The three-cylinder engine, designed by Alexander Craig [2] was an advanced unit with a single overhead camshaft and pressure lubrication.

Realising the enormous potential of the horseless carriage and using a gift of £3,000 from Sir John Wolfe-Barry, R. W. Maudslay left his cousin and became a motor manufacturer on his own account.

His Standard Motor Company was incorporated on 2 March 1903 and he established his business in a small factory in a two-storey building in Much Park Street, Coventry.

As well as supplying complete chassis, the company found a good market selling engines for fitting to other cars, especially where the owner wanted more power.

Although Alex Craig, a Scottish engineer, was engaged to do much of the detail work, Maudslay himself was sufficiently confident to undertake much of the preliminary layout.

The order was reported in the local newspaper with some emphasis, "Coventry firm makes bold bid for foreign markets".

He worked hard to raise its profile, and the resulting increase in demand necessitated the acquisition of a large single-storey building in Cash's Lane, Coventry.

Even this was inadequate after the publicity gained when a fleet of 20 cars, 16/20 tourers, were supplied for the use of Commonwealth editors attending the 1909 Imperial Press Conference in London.

By 1911 the range of vehicles was comprehensive, with the 8-horsepower model being produced in quantity whilst a special order for two 70 hp cars was at the same time executed for a Scottish millionaire.

Friswell's influence culminated in supplying seventy 4-cylinder 16 hp cars for King George V and his entourage, including the Viceroy of India, at the 1911 Delhi Durbar.

The bodies had, since the move to Bishopsgate Green, been made in Coventry by the company itself, but it was not until 1922 that they were mass-produced, using a wooden track along which they were pushed by hand.

By the late 1920s profits had decreased dramatically due to great reinvestment, a failed export contract and bad sales of the larger cars.

Swallow's business was moved to SS Cars and began to use a model name of Jaguar for part of their range, then extended it to include their saloons.

Charles James Band 1883–1961, a Coventry solicitor and a Standard director since 1920, replaced him as chairman[6] and served in that capacity until the beginning of 1954 though Sir John Black briefly held the appointment before he retired.

The Flying Standards came to the market in 1936 with their distinctive streamlined sloping rears virtually replacing the existing range of Nine, Twelve, Sixteen, and Twenty.

The Flying Standards were so-called because of the major radiator shell change to a waterfall grille topped by the Union Jack badge apparently streaming backwards in contrast to its previous forward-facing position.

However, the most famous war-time product was the de Havilland Mosquito aircraft, mainly the FB VI version, of which more than 1100 were made.

Other wartime products included 4000 Beaverette light armoured cars and a prototype lightweight "Jeep" type vehicle.

With peace, the pre-war Eight and Twelve fitted with 1776cc engine sold as 14 hp cars were quickly back in production using tools carefully stored since 1939.

The 20TS's lack of luggage space and unsatisfactory performance and handling resulted in production being delayed until the next year when the chassis and drivetrain were developed and the body was restyled to incorporate a generous boot.

[clarification needed] Ken Richardson achieved 124 mph (200 km/h) on the Jabbeke Highway in Belgium in a slightly modified car.

As a result of the publicity, small manufacturers, including Morgan, Peerless, Swallow, and Doretti, bought engines and other components from Standard Motor Company.

It initially used the 948 cc engine from the Standard 10, making the resulting vehicle woefully underpowered, even with its 6.66:1 final drive ratio.

Despite the separate chassis and independent rear suspension, the differential, hubs, brakes, engine and gearbox were all common to the last Standard Pennants.

In order to build the Herald the company invested £2+1⁄2 million in a new assembly hall extension at the Canley plant which Standard had acquired in 1916.

Alick Dick resigned in August 1961 when the board was reorganised by Leyland in view of the substantial losses Standard was accumulating.

[18] The company started considering partners to enable continued expansion and negotiations were begun with Chrysler, Massey-Harris-Ferguson, Rootes Group, Rover and Renault but these were inconclusive.

[citation needed] There was talk of a possible revival of the Standard name by MG Rover for its importation of the Tata Indica.

[19] The Standard name had disappeared from Britain during the 1960s but continued for two more decades in India, where Standard Motor Products of India Ltd manufactured the Triumph Herald badged as the 'Standard Herald' and with the basic 948 cc engine during the 1960s, with increasingly local content and design changes over the years, eventually producing additional four-door and five-door estate models exclusively for the Indian market by the late 1960s.

[20] After feeble efforts over successive years to revive the company, the premises were auctioned off in 2006 and Britain's Rimmer Bros. bought up the entire unused stock of SD1 parts.