The Vanguard Sportsman was almost a Triumph — it was set to be badged Triumph Renown right up until shortly before its August 1956 launch, TR3-tuned engine and all.
Median 72 hp across 26 similar cars
Lead trim: Vanguard Sportsman 2088 cc twin-SU OHV four (90 bhp)
Standard Vanguard SportsmanSportsman · 1956–1958
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Standard Vanguard Sportsman yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe Vanguard Sportsman was almost a Triumph — it was set to be badged Triumph Renown right up until shortly before its August 1956 launch, TR3-tuned engine and all.
A performance model, the Vanguard Sportsman, intended to be badged the Triumph Renown until shortly before launch, was announced in August 1956 with a tuned 90 bhp (67 kW) engine with similar features to the Triumph TR3's: a compression ratio raised to 8.0:1, twin SU carburettors and improved pistons (though its inlet manifold and carburettors sat at a different angle and it kept the Vanguard's 85 mm bore, rather than the TR3's 83 mm). The final-drive ratio was lowered to 4.55:1 for better acceleration and larger 10 in brake drums fitted; it had a squarer front grille than the standard models and a bench front seat with separate seats optional. Just 901 were made up to 1958, with about fifty more (mostly estate cars) built to special order between 1958 and 1960 (Popular Classics counted 962 in all). A 1956 Motor test with overdrive recorded 90.7 mph and 0-60 mph in 19.2 seconds. Body and dimensions as the Phase III: wheelbase 102.5 in (2,604 mm), length 172 in, width 67.5 in, height 61.5 in.
Collectors Spotted in the Standard Vanguard Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Standard Vanguard yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Sportsman 2088 cc twin-SU OHV four (90 bhp) | 1956–1958 | 2.1 L Inline-4 | 90 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The final Vanguard's six-cylinder engine didn't retire with the badge — it went straight into the next flagship, the Triumph 2000.
The Vignale facelift sent a British family saloon to Italy for its styling — Giovanni Michelotti and coachbuilder Vignale reshaped it for 1958.
The Vanguard Sportsman was almost a Triumph — it was set to be badged Triumph Renown right up until shortly before its August 1956 launch, TR3-tuned engine and all.
The Phase III Vanguard ditched its separate chassis entirely for 1955, a radical structural overhaul unveiled at the British International Motor Show.
In February 1954, Standard beat every other British carmaker to a milestone: the first factory-fitted diesel engine option on a British production car.
The original Vanguard's engine wasn't designed for a car at all — it started life as the powerplant Standard built for the Ferguson TE20 farm tractor.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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Switching the 96 from a two-stroke to a Ford V4 was such a closely guarded secret that Saab invented a fake company, Maskinverktyg AB, just to buy the new engine's parts without its own purchasing department finding out.