Designers have always tried to make the front of a new car speak to the consumers – one could call it the face of the car, and it needs to have some sort of appeal which the individual looking at the car can hopefully relate to. Through history, this has led to happy cars, sad, smiling and even grinning cars. There have been sulky cars and those with an almost stoic calmness to them. Some have even looked somewhat aggressive, but very rarely have we seen cars which look outright angry. However, that’s very much the facial expression of the Standard Gazel. It’s even very angry – almost on the verge of an outburst worthy of Captain Haddock.
There was a time when The British Standard Motor Company – later to become Standard-Triumph International – was involved with several other manufacturers around the globe. One of the more successful ventures was with Standard Motor Products of India. Kicking off with the Standard Vangaurd in 1951, they produced their own variations of Standard and Triumph cars in the Indian industrial town of Madras.
Having gone through a couple of Standard products, the launch of the new Triumph Herald at the 1959 Earls Court Motor Show in London opened up new possibilities. Only two years later, the Indian version rolled off the production line in Madras – named the Standard Herald. As time passed, production progressed from merely assembling Completely-Knocked-Down kits, to actually manufacturing more and more components themselves. By 1965, both engines, transmissions and axles were manufactured in India. Then in 1966, the Indian Herald utilised the bonnet from the Triumph Vitesse – only, they oddly deleted the outside main beams and only left the inner headlights in place resulting in a rather odd facial expression.
The arrival of a four-door Standard Herald in 1968 distanced the Indian saloon from its British counterpart even further. But it was with the introduction of the new Standard Gazel in 1971 – incidentally the same year that the original Triumph Herald ceased production in the UK – that the Indian product truly took a shape of its own.
Sure, the Gazel still had hints of Herald to its overall design and it was of course also still based on the same chassis and drivetrain. But while the roofline and the rear of the car had changed with the introduction of the four-door body in 1968, it was now the rounded front wings which were redesigned. There was a clear influence from the facelifted Triumph Herald 13/60 of 1968, but if anything, the design of the grill and the positioning of the lights on the Gazel made for an even more aggressive face. This was one angry little car!
At the rear there were more changes as the bootlid was now entirely flat and new rectangular rear lights were placed low to accommodate the deep opening of the boot. The driving experience was different too – and better – thanks to a conventional live rear axle with leaf springs in place of the flawed swing axle of the original Herald. Market demands also led to the Gazel having broad bench seats both front and rear enabling it to be sold as a six-seater family car.
According to Standard Motor Products the new Gazel was a “four-door, four-light, five- to six-seater saloon” – despite its still very compact dimensions. Even so, it was applauded for its luxurious interior with – among other things – PVC leatherette and a driver’s door which could be locked from the outside with a key. I suppose expectations in India were rather different than in Europe back in the seventies? Nonetheless, it’s still impressive that the Gazel remained in production until 1978 – thereby outliving its British cousin by a good seven years. Maybe it was that determined face?