The “Swift-286-PCW” appeared to be a hybrid or an adaptation between a classic Amstrad PCW and a 286-processor-based PC. It was not a mass-produced product; it seems that only a few units were sold (around fourteen, according to historical documentation).

The idea was to use the PCW monitor and add a computer based on a real 286 PC-compatible (IBM-compatible) system, taking advantage of the PCW's electronics as a display.

The PCW-compatible video card was supposedly monochrome. The PCW video system has a command ('float video' - OUT 0xF8, 8) that prevents the PCW video controller from controlling the monitor. The monitor signals are located on the PCW expansion port (pin 44 for SYNC, pin 46 for VIDEO); therefore, once the PCW video controller is deactivated, the PC video card can control the monitor using them.

It was a conversion or additional hardware that allowed using the PCW monochrome monitor as a display for an internal PC card with a 286 CPU. It required deactivating the original PCW video controller to let the 286 card handle it (possibly using an MDA/Hercules or other compatible controller) connected to the video pins of the PCW connector. It seems to have been more of a hobby project / mod / rare piece than a standard product with official specifications.