Triumph Mayflower

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Triumph launched its curious Mayflower in 1949 in an ultimately misguided attempt to crack the all-important American market.

Billed as being an upmarket car at an economy price, the body was designed by Leslie Moore, chief stylist at Mulliner, and used the same fashionable ‘razor-edge’ styling as Mulliner employed on some contemporary Bentley and Rolls-Royce models. The imposing radiator also had upscale pretensions as did the protruding rear luggage compartment. But while these styling cues worked well on big limousines they looked faintly ridiculous on a compact saloon.

Powered by an updated Standard 10 engine with a new alloy head and a Solex carburettor, the driver had 38bhp at his disposal and could just about crack the magic 60mph marker although it took over half-a-minute to get there. Modern features included hydraulic brakes and independent front suspension, while the well-appointed interior continued the upmarket image.

While we wouldn’t agree with Top Gear’s James May, who called the Mayflower ‘the ugliest car of all time’, it was certainly something of an acquired taste and only 200 were sold in its intended American market although it did find 34,000 buyers elsewhere before production came to an end in 1953.

Dating from the last year of production, this Mayflower was bought on a whim early last year and is said to be in good running order, having been treated to five new tyres, all-new ignition components and a new battery since acquisition. The body is described as “fair to goodish, interior OK” although “it could do with a bit more mechanical sorting and the paint/interior could do with a bit of attention”.

A bigger British classic has now hoved into the vendor’s gunsights and he has rather lost interest in the Mayflower, hence the reason for sale. It comes with an original owner's manual but is not currently MOTd and does not need to be under the new regulations.

Only a handful of these quirky mini limos still survive and, although it does look rather hearse-like from the side, this ‘use and improve’ example deserves to be returned to the road – if only to annoy James May.