This six light four door razor edge saloon was initially introduced in 1946 as the 1800 model, being powered by an overhead valve conversion of the pre-war Standard 1800cc engine. This unit was also used in the smallest engined Jaguar of the time, though a Solex carburettor was used in place of an SU.
Luxury interior
In 1949 the model was named Renown and a long wheel base version remained in production until 1955. The wet liner Standard Vanguard engine was fitted from 1949. The steering column gear change and bench front seat made the Renown a roomy car. Overdrive was available as an option from the early 1950s.
Triumph Renown Limousine
The Limousine had a longer wheelbase of 9ft. 3 in. (2820 mm) to make room for a dividing partition, fitted with safety glass sliding panels. The front bench seat was not adjustable. The rear seats were of the divan type with a folding centre arm rest. A radio was installed in the rear compartment and the heater and air conditioning unit heated or cooled the rear compartment directly.
1948 Triumph Roadster 2000 Image courtesy of the Triumph Roadster Club secretary.
1949 Triumph Roadster 2000
1949 Triumph Roadster 2000 The advertisement for the Roadster 2000 appeared on the cover of Motor magazine in 1949. It replaced the 1800 cc unit.
1950 Triumph TRX
1950 Triumph TRX The TRX, a.k.a. Roadster, was displayed at various Motor Shows in 1950 but was never actually produced. It was intended as a modern replacement for the 1800 and 2000 Roadster models. There is a photo of one of the two existing prototypes at http://www.kdb38.dial.pipex.com/roadster/roads6.htm
The P4 was based on a design for Studebaker by Raymond Loewy, famous for his streamline shapes. It was announced in the Autumn of 1949. Although the body was completely new, much of the chassis was P3. The P4 75 had the traditional Rover 3-lamp configuration at the front, which earned the car the nickname of Cyclops. The engine was basically the P3 2103 cc six-cylinder in-line unit, but now fitted with an aluminium cylinder head. The P4 model appeared in the course of the years as the 60, 75, 80, 90, 95, 100, 105, 105R, 105S, and 110.
1949 Rover 75 Cyclops
The Cyclops feature was dropped in 1952, mainly as it was found to cause serious cooling problems.
The 356 models are readily identifiable by their split (1948 to 1952) or bent (centre-creased / Knickscheibe) (1953 to 1955) windscreens. In late 1955 the 356 A appeared, with a curved windscreen.
These are the first series, built from 1948 to 1952 with a split windscreen and very low bumpers. These cars were built in Gmünd in Austria until 1951 when Porsche moved back to Stuttgart, Germany.
1949 Porsche 3561953 Porsche 356
When Ferry Porsche developed the first Roadster prototype to create an alloy coupé in 1948, it was a successful move. In contrast to the Porsche Number 1, the engine was now moved behind the rear axle, as with the VW, to create space for two small emergency seats. Around 50 examples of the 356 aluminium coupé were produced between 1949 and 1951 in the Austrian town of Gmünd, and then provisional production lines were set up in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.
During the war Peugeot had been planning a new ‘post-war’ model, and were able to introduce the new 203 in the Autumn of 1947. It was a sensationally modern car with a streamlined unitary body and a new four-cylinder 1300 cc engine. Although it would continue to be manufactured for many years longer, its replacement already appeared in 1955: the Peugeot 403.
In 1938 Peugeot released the 202, an 1100 cc, four-door saloon that featured headlamps fitted close together just behind the grille (similar to the larger 402 that had been introduced in 1936). Peugeot re-started production in February 1945 after the war and sold no fewer than 14,000 units that year.
