Standard Ten
Encyclopedia
The Standard Ten was a small car produced by the British Standard Motor Company
(discontinuously) from 1906 to 1961.
The name was first used in 1906 as the 10 hp, with a 631 cc 2-cylinder side valve engine. It was re-used from 1934 to 1936 and again for the "Flying 10" launched in 1937, and produced until the outbreak of World War II. The name originally was a reference to the car's fiscal horsepower
, in turn a function of the surface area of the pistons, and never a direct measure of the power produced by the engine. Like other manufacturers, Standard continued to use the name to define the approximate size of their 'Ten' model long after the origins of the name had, in Britain, become inapplicable.
The Ten and its up market sibling, the Pennant were replaced by the Triumph Herald
in 1961.
A sportier version, the Light Flying Ten was also made.
, though sharing a similar frame and transmission. Overdrive (from March 1957) or a temperamental semi-automatic were available as options. An estate version, the Companion was launched in 1955. It was among the first British estate-wagons to have rear-passenger doors (like the saloon, and unlike its rivals such as the Ford Squire
and Hillman Husky
which used the two-door "van" arrangement).
A small number of left-hand-drive Tens were exported and sold as the Triumph TR-10. On these, the two-tone colour arrangement normally reserved for the Pennant was available (though this export model was not tailfinned).
A Ten saloon tested by the British magazine The Motor
in 1954 had a top speed of 69 mph (111 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (96.6 km/h) in 38.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of 34.4 mpgimp was recorded. The test car cost £580 including taxes.
In 1955, supported by an inscrutable handicapping régime favouring small cars, a factory prepared Standard Ten, driven by Jimmy Ray and Brian Horrocks, won the UK's RAC Rally
.
For the United States export market the car was badged as the Triumph Ten and in Scandinavia it was sold as the Standard Vanguard Junior. In Australia the Ten was known as the Cadet.
n-produced Pennants were curiously branded as "Standard 10" and lacked any bootlid trim other than the branding.
A Pennant tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1958 had a top speed of 70.2 mph (113 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (96.6 km/h) in 35.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of 40.2 mpgimp was recorded. The test car cost £728 including taxes of £243.
Standard Motor Company
The Standard Motor Company was founded in Coventry, England in 1903 by Reginald Walter Maudslay . The Standard name was last used in Britain in 1963, and in India in 1987.-1903–1914:...
(discontinuously) from 1906 to 1961.
The name was first used in 1906 as the 10 hp, with a 631 cc 2-cylinder side valve engine. It was re-used from 1934 to 1936 and again for the "Flying 10" launched in 1937, and produced until the outbreak of World War II. The name originally was a reference to the car's fiscal horsepower
Tax horsepower
The tax horsepower or taxable horsepower was an early system by which taxation rates for automobiles were reckoned in some European countries, such as Britain, Belgium, Germany, France, and Italy; some US states like Illinois charged license plate purchase and renewal fees for passenger...
, in turn a function of the surface area of the pistons, and never a direct measure of the power produced by the engine. Like other manufacturers, Standard continued to use the name to define the approximate size of their 'Ten' model long after the origins of the name had, in Britain, become inapplicable.
The Ten and its up market sibling, the Pennant were replaced by the Triumph Herald
Triumph Herald
The Triumph Herald was a small two-door car introduced in 1959 by the Standard-Triumph Company of Coventry. Body design was by the Italian stylist Michelotti and the car was offered in saloon, convertible, coupé, van, and estate models....
in 1961.
Flying Ten
The Flying Ten was a replacement for the earlier Ten with the semi streamlined look of the Standard Flying range. The side valve 1267 cc long stroke (100 mm) engine had a single Zenith carburettor and could produce 33 bhp at 4000 rpm. Drive was to the rear wheels through a 3 speed synchromesh gearbox. The suspension was conventional at first with a solid front axle but this was upgraded to an independent set-up at the front with a transverse leaf spring in 1939. A top speed of around 65 mi/h was attainable. Brakes were cable operated using the Bendix system. In early 1941, 150 four-doors were built for the military, after civilian production had ceased.A sportier version, the Light Flying Ten was also made.
Standard Ten
In 1954 the Ten was introduced as a larger engined (and less basic) version of the Standard EightStandard Eight
The Flying Eight was the smallest member of the Standard Flying family.Introduced in 1938 or 1939 , the Flying Eight featured, in its saloon form, the "streamlined" body of the little Standard Flying Nine which had appeared in 1937...
, though sharing a similar frame and transmission. Overdrive (from March 1957) or a temperamental semi-automatic were available as options. An estate version, the Companion was launched in 1955. It was among the first British estate-wagons to have rear-passenger doors (like the saloon, and unlike its rivals such as the Ford Squire
Ford Squire
The Ford Squire is a car from Ford for the United Kingdom market built between 1955 and 1959.It was a two door, four seat estate design, the brother to the Ford Prefect 100E four door saloon, sharing the same 1172 cc Ford Sidevalve engine and other parts and the same interior trim...
and Hillman Husky
Hillman Husky
The Hillman Husky was a line of British passenger vehicles manufactured between 1954 and 1970 by the Rootes Group, under their Hillman marque.-Original Hillman Husky :...
which used the two-door "van" arrangement).
A small number of left-hand-drive Tens were exported and sold as the Triumph TR-10. On these, the two-tone colour arrangement normally reserved for the Pennant was available (though this export model was not tailfinned).
A Ten saloon tested by the British magazine The Motor
The Motor (magazine)
The Motor was a British weekly car magazine founded on 28 January 1903....
in 1954 had a top speed of 69 mph (111 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (96.6 km/h) in 38.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of 34.4 mpgimp was recorded. The test car cost £580 including taxes.
In 1955, supported by an inscrutable handicapping régime favouring small cars, a factory prepared Standard Ten, driven by Jimmy Ray and Brian Horrocks, won the UK's RAC Rally
Rally GB
Wales Rally GB is the largest and most high profile motor rally in the United Kingdom. It is a round of the FIA World Rally Championship and was formerly a round of the MSA British Rally Championship and is based in and around the city of Cardiff in Wales...
.
For the United States export market the car was badged as the Triumph Ten and in Scandinavia it was sold as the Standard Vanguard Junior. In Australia the Ten was known as the Cadet.
Standard Pennant
A tail finned (with optional two-tone paint schemes) version of the Ten, the Standard Pennant was launched in 1957. Engine power was increased to 37 bhp and an overdrive gearbox was offered as an option. other options included a radio, heater, leather upholstery and clutchless 2 pedal control. IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n-produced Pennants were curiously branded as "Standard 10" and lacked any bootlid trim other than the branding.
A Pennant tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1958 had a top speed of 70.2 mph (113 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (96.6 km/h) in 35.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of 40.2 mpgimp was recorded. The test car cost £728 including taxes of £243.