MEET THE OWNER – CHRIS AND HIS SINGER CHAMOIS COUPE

The year is 1967, and you are fairly ‘with it’. You need a small car to reflect that you are a moderately dedicated follower of fashion, but your budget is a maximum of £700. Luckily, your friendly local Rootes Group dealer has an extremely appealing 2+2 fastback powered by an alloy 875cc engine, featuring reclining front seats, a split rear bench, and a walnut-veneered fascia. All for a mere £665 9s 4d. 

Today, the Singer Chamois Coupe is a rare sight and, incredibly, Chris’s very hands-on example, which goes by the nom-de-Imp of ‘Sammy’, has been in his family from new. As he explains: 

It was originally bought by Harry (my great-grandfather). My father learnt to drive in it, and my grandmother regularly used it too. Always garage-stored and dried off if it ever got wet, it has been well cared for. After Harry passed away, my father inherited the little Chamois. He put it into the trusted care of his cousin and her husband, Margaret and Ivan. They took care of Sammy and showed her until around 2015. Their health sadly deteriorated, and after Margaret passed away a couple of years ago, Sammy was returned and is currently in my care. 

The Rootes Group introduced the upmarket Singer Chamois variant of the Hillman Imp in 1964, and the following year, they upgraded the range with the mechanically improved Mk.2. January 1967 saw the launch of the Imp Californian, a very appealing fastback version with the standard engine and a lowered roofline, followed three months later by the Singer Chamois Coupe - “Luxury is the feeling – excitement is the shape”. The more powerful Sunbeam Stiletto, introduced in October 1967, completed the lineup. 

Your friendly local Rootes dealer could tell you that the Chamois Coupe had no direct rivals made in the UK. A buyer might have considered the Riley Elf Mk. III at £705, but the British Motor Corporation never made a coupe version. By 1968, Fiat GB imported the similarly rear-engine 850 Sport Coupe, but import duties meant it cost £825. 

In fact, the Chamois Coupe was very much in the tradition of the pre-war Nine, but it was also one of the last cars with a Singer badge. 1967 was also the year Chrysler took a majority share in the Rootes Group, and they ended the Singer marque in 1970. Today, Chris finds the Chamois Coupe: 

A joy to drive, but you forget how much modern technology has really not only progressed but also taken away that sense of raw driving pleasure. In modern cars, you turn the radio up to drown out the noise and zone out of the monotonous daily drive. In the Chamois, you want the radio off, your senses are alive, and you’re enjoying the pleasure and thrill. No fancy technology or mod cons, just you and machine. The public adores seeing the little Chamois, with smiles, head turns, and a surprising number of people wanting to speak to us about Sammy, either with memories themselves or having relatives who had some involvement with Rootes over the years. 

And such a reaction is only to be expected with a Singer Chamois Coupe - “luxury and economy in an elegant new shape”.