Vauxhall Wyvern Review: Generations, Specs, and Which One to Buy
An overview of the Vauxhall Wyvern sedan built from 1951 to 1957, covering its single generation, the 45 hp 1.5 MT version, and advice on choosing one.
The Vauxhall Wyvern is a sedan produced from 1951 to 1957 with 45 hp across the range. It is a rear-wheel-drive classic with a manual gearbox, suited to collectors and enthusiasts of 1950s British motoring who value simplicity over performance rather than to anyone seeking a fast or modern daily driver.
Vauxhall Wyvern generations
2 generation (1951–1957)
The second-generation Vauxhall Wyvern was built from 1951 to 1957 exclusively as a sedan. Every version delivers 45 hp, pairs a manual transmission with rear-wheel drive, and the lineup counts just one modification. That sole version is the Vauxhall Wyvern 1.5 MT, powered by a 1508 cc engine producing 45 hp and accelerating to speed in 37.2 seconds. The single-modification lineup means there are no engine or transmission choices to weigh — the 1.5 MT (2 generation) is the Wyvern in this era, full stop.
The data shows a remarkably consistent car: the 45–45 hp power range across the whole model run means output never changed between the first 1951 cars and the last 1957 examples. The sedan body, manual gearbox, and rear-wheel drive likewise stayed constant for all seven model years.
Which Vauxhall Wyvern to buy
- 1.5 MT (2 generation): the mass-market version and the only modification offered, with its 1508 cc engine producing 45 hp and a 0-to-speed time of 37.2 seconds — every Wyvern from 1951–1957 is this specification, so the choice comes down to condition, not configuration.
Buying used means buying a car that is at minimum several decades old, so the production years 1951–1957 matter mainly for parts interchangeability: since the single generation kept one body style, one 45 hp engine, one gearbox, and one drivetrain throughout, components from any model year should correspond to any other. That mechanical simplicity — one manual transmission, rear-wheel drive, no variant sprawl — works in the buyer's favor when sourcing parts or comparing candidate cars, because there are no rare sub-versions to misidentify.
With only one version ever offered, there is no dominated modification to warn against: the Vauxhall Wyvern 1.5 MT (2 generation) is the only Wyvern there is, and the sensible approach is to compare surviving examples against each other rather than against a spec sheet that never varied.