Standard Vanguard III

Good solid British metal, the Vanguard was a fine car - a plodder rather than a flyer, sharing as it does an engine with the Ferguson tractor! My 1957 Observers Book of Automobiles shows the facelifted version with an altered grille and more chrome, listed as the 'Vignale' Vanguard - did the Italians design the car or just the face-lift I wonder? The Vanguard was such a fifties English stalwart, then it disappeared when Standard was subsumed into Triumph and then finally buried for ever under the dead hand of British Leyland. I seem to remember them having a sun visor over the windscreen.

This looks like the first Corgi Toys car to get a die cast bottom on all versions, including the non-mechanical two-tone version (207), It also came as a mechanical (207M) and in RAF livery as a staff car, with free running wheels. The known first here though was red painted rear lights, it was the first Corgi to get them.

Corgi's Vanguard didn't quite follow the game plan as the rest of the early Corgi Car Range. Most of them were released in plain colour first, then mechanical, then two-tone free-wheeling. The Vanguard came out as two-tone freewheeling and single-colour Mechanical at the same time, and then later on in RAF blue as a staff car.

207 & 207M

The mechanical Vanguard was either primrose yellow or very pale blue/green with a red roof. The freewheeling version was only available in the two-tone; red over pale blue/green. On some examples the red roof extends down the roof pillars, on later cars, usually with spun hubs, only the top of the roof is painted red. These later versions are more highly valued than the cars with red window pillars. Values are actually pretty high for all colours and versions. The mechanicals out price the others because of their poor sales and resultant scarcity. The yellow cars being valued significantly more highly than the two-tone.

Both 207 and 207M were introduced in February 1957, 207M was withdrawn in 1959, 207 remained in the range until 1962.

352 RAF Staff Car

Another use of the excellent Standard Vanguard III model - RAF blue paintwork and a couple of decals make a very good staff car to compliment all the other militaria that was being produced at the time. This casting had first been used the previous year in 1957. Here it is again in October 1958. It looks from the baseplate like a Mechanical with the flywheel friction motor because the casting is adapted to house the drive cog on the rear axle, but none of these ever had the motor, they are all freewheeling.

The car remained in the range until it was deleted in 1962. You will see it in both the early blue boxes and the later blue and yellow boxes, but this does not affect value. There are no other listed variations.