Coys Auction - True Greats
Royal Horticultural Halls
Elverton St
Westminster
London SW1
Tuesday 7 December 2010
Swift of Coventry Ltd. was the ultimate incarnation of The Coventry Sewing Machine Co., set up in Coventry in 1859 to import and market sewing machines from America. They began to manufacture their own sewing machines and in due course turned their capabilities to velocipedes, bicycles, tricycles and quadricycles. As the Swift Cycle Co. they became the second largest cycle maker in Great Britain. It was a logical progression to fit an internal combustion engine to a quadricycle and in 1902 the Swift Motor Co. was born.
Other than during the First World War when the factory was turned over to munitions production, The Swift Motor Co. offered a range of motor cars and developed a reputation for reliability. After the war ended the range was simplified when the excellent 1100 cc 10 was joined by a 2-litre 12 with a 4-speed gearbox. A new 10 was launched in 1923 as the Q type wit