1911 Swift 10/12hp Tourer

Lot 14 (Imperial War Museum Duxford, 18th March 2020)

Registration No: 193 UXK
Chassis No: 3648
MOT: Exempt

• VCC Dating certificate and used on various VCC rally’s
• Subject to an extensive restoration and mechanical overhaul
• Current ownership since 2005 and offered with weather equipment

This twin-cylinder Swift two-seater formed part of the Sharp Collection for many years and appeared in the film ‘Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines’. In the current ownership since 2005, it was treated to a comprehensive mechanical overhaul which included extensive chassis restoration. Much work on the car has been carried out by the late renowned automobile engineer Arthur Archer of Great Dunmow, Essex. Indeed, it is estimated that some £70,000 has been expended on it. Finished in red with a blue interior it benefits from full weather equipment including a tonneau and the fitment of an impulse starter. Offered with VCC dating certificate, buff logbook, invoices and old MoTs (the last test expired October 2019), it has been used on numerous rallies and is well known in VCC circles since 2008.

"The heyday of the Swift concern was really in the period before the First World War, when the variety and quantity of their production was comparable with practically any contemporary maker of light or medium-sized cars" ('The Complete Catalogue of British Cars', Culshaw & Horrobin).

One of several Coventry based bicycle manufacturers to embrace the internal combustion engine Swift had progressed from single-cylinder to multi-cylinder machinery by 1904. Having failed to perfect an ingenious 'double pinion' transmission system early on, the company took a somewhat conventional approach to automotive design thereafter adopting all-round leaf-sprung suspension and shaft drive etc in line with its peers. Renowned for their build quality and reliability, Swift cars rejoiced in the affectionate nickname of the 'The Little Timekeepers'.

Genre

Brass