Standard · 1938–1959

Standard Eight

The Standard Eight is a small car produced by the British Standard Motor Company from 1938 to 1959. The car was originally launched in 1938 as the Flying Eight. After the Second World War the Flying range of Standards was dropped but an updated car called the 8 hp was re-introduced in 1945. In 1953 a completely new car, the Standard Eight was launched sharing virtually nothing with its predecessor. In 1959 the car was dropped to be replaced by the Triumph Herald, as the Standard brand was being phased out.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Successor: Triumph Herald

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Flying Eight

The Flying Eight was the smallest member of the Standard Flying family. It was launched by the Standard Motor Co Ltd late September 1938, prior to the 1938 Motor Show at Earls Court in October of that year. Apart from the power unit, it was a brand new design, and marked Standard's first entry into the smallest 8 hp market. The chassis frame was all new, with box section longitudinals, and independent front suspension (ifs) by a transverse leaf spring. It was the first British 8 hp family car to feature ifs. At the same time, an updated Flying Ten and a Flying Twelve were introduced, incorporating the same chassis features. The engine was a development of the previous Flying Nine/Ten, but now with a counterbalanced crankshaft and an aluminium cylinder head. The bore was reduced to 57 mm in order to get into the 8 hp class, while the stroke remained at 100 mm. At 1,021 cc swept volume, maximum power was quoted to 31 bhp at 4,000 rpm. A 3-speed gearbox was used, as well as Bendix mechanical brakes operated by cables. Two versions were available from the launch of the model: A two-door all-steel saloon, and a 2/4-seat open tourer. The former body was built for Standard by Fisher & Ludlow at a newly erected plant at Tile Hill, Coventry. The open tourer bodies were built by Carbodies at Holyhead Road, Coventry, and these cars were probably also assembled there. These tourers featured cut-down door tops, and a fold-flat windscreen. Around the turn of the year 1938/39 a drophead coupe became available. This body was built for Standard by Mulliners of Birmingham, who were already building drophead bodies for the Standard Flying Twelve. The initiative for this version probably came from Mulliner's and not from Standard themselves, as it appeared 4–5 months after the original sal

8 hp

The 8 hp model, now without the Flying name, was rapidly re-introduced after the Second World War with the first models appearing within ten days of VE Day. It is sometimes referred to as the Standard 4/8A. The only major update from the pre-war model involved the fitting of a 4-speed gearbox. The cylinder bore was reduced to 56.7 mm, giving 1,009 cc swept volume while dropping the tax horsepower rating from 8.06 to 7.98 as the rules for rounding off numbers had been changed. Maximum power was now quoted to 28 bhp at 4,000 rpm. The absence of bonnet louvres on the 8 hp model provided visual differentiation from the pre-war Flying Eight. The pre-war tourer body by Carbodies was dropped, being replaced by a new tourer body in the form of a simplified drophead coupe, with cut-down door tops, detachable sidescreens and a fixed windscreen frame. Estate cars were produced in 1948 only and were not on general sale. The car was pitched by Standard against the Austin 8 and Morris Eight rivals and was priced at £314. After this version of the 8 was phased out, Standard-Triumph's next small car was the Triumph Mayflower. It was only after this model had failed to meet its sales targets that a new Standard Eight was launched.

Eight

The 1953 Eight was a completely new car with unit construction and the new Standard SC overhead valve engine. It was offered only as a 4-door saloon. The new overhead valve engine of 803 cc produced slightly less power than the outgoing larger side-valve unit with 26 bhp at 4500 rpm but this was increased to 30 bhp at 5000 rpm in 1957. The 4-speed gearbox, with synchromesh on the top three ratios, was available with optional overdrive from March 1957. Girling hydraulic drum brakes were fitted. To keep prices down, the car at launch was very basic with sliding windows, single windscreen wiper and no external boot lid. Access to the boot was by folding down the rear seat, which had the backrest divided in two (an innovation copied in saloons from late 1980s onward to extend their boot-space into the passenger-compartment). The 1954 De luxe got wind up windows and the Gold Star model of 1957 an opening boot lid. From mid-1955 all the Eights finally got wind up windows. At launch the car cost £481 including taxes on the home market. An example tested by The Motor magazine in 1953 had a top speed of 61 mph (98 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–50 mph (80 km/h) in 26.5 seconds. A fuel consumption of 43 miles per imperial gallon (6.6 L/100 km; 36 mpg‑US) was recorded. The Standard Ten of 1954 shared the bodyshell and running gear and would outlast the Eight by continuing until 1961.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name

Standard Eight

Manufacturer

Standard-Triumph

Production

1938–1959

Predecessor

none

Successor

Triumph Herald

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

• Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q942382CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_EightCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1323426397 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Standard_8hp_Saloon_1946.jpgCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: Lars-Göran Lindgren Sweden · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.

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