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32-537: The Triumph Roadster is a roadster produced by Britain's Standard Motor Company from 1946 until 1949. It was first available as the Triumph 1800 Roadster (18TR) from 1946 to 1948 and then as the Triumph 2000 Roadster (TRA) from 1948 to 1949. The 1800 Roadster, model number 18TR, was designed in the closing days of World War II . Triumph had been bought by the Standard Motor Company in 1944, and

64-478: A "roadster" is that a team was preparing a new car for the Indianapolis 500. They had it covered in a corner of their shop. If they were asked about their car they would try and obscure its importance by saying that it was just their (hot rod) "roadster". After the Indianapolis racer was made public, the "roadster" name was still attached to it. Frank Kurtis built the first roadster to race and entered it in

96-446: A low opinion of the 20TS's performance and handling, describing it as a "death-trap" with poor handling and a top speed of 80 mph (129 km/h), short of Black's target of 90 mph (145 km/h): Frankly, I think it's the most bloody awful car I've ever driven. Upon hearing Richardson's assessment, Black asked him to help redesign the car. Richardson tuned and modified the engine and worked with Triumph engineers to increase

128-479: The 1952 Indianapolis 500 . It was driven by Bill Vukovich who led for most of the race until a steering failure eliminated him. The Howard Keck owned team with Vukovich driving went on to win the 1953 and 1954 contests with the same car. Bob Sweikert won the 1955 500 in a Kurtis after Vukovich was killed while leading. A. J. Watson , George Salih and Quinn Epperly were other notable roadster constructors. Watson-built roadsters won in 1956 , 1959 – 1964 though

160-428: The 1961 and 1963 winners were actually close copies built from Watson designs. The 1957 and 1958 winner was the same car built by Salih with help by Epperly built with a unique placement of the engine in a 'lay down' mounting so the cylinders were nearly horizontal instead of vertical as traditional design dictated. This gave a slightly lower center of mass and a lower profile. Roadsters continued to race until

192-637: The Ford Model T and the Austin 7 to extremely expensive cars like the Cadillac V-16 , the Duesenberg Model J and Bugatti Royale . By the 1970s "roadster" could be applied to any two-seater car of sporting appearance or character. In response to market demand they were manufactured as well-equipped as convertibles with side windows that retracted into the doors. Popular models through

224-583: The Monza Spyder , a turbocharged version of its Corvair compact, available as a convertible or coupe. Although not a true 2 passenger vehicle, it featured upgraded suspension and other equipment to classify it as a "sporty car." Auto racing began with the first earnest contests in 1894 in Europe , and in 1895 in the United States . Some of the earliest race cars were purpose-built or stripped for

256-551: The Morgan Roadster would not be technically considered a roadster. The term "spider" or "spyder," sometimes used in names for convertible models, is said to come from before the automobile era. Some 19th-century lightweight horse-drawn phaetons had a small body and large wooden wheels with thin spokes; they were nicknamed "spiders" because of their appearance; the nickname was transferred to sports cars, although they did not look similar. In 1962, Chevrolet introduced

288-609: The Standard Vanguard , its suspension from the Triumph Mayflower , and its chassis from the Standard 8 hp , itself based on the pre-war Standard Flying Nine. The body was designed to be built economically, with no panels requiring double-action presswork. Economy of design was considered vital, as the company did not expect high sales figures and had targeted a price of £500 before sales tax. The rear of

320-542: The 1960s and 1970s were the Alfa Romeo Spider , MGB and Triumph TR4 . The highest selling roadster is the Mazda MX-5 , which was introduced in 1989. The early style of roadster with minimal weather protection is still in production by several low-volume manufacturers and fabricators, including the windowless Morgan Roadster , the doorless Caterham 7 and the bodyless Ariel Atom . The term roadster

352-467: The Channel Island of Jersey . Two cars were actually used over the duration of the series production. This was made evident by the colour difference of the front mudguards and body without bonnet mascot on one car used in the earlier series and the same colour front mudguards and body with the bonnet mascot on the other car used in later series. The same number plate J 1610 was used on both cars in

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384-512: The Roadster was given the model designation 20TR. On test the changes resulted in the top speed increasing marginally to 77 mph (124 km/h) but the 0-60 mph time was much better at 27.9 seconds. The car was never made in large numbers and was mainly hand built. 2501 examples of the 1800 and 2000 of the larger-engined version were made. Production ended in October 1949. This car

416-474: The Roadster's production came in September 1948 for the 1949 models, when the 2088 cc Vanguard engine , transmission, and rear axle were fitted. With the larger engine the four-speed gearbox was replaced with a three-speed unit, even though it now had synchromesh on bottom gear. Apart from minor modifications to the mounting points, the chassis, suspension and steering were unaltered. This later version of

448-622: The brake size, modify the front suspension, and experiment with rear springs and shocks. A stronger frame with improved torsional rigidity was designed. Meanwhile, the stylists widened and lengthened the car for more interior room and boot space, mounting the spare wheel inside the boot. The result was the Triumph TR2, introduced in March 1953 at the Geneva Motor Show. The 20TS was built using existing components: its engine came from

480-404: The car felt that the elegant proportions of the earlier model had been abandoned in favour of a committee-based compromise, "a plump Christmas turkey to set against that dainty peacock ... [more] Toadster [than Roadster]". The front had large separate headlamps and the radiator was well back from the front between large "coal scuttle" wings . Passenger accommodation was on a bench seat that

512-468: The driver and passenger was usually further back in the chassis than it would have been in a touring car . Roadsters usually had a hooded dashboard . In the United Kingdom, historically, the preferred terms were "open two-seater" and "two-seat tourer". Since the 1950s, the term "roadster" has also been increasingly used in the United Kingdom. It is noted that the optional 4-seat variant of

544-662: The early 1970s but never were dominant. Triumph 20TS The Triumph 20TS was a prototype sports car shown by Standard-Triumph in October 1952 at the London Motor Show . Extensive development of the 20TS led to the introduction of the Triumph TR2 in March 1953 at the Geneva Motor Show , after which the 20TS was unofficially referred to as the Triumph TR1 . Only one example of this car

576-548: The first track day cars . The immediate predecessor to the roadster was the runabout , a body style with a single row of seats and no doors, windshield, or other weather protection. Another predecessor was the touring car , similar in body style to the modern roadster except for its multiple rows of seats. By the 1920s roadsters were appointed similarly to touring cars, with doors, windshields, simple folding tops, and side curtains. Roadster bodies were offered on automobiles of all sizes and classes, from mass-produced cars like

608-518: The greatest speed, with minimal or no bodywork at all, leading to a body style aptly named 'speedster'. The cut-down speedster body-style really took form in the 1900s. After removing most of the body (and fenders), an empty platform on the ladder-frame chassis was mounted with one or two seats, a gas tank, and spare tyres. American manufacturers Mercer and Stutz started offering ready-made racing speedsters, intentionally built to be driven to race(-track), raced, and driven back by their owner – essentially

640-420: The headlights were switched on; convertible head; windows; seat; and radio aerial. Some of the electro-hydraulic mechanisms were concealed between the twin skins of the body. An illustration is on Flickr . It does not appear to have entered series production. See Triumph 20TS The British actor John Nettles drove a red 1947 Triumph Roadster 1800 in the 1980s BBC television crime series Bergerac , set on

672-500: The late 1960s, although they became increasingly uncompetitive against the new rear-engined racing cars. The last roadster to complete the full race distance was in 1965 , when Gordon Johncock finished fifth in the Wienberger Homes Watson car. The last roadster to make the race was built and driven by Jim Hurtubise in the 1968 race and dropped out early. Some pavement midget roadsters were built and raced into

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704-407: The managing director of Standard, Sir John Black , wanted a sports car to take on Jaguar , which had used Standard engines in the pre-war period. Frank Callaby was selected to style the new car. After getting Black's approval for the general shape, Callaby worked with Arthur Ballard to design the details of the body. Design of the rolling chassis was by Ray Turner. Walter Belgrove, who had styled

736-406: The pre-war Triumphs and was employed as Chief Body Engineer, had no part in the design. Early post-war steel shortages meant that most of the body was built from aluminium over an ash frame, using rubber press tools that had been used making panels for the largely wooden bodied Mosquito bomber that had been built by Standard during the war. Only the front wings were made of steel. The frame

768-543: The series. In some episodes both cars appeared purporting to be the same car. Roadster (automobile) The roadster was also a style of racing car driven in United States Auto Club (USAC) Championship Racing, including the Indianapolis 500 , in the 1950s and 1960s. This type of racing car was superseded by rear-mid-engine cars. The term "roadster" originates in the United States, where it

800-443: The top three ratios was used. The tubular steel chassis was a short-wheelbase version of the 1800 saloon , featuring transverse leaf sprung independent suspension at the front and a live axle with semi-elliptic springs at the rear. The rear track was wider than the front by 4 inches. Brakes were hydraulic . The body design was anachronistic. A journalist old enough to remember the pre-war Dolomite Roadster that had inspired

832-491: Was announced and a sample displayed at the October 1950 motor shows in Paris and at Earls Court on stand 145. Its full-width body was built on a Standard Vanguard chassis with an engine given twin down-draught carburettors and a higher output. This envelope type coachwork incorporated more power actuated components than any previous British car. Those components including: headlights concealed behind shutters automatically opened when

864-423: Was claimed to seat three: the car's 64 inch width helped make a reality of the three-abreast seating, and the approach meant a column gear change was required. The car's unusual width also made it necessary to fit three screen wipers in a row, an example followed by early shallow windscreen Jaguar E Types . Additional room for two was provided at the rear in a dickey seat with its own folding windscreen : this

896-428: Was ever made by Triumph . The 20TS was shown to the public in October 1952 at the London Motor Show at Earls Court . Reactions to the 20TS were mixed. Criticisms included a tight interior and lack of boot space. To get an opinion of the car's performance and handling at speed, Standard-Triumph chairman Sir John Black invited BRM development engineer and test driver Ken Richardson to drive it. Richardson had

928-498: Was hand welded up from steel tube. The engine was a version of Standard's 1.5-litre, four-cylinder side-valve design that had been converted to overhead valves by Harry Weslake and built by Standard exclusively for SS-Jaguar before World War II. The Triumph version featured a downdraught Solex carburettor instead of the Jaguar's side-draught SU, and a 6.7:1 compression ratio instead of 7.6:1. A four-speed gearbox with synchromesh on

960-494: Was outside the hood that could be erected to cover the front seat. Entry and exit to the dickey seat was never easy and a step was provided on the rear bumper. The Roadster was the last production car with a dickey seat. On test by Autocar magazine in 1947 top speed was found to be 75 mph (121 km/h) and 0–60 mph (0–96 km/h) took 34.4 seconds. The magazine described the maximum speed as "satisfying but not startlingly high". The only significant upgrade in

992-482: Was used in the 19th century to describe a horse suitable for travelling. By the end of the century, the definition had expanded to include bicycles and tricycles. In 1916, the United States Society of Automobile Engineers defined a roadster as: "an open car seating two or three. It may have additional seats on running boards or in rear deck." Since it has a single row of seats, the main seat for

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1024-547: Was used to describe a style of racing cars competing in the AAA/USAC Championship Cars series (the IndyCar equivalents of the time) from 1952 to 1969. The roadster engine and drive shaft are offset from the centerline of the car. This allows the driver to sit lower in the chassis and facilitates a weight offset which is beneficial on oval tracks. One story of why this type of racing car is referred to as

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