Description Fully restored about 16 years ago and only 800 miles since; stunning condition; driven 40 miles to the sale; runs beautifully; find a better one! The 1947 Vanguard was Standard’s first post-war model and was completely new from stem to stern.

Named after the famous WW2 battleship HMS Vanguard, it was aimed squarely at the export market which swallowed virtually all of the production until 1950 when they finally started to filter onto the car-starved home market.

To appeal to the all-important American buyer, styling was heavily influenced by the ‘beetle back’ Plymouth and it was fitted with the same famously robust 2,088cc wet-liner engine that powered the Ferguson TE20 tractor, the Triumph TR2 and the Morgan +4.

Transmission was initially by a column-change three-speed gearbox with synchromesh on all forward ratios.

Front suspension was independent and anti-roll bars were employed both front and rear.

It had powerful hydraulic brakes all round which were often put to ...