Standard Avon 9hp Sports Tourer

Click Here for Full Screen Image - Click Here to Download Image

Sir John Black joined Standard as Managing Director from Hillman and came in with a new broom. By 1934 he had swelled the Standard Range dramatically and in that year the company produced 20,000 cars, a production record with 100 cars being produced in a single day. Things were looking good.

One of his first ideas to boost sales and the company’s image was to offer their full range of running chassis’ to outside coachbuilders, a plan which met with considerable success. William Lyons was perhaps his most famous customer, with the Swallow Coachworks in Coventry producing the SS Jaguar built on a lowered Standard chassis. Another beneficiary of this new policy was Avon Coachworks. They had produced a most attractive Standard Avon 'Special' as early as 1929, based on the excellent 9hp running gear, but only in very small numbers.

In 1932 Charles Beauvais took over as Avon’s chief stylist and introduced some contemporary designs and dual colour-schemes. His range topper was the extremely elegant Standard Avon Coupe based on the 16hp model, however a wide of alternative coachwork on the whole Standard range was also offered, the pretty 9hp Standard Avon Sports being one of the best sellers.

Beauvais’ previous role had been as art editor for The Motor magazine and so it is not surprising that he was able to get excellent publicity in the motoring press. The Motor duly went to town – referring to Beauvais they stated: “He therefore combines an eye for beauty with a full appreciation of the requirements of the practical motorist”.

Priced at £172.10, the Standard Avon Sports sold on its good looks, decent weather equipment and seating for four, the willing 1,056cc engine providing 70mph performance and its four-speed synchromesh gearbox appealing to those who were not so adept at double declutching.

This nicely presented older restoration benefits from all of the above, joining the vendor’s fleet in 2011. He has used it regularly, fitting a new carburettor not long after acquisition which transformed the way it went. In 2014 the starter and dynamo were professionally rebuilt and new brake linings, new front tyres and four new inner tubes have kept things ship-shape.

The history file includes various photocopies of period advertisements and service data, an original and charming book entitled ‘Tyres and your Standard’ as well as the original running-in instructions. There are also 17 old MOTs and a buff logbook.

Ready to be enjoyed straight away, this attractive and sporting Standard Avon Sports is a very rare survivor and causes a great deal of interest wherever it goes. 

AMENDMENT; Bidders are advised that the new brake linings have not been fitted, but are supplied in a box with the car.