Swift was formed in 1983 in the USA, and within a year had won the Formula Ford SCCA National Championship with its first racing car.

In 1986, Frank Bradley bought the British rights to the name, and set up the company at Snetterton race course in Norfolk. From there, the classic Swift racing car design began to emerge.

The nineties were a period of great success, with cars being built each year from 1992 to 1999. Wins in the British Championship from 1993 to 1995 were matched with equal reward on the continent, where Swift teamed up with champion team Geva Racing, to provide wins at the Benelux Championship from 1996 to 1998. A great decade was capped with another win, at the Finnish Championship in 1999.

Change was in the air however, and in 1998, the company moved to its new and present home at the Castle Combe circuit in Wiltshire and was sold to Alan Cooper to become Swift Cooper. The first car under the new banner was soon taking shape, and a striking new direction was revealed with the launch of the SC2000Z, eventually driven by Ollie Kaurala in the 2000 Championship.

Using cutting-edge CAD and CAM techniques, Swift Cooper continued the refinement of the new design with another car produced for the Formula Ford Championship in 2004, and again in 2006, in preparation for the 2007 season.