1901, purchasing the manufacturing rights to the Perks & Birch Motor Wheel, a one-cylinder engine contained in a spoked aluminium wheel, known as a motorwheel. It was a four-stroke designed by former Beeston employees Edwin Perks and Frank Birch. A unique feature was that the engine, fuel tank, carburettor and low-tension magneto were all housed in a two-sided cast alloy spoked wheel. It was probably the first motor bicycle to be provided with magneto ignition. It was perhaps the only motorcycle engine of its era with reliable ignition. These were fitted to bicycles. The design was used by Singer & Co in the rear wheel and then the front wheel of a trike. In 1904, he developed a range of more conventional motorcycles which included 346 cc two strokes and, from 1911, side-valve models of 299 cc and 535 cc. In 1913 Singer & Co offered an open-frame ladies model. Singer & Co stopped building motorcycles at the outbreak of the First World War. Motorcycle racing In 1909, Singer & Co built a series of racers and roadsters and entered several bikes in races, including the Isle of Man Senior TT in 1914. George E. Stanley broke the one-hour record at Brooklands race track on a Singer motorcycle in 1912, becoming the first ever rider of a 350 cc motorcycle to cover over in an hour. Motor cars Singer's first tricar was the Tri-Voiturette. It was powered by a engine, and offered in two models, the No. 1 (passenger facing backward) and Mo. 2 (passenger facing forward); both fitted the passenger seat well behind the rear axle. At the 1902 Cordingly Show, at the Islington Agricultural Hall, Singer showed two commercial variants of the Tri-Voiturette, the Motor Carrier, one for tradesmen, one for dairymen. The Tri-Voiturette was replaced by another tricar, which had two front wheels and a driven rear, more horsepower, and a coachbuilt body, but with the passenger now in front of the driver. Muriel Hind drove a Singer Tricar in the 1906 Land's End to John O'Groats Trial, with aviation pioneer Hilda Hewlett as her passenger and mechanic. She also drove a tricar in the twenty four hour London to Edinburgh Trial, again with a female passenger, making good time in torrential rain. The first Singer-designed car was the 4-cylinder 2.4-litre 12/14 of 1906. The engine was bought in from Aster. Singer made their first four-wheel car