Lot details Registration No: FMF 842 Chassis No: LC5650 Mot Expiry: T.B.A.
UPGRADED WITH A 'LE MANS' MODEL ENGINE
Arguably Singer's first true performance offering, the 'Nine' Sports was unveiled in July 1932. Looking every inch the 1930s sportscar thanks to the efforts of stylist Eric Neale, its rakish open four-seater bodywork (complete with folding windscreen. louvered bonnet and sharply sloping tail) was underpinned by a robust ladder-frame chassis that featured all-round semi-elliptic leaf-sprung suspension, adjustable Andre-Hartford friction dampers and four-wheel hydraulic 10-inch drum brakes. Uprated via an increased sump capacity, standard cooling fan and twin SU carburettors, the newcomer's 972cc OHC four-cylinder engine developed some 31bhp @ 4,600rpm and was allied to a close-ratio four-speed manual gearbox. Reputedly capable of 66mph and sustained 50mph cruising, the 'Nine' Sports soon acquired an enviable competition pedigree. Not content with the eight premier awards it won during the Christmas 1932 London to Exeter run, the following season saw the model distinguish itself on the Monte Carlo Rally, London-to-Edinburgh Trial and Alpine Six-Day Trial. However, its crowning achievement came at that year's Le Mans when the mildly tuned version driven by Barnes and Langley became the first unsupercharged sub-1000cc British car to qualify for the Rudge-Whitworth Biennial Cup. Continually developed, the `Nine' Sports gained running boards, wider doors and an enclosed spare wheel for 1935 before being phased out of production some two years later.
Manufactured in late 1936 but only road registered the following February, this particular example has been upgraded with a higher performance, `Le Mans' model engine. Remaining within one family from new until 2008 when it entered the current ownership, `FMF 842' has since been treated to fresh paintwork and new upholstery, hood and sidescreens. The vendor currently considers the bodywork, paintwork and engine to be "good" and the gearbox and interior to be "very good".
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