![1934-Standard10-1237](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/1934-Standard10-1237.jpg)
The Standard Ten was a model name given to several small cars produced by the British
Standard Motor Company
The Standard Motor Company Limited was a motor vehicle manufacturer, founded in Coventry, England, in 1903 by Reginald Walter Maudslay. For many years, it manufactured Ferguson TE20 tractors powered by its Vanguard engine. All Standard's tract ...
between 1906 and 1961. The name was a reference to the car's fiscal horsepower or
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 p ...
, a function of the surface area of the pistons. This system quickly became obsolete as an estimate of the power produced by the engine, but it continued to be relevant as a way to classify cars for tax purposes. 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.
An experimental two-cylinder "10" was made in 1906, after which Standard's next car in that category was a four-cylinder 9.5 tax horsepower built between 1914 and 1919. They returned to the market in 1934; this model was replaced in 1937 by a "Flying Ten" that lasted until the outbreak of World War II.
Standard again returned to the market in 1954 with another Ten, which was supplemented in 1957 by an up-market version called the Pennant. The Ten and the Pennant were replaced by the
Triumph Herald
The Triumph Herald is a small two-door car introduced by Standard-Triumph of Coventry in 1959 and made through to 1971. The body design was by the Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti, and the car was offered in saloon, convertible, coupé, est ...
in 1961.
Edwardian 10 hp cars
The name was first used in 1906 on an experimental two-cylinder car. The
side-valve
A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...
engine had a 70 mm bore and an 82 mm stroke, giving a capacity of 631 cc.
A four-cylinder car was introduced in 1914 and built until 1915. A version of this car, with increases in wheelbase and engine stroke, was offered in 1919.
10 hp (1934–1936)
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
A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...
1267 cc long stroke (100 mm) engine had a single Zenith carburettor and could produce 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 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.
Post-war models
In 1954 the Ten was introduced as a more powerful, better-appointed version of the
Standard Eight
The Standard Eight is a small car produced by the British Standard Motor Company from 1938 to 1959.
The car was originally launched in 1938 as the Flying Eight. After the Second World War the Flying range of Standards was dropped but an updat ...
, with the Eight's
Standard SC engine increased in size to 948 cc and sharing a similar frame and transmission. Overdrive (from March 1957) or a temperamental semi-automatic were available as options.
An estate (station wagon) version, the Companion, was launched in June 1955.
[ It was among the first small British estate cars to have rear-passenger doors (like the saloon, and unlike its rivals such as the ]Ford Squire
The Ford Squire is a car that was produced by Ford of Britain, Ford UK from 1955 to 1959.
It was a two-door, four-seat Station wagon, estate design, related to the Ford_Prefect_(car)#100E (1953–59), Ford Prefect 100E four-door sedan (car), sal ...
and Hillman Husky
The Hillman Husky was a line of British passenger vehicles manufactured between 1954 and 1970 by Hillman.
Original Hillman Husky ("Mark 1")
The first (or "Mark 1") Hillman Husky, introduced in 1954, was a small estate car based on the contempor ...
which used the two-door "van" arrangement).
A small number of left-hand-drive Tens were exported to the US 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'' (later, just ''Motor'') was a British weekly car magazine
''Car'' is a British automotive enthusiast magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. International editions are published by Bauer Automotive in Republi ...
'' in 1954 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 38.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of 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
Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calen ...
.
For the United States export market the car was badged as the Triumph 10[ and in Scandinavia it was sold as the Standard Vanguard Junior. In Australia the Ten was known as the Cadet.]
File:Standard Ten 1959 Castle Hedingham 2008.JPG, 1959 Standard Ten (facelifted model)
File:1960 Standard 10 Companion Front.jpg, Standard Companion estate car
A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...
File:1960 Standard 10 Companion Rear.jpg, Standard Companion estate car
A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...
File:Standard 10 6cwt Pick-up - Flickr - exfordy.jpg, Standard 6 cwt pickup
File:Standard Cadet.jpg, Australian market Standard Cadet
File:1956StandardVanguardJunior-front.jpg, A Scandinavian Standard Ten badged as the Vanguard Junior
File:Classic Triumphs -- CIAS 2012 (6911995721).jpg, Triumph 10 (Canada)
Standard Pennant
A tail-finned (with optional two-tone paint schemes) version of the Ten, the Standard Pennant was launched in October 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 two-pedal control. Indian-produced Pennants were branded as "Standard 10", and lacked any bootlid trim other than the branding.
A Pennant tested by British magazine ''The Motor'' in 1958 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 35.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £728 including taxes of £243.
References
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{{Triumph Motor Company timeline
Ten
Cars introduced in 1914
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Sedans