1952 Triumph Renown

Triumph Renown/1800/2000 (Saloon), 1946-1953

The Triumph Renown series - including its 1800 and 2000 predecessors - was in production from 1949 to 1953. Styled in house, it is a front-engine, rear wheel drive family car seating four adults.

The 1800 Town and Country, as the first cars were dubbed, used the running gear of the pre-war Standard Flying Fourteen, under a body which could scarcely have differed more. Where pre war Standards were aerodynamic, the new Triumph adopted Razor Edge styling intended to evoke period Rolls-Royces. Sitting on a lengthened version of the same chassis as the Triumph Roadster, it would be replaced in 1949 by the Triumph 2000 - the same car, but with a larger 2088cc engine taken from the new and aerodynamic Standard Vanguard. The Renown of 1949 may have looked like the 2000, but underneath sat an all new chassis derived from that of the Vanguard, with pressed steel sections replacing the previous tubular layout. The transverse front leaf spring was replaced by coils, and overdrive became an option.

190 Renowns were built as Limousine specification cars from 1951 - which meant an extra three inches in the wheelbase, a divider, a heater and radio as standard equipment. Tested in 1952, the Limousine wasn't cheap - at £1440 including taxes. The Renown Mk2, built from 1952 until production ended in 1954, would also use the Limousine's longer chassis. 4000 1800s were made, alongside 2000 2000s, 6501 Renowns, 190 Renown Limousines and 2800 Renown MkIIs. Plans to replace the model indirectly with a sports version of the Standard Vanguard Mk3 ultimately resulted in the launch of the Standard Vanguard Sportsman of 1956.

While Triumph Renown and Standard Vanguard buyers would typically not have considered the cars as rivals, today they could be considered as such. The Wolseley 4/50 and the Riley RMA would also have been considered as rivals by Triumph's product planners. The Jaguar 1.5-litre shared some Standard heritage with the Renown but was a more sporting and more expensive proposition. Buyers today might also consider a Humber Hawk as a large and upmarket four cylinder of a similar era.