another Singer agent in the early 1950s, it was suddenly being rallied all over the place and it completed an epic drive from Hull to London, all the while racking up an impressive portfolio of promotional work.

Despite that, its greatest achievement was realised in very modern times. Zack Stiling peels back the layers of time in the March issue of The Automobile, available now.

Words and photographs by Zack Stiling.

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