Standard Vanguard (1948 - 1963)

Introduction

The Standard Vanguard was launched in July 1947, and was generally regarded to be the first all-new British car to hit the market following the end of WW2. It was also designed specifically for export, and to evoke the spirit of victory, it was named after the HMS Vanguard, the last of the British Navy's battleships. The Beetle-backed saloon looked advanced for 1947, and captured the imaginations of post-war Brits.

Few people would have realised it at the time, it was to be the final full-sized new Standard, to be replaced by the Triumph 2000. The car wasn't the commercial success that its maker hoped it would be - most probably because it wasn't as well-made as it might have been. Later models were improved systematically, with the final Phase III, Sportsman and Vignale models being particularly desirable.