Delivered new to pioneering aviator Amy Johnson
1933 Standard 10hp Coupé

• Property of a deceased's estate
• The first 10hp built, fitted with a unique Coupé body
• Present ownership since 1987 following long term family ownership
• Restored in 1990 and shown at international Concours d'Elegance

'Count them on the road,' was Standard's advertising slogan in the early 1920s, a time when the Coventry-based firm was Britain's third largest motor manufacturer. Standard's first stab at the increasingly important light car market sector arrived in 1928. Powered by a 1,287cc four-cylinder engine, this model was known as the 'Nine' up to 1931, when the introduction of a smaller version saw it renamed 'Big Nine'. In 1933 the latter's place was taken by a new 1,343cc 10hp model, a well finished, durable and generously equipped car that offered excellent value for money.

The first Standard 10hp chassis off the production line, this car was presented new to Amy Johnson, the pioneering lady aviator who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. In WW2 she served in the Air Transport Auxiliary. On 5th January 1941 she was delivering an Airspeed Oxford, only for it to crash into the Thames Estuary; she died after bailing out.

In the 1930s, Johnson's husband, Captain Jim Mollison, was great friends with Reginald Maudsley, chairman of the Standard Motor Company. Maudsley and Mollison decided to celebrate production of the first Standard 10 chassis by having a special body built by the New Avon Body Co Ltd of Warwick, the idea being to present the car to Amy Johnson for daily use and promotional purposes. Fitted with an elaborate two-seat fixed-head coupé body with sunroof and rear dickey seat, this Standard 10 is very special. The interior leather features a sunburst-pattern on the doors, and there is extensive polished wood. Much of the leather interior remains original, having survived extremely well.

An old buff logbook notes that on 14th July 1938 it was registered to the Le-Roy family of Herne Bay, Kent. In 1968 it was registered to another member of the family at the same address, and it is believed that the Le-Roy family stored the car until the 1980s, before being purchased by the current owner in 1987.

In 1990 the car was repainted in its original colours, and a mechanical overhaul and sympathetic restoration using original materials carried out. Maintained by London-based Robert Betteridge, the car was invited to the 2015 Kuwait Concours d'Elegance where it won the coveted 'Museum Award for Best Provenance and Preservation'. The following year, it attended the Amy Johnson Festival at Sewerby Hall, marking 76 years since her untimely passing. Stored for the last two years, this wonderful Standard runs and drives but will require fully checking over before any extended use.