Forgotten Cars - Singer Gazelle



The first generation of the Gazelle, in this case the 'V' iteration

Singer was one of a bewildering array of marques owned by the Rootes Group. Sunbeam, Hillman, Talbot, Humber, Commer and Karrier were all part of their portfolio. Singer's models tended to slot in between the everyday Hillman and the more sporting Sunbeam brands.
The Gazelle was more widely sold as a saloon although a convertible and an estate were also produced with two generations of models manufactured. The first ran from 1956 to 1967 whilst the second was on the scene from 1967 until 1970. Based heavily on the Hillman Minx; (badge engineering wasn't just a British Leyland pastime after all), the Gazelle was the first Singer to be produced following the purchase of the company by Rootes.
The first generation was headed under the Audax group of vehicles whilst styling was penned by hands that also crafted various Studebaker cars in the US.
The second generation of Gazelle is the one that made me personally aware of this Singer as one of my grandparents owned one. The design and styling was much more contemporary in its day - not a world away from rivals such as the Ford Cortina and Morris Marina. This generation of the Gazelle was based on the Rootes Group's Arrow platform and was very similar to the Hillman Hunter, the most popular of models.

The popular Hillman Hunter

Although this generation of the Gazelle faded away from price lists in 1970, (along with Singer as a brand), the Hillman Hunter soldiered on as late as 2005 - in Iran. The Paykan became Iran's national car and was built as a CKD, (complete knock-down kit) form until 1985 when British lines closed down. The car was then completely manufactured in Iran. Not bad for a car that was seen as rather unfashionable when new...