Triumph Roadster

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THE 1946-9 TRIUMPH ROADSTER

Now considered a classic car, when manufactured in 1946 the Triumph Roadster was the first of the cars made post-war by Standard after their acquisition of the respected Triumph name. Its design harked back to the classic tourers of the thirties, even to the extent of featuring dickey seats, whereby two extra passengers could sit on folding seats in the boot or trunk, and even benefit from their own windshield. Though not a sports car, the car was acceptably fast in its day, managing a top speed approaching eighty miles an hour, though taking close to thirty seconds to reach sixty.

Above: Original 'Motor' advertisement for the Roadster 2000 in 1949. This model was the replacement for the '1800' which was manufactured from 1946. The 1800 power unit was a fine 1776cc OHV four with a long stroke that had been used in the pre-war one-and-a-half litre Jaguars. The main structure of the car was mostly unchanged, apart from detail changes to the chassis to accommodate the new 2088cc engine, though some bemoaned the loss of a forward gear, in the style of American cars of the period.

Above: demonstrating the power and flexibility of the Roadster engine, here towing a caravan. The engines have proved themselves on Swiss touring holidays, and versions of the 2000 Vanguard block powered the early Ferguson tractors and Triumph sports cars up to the TR4.

The Standard Vanguard wet liner unit was incredibly flexible, allowing one to drive off in top (third) gear with relative ease, should you miss a gear on the column change! This column mounted gearchange takes some getting used to, especially if the linkages are badly worn.

Above: picture of a Triumph Roadster when new.

Most of the bodywork is clad in 'Birmabright', an aluminium alloy produced for aircraft construction in the Second World War. Only the large pontoon style front wings are manufactured in steel, which was in short supply in those days.

At the end of its production run over 4000 of these fine machines had been built, of which a respectable number survive worldwide, most of which are owned by members of the Triumph Roadster Club of Great Britain.

NEW! Original 1948 sales brochure.

NEW! NEW! NEW! Original TRX sales brochure.

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