1946 Triumph Roadster 1800

The Triumph Roadster was built by Britain's Standard Motor Company from 1946 to 1949, and was first available as the Triumph 1800 Roadster (18TR) from 1946 to 1948 and subsequently as the Triumph 2000 Roadster (TRA) from 1948 to 1949.

The 1800 Roadster, model number 18TR, was designed in the closing days of World War ll. Triumph had been bought by the Standard Motor Company in 1944, and with all eyes to the future, the managing director of Standard, Sir John Black, wanted a sports car to take on Jaguar. At Black's insistence it was fitted with a dickey seat, probably the last series production car to be so attired. The overall design and ergonomics meant the Roadster was more comfortable and commodious than the XK120, making it an ideal long-legged touring car. It really was a 'best of both worlds' model, with its elegant styling combining with many modern advancements and innovations.

Early post-war steel shortages meant that the Roadster body (apart from its steel wings) was built from Birmabright aluminium alloy, almost certainly left over from aircraft production. This lightweight and durable bodywork combined with a marine-spec ash frame sat on a reassuringly robust tubular steel chassis that had a high corrosion resistance due to its significant chrome content. The engine was a 1776cc, 4-cylinder overhead-valve unit, developing 65bhp, and had a lot in common with the engine built by Standard exclusively for the Jaguar SS. A four-speed, right-hand column-change was used, which allowed the middle seat passenger to sit in comfort. Braking performance was impressive, benefitting from a Bugatti-designed, direct-acting master cylinder, whilst being hydraulically self-adjusting.

The superbly presented car offered here is a 1946, 1800 Roadster and is the 255th example off the line. This complete and matching-numbers car still wears its original number plate and is the proud custodian of its original set of tools. From 1989 until 2015 this Roadster was in the care of a former Marque club Spares Secretary (and consequently his family), and it was early in his ownership, in the nineties, that the car was fully restored. He took a lot of care to ensure the details were correct and that the car was painted and trimmed as closely as possible to its original specification, being Gunmetal Grey Metallic, contrasting favourably with the Navy Blue hood, Sea Blue leather and Royal Blue carpets.

After his painstaking efforts, the newly restored car took part in numerous club events and was regularly successful in Marque club Concours d'Elegance, and even now continues to participate in drive outs and rallies. The car has benefitted from some recent mechanical and cosmetic refreshment carried out by our vendor, who, in addition to being a Chartered Engineer, is also one of the UK's most knowledgeable Roadster owners. He has owned and driven a Roadster, almost daily, since the early 1960s so, as you'd expect, the car being offered now drives and performs very well, and retaining so many original features, this is one of the nicest Roadsters we have seen. Reassuringly, it comes with a full 12-month MoT.

This relatively rare model, with only 2,500 examples manufactured, offers many advantages to classic car ownership. Possibly better known than most of its late Forties contemporaries, primarily having featured in TV's Bergerac, it has distinguished good looks, an ability to tour with enough room for luggage or seat five adults, spare parts are plentiful and fellow owners are about as friendly a bunch as you will find. If that's not what classic car ownership is all about, I don't know what is.