A PreWarCar in Singapore

Seems odd that an early version of the 5-seater K-R-I-T would have been on sale in Singapore pre-WWI, a mainly UK and French car market. The American Consul said, in August 1911, US car sales there were poor. So was this a low-cost company car import from Britain, perhaps for a British plantation manager?

It does look like the model advertised widely for sale in the UK from November 1911: “THE K-R-I-T CAR. Price 200 Guineas complete. Specification: 15-20 4-cylinder, three speeds and reverse; gate change. Forced feed lubrication. Elliptic springs, large front axle. 810 by 90 tyres, with detachable rims. Bosch magneto ignition, Torpedo five-seater body, fibre mat in rear, rubber mat in front. Complete, with hood and adjustable screen, five lamps, horn, and kit of tools.” Note the advert car is registered “S1547”.

From November 1912 bodywork was visibly modified. That flat dash panel was revised into a curved bulkhead/scuttle to give more driver legroom and the screen strengthened to remove the need for the “Yankee” support straps. It also got various mechanical improvements, including an adjustable steering tie rod on a stronger axle with larger front wheels, higher ratio back axle with enclosed brakes, metric spark plugs and improved thermo-siphon cooling. The price remained 200gns.

Testers said it looked like any one of half a dozen American cars (e.g. the Overland). Competition was such that even before the company ceased trading in WWI, rivals had put it about that the Detroit firm was bankrupt already in 1912 and selling off cars in the UK for which there were no spare parts. K-R-I-T Motors of Long Acre, London denied this and offered £100 for information...