Standard Vanguard Vignale Luxury Six

Mike Taylor talks to Simon Gealy as he is reacquainted with his Vanguard Vignale Luxury Six Estate after a four-year restoration.

Sitting beside Simon Gealy on the bright red bench front seat, I can’t miss the broad grin on his face. Clearly he is enjoying the experience of driving his Vanguard Vignale Luxury Six Estate, which looks fabulous in its sparkling rich Nimbus White coach work fresh from an intense four year restoration programme carried out by Triumph specialists, Enginuity.

‘This is the first time I’ve driven it since the completion of the rebuild and I’m extremely pleased with the result,’ he says brimming with enthusiasm, obviously thrilled at the quality and attention to detail afforded by the work. ‘Before we set off I was thinking about what I must listen out for, such as clonks from the steering and the UJs in the propshaft, but it drives like a Triumph should – smooth and quiet.’

As we make our way out of the hubbub that is London traffic and onto the elevated section of the M3, Simon explains the background to his interest in classic cars, and Triumphs in particular. ‘My grandfather was a lifelong employee of Standard-Triumph and worked on Mosquito aircraft assembly at Canley during the war,’ he says. ‘The family always bought Triumph cars and the brand image was heavily impregnated into my mind from a young age. In fact, the first car I ever drove was a 1965 Triumph Herald at the age of six in the field behind my grandfather’s home, where he showed me the controls. My father had a Vitesse 6 saloon, and later he bought a Saffron Yellow MkII Vitesse Convertible with a legacy bequeathed to him from his uncle. My sister and I used to ride to the pub in that when we were kids, for soft drinks and crisps. Sadly, when I was only 19 years old my father passed away and I inherited the Vitesse.