All you need to know about Triumph
Born: 1923
Nationality: English
Name: Triumph
The Triumph was used from the 1880s by German immigrant Siegfried Bettman, first for his bicycles and from 1902 for his motorcycles. A three-wheeler vehicle was produced in 1903, but it wasn't until 1923 that the first car came, the 10/20, or the Light. It was a phoenix-like revival from the failed Dawson Car Company in Coventry and created by an established designer of the time, Arthur Alderson.
Three years on came the Super 7, which won a Monte Carlo Rally class title in 1930 under the steering hands of the company's technical director, Donald Healey, later to become famous for the development of the Austin Healey sports car.
Bettman bought out the motorcycle business as a separate company in 1936. Triumph went into receivership just before the war, when its premises were destroyed by German bombing. After the war, the bankrupt operation was bought by Standard Motor Company, whose MD John Black wanted a brand that would have the sporting connotations of the Swallow Sidecar Company to which he supplied engines.
The first new Triumphs were the 18T saloon and the 18TR roadster, both with the "Jaguar" 1800 cc engines. In the meantime, MG was doing good business with British-based US troops who were taking copies of that company's TC home in droves. The Jaguar XK 120 also rolled out around then, and Black decided to position a new Triumph sports car between the two to get a slice of the action. The first was the 20TS, launched in 1952, but it wasn't considered good enough, even when badged as the TR 1. An improved TR 2 was quickly rolled out a year later and became a sporty success across Europe and in the US. The TR 3 in 1955 was the first production car with disc brakes. Two years later came the TR 3a with cosmetic changes, and the TR 3b which had a larger engine. An attempt to break into the US family car market was made in 1950 with the Mayflower, which was styled like a miniature Rolls Royce but was underpowered and too expensive for its size.
Italian designer Michelotti was commissioned to design a new small family car, the Herald, and the company was so impressed with the result that it also asked him to design a direct competitor to the smaller MG. In 1962 the Triumph Spitfire arrived. The existing line was continued with the TR 4, now larger and more handsome than its predecessors.
The Herald, introduced in 1959 was proving very successful, not least because it had bolt-on body panels and the best turning circle of any car. A six-cylinder version, the Vitesse, was distinguished by dual headlamps set in a 45-degree plane. In 1961 the company was merged with the Leyland Bus & Truck company to become Leyland Motor Corporation. The 2000 brought luxury and six-cylinder motoring to the family car classes, the TR 5 with a 2.5-litre six-cylinder engine and petrol injection came in 1967, and the Karmann-designed TR 6 in 1968 became the marque's best-ever seller.
In 1970 the Stag convertible featured sexy looks and a safety roll cage and a V8 3-litre engine, and was aimed mainly at the US market. It failed because of a perception of unreliability that was actually more a failure of proper engine servicing.
A new decline in the brand's fortunes came when the wedge-shaped TR 7 was introduced in 1975 with a woefully-underpowered engine. The convertible version TR 8, with Rover V8 power, came in 1980, but too late to revive credibility. The last Triumph car name was on a rebadged Honda, the Acclaim. MG Rover currently owns the Triumph car name, but there are no known plans to revive the marque.
Best Car: The Triumph 2000 (generation 1) because it introduced the writer to six-cylinder smoothness.
Worst Car: The TR 7
Weirdest Car: The Amphicar, which was not strictly a Triumph, but used a Herald engine.