4 posts tagged “triumph”

If anything, this post was an attempt to figure out whether Vox had been fixed or not. The ‘Compose’ screen came up pretty quickly this attempt, though an earlier attempt resulted in a blank screen after a minute.
   Here are some rare cars from Autocade, anyway, since I’m not going to waste the opportunity to blog something. When I started Autocade, I expected some old cars that were around before my lifetime; what I didn’t expect was actually covering a good number of them. Here are some for those pub quiz nights.

Italia 2000 Coupé. 1959–62 (prod. 297 approx.). 2-door coupé. F/R, 1991 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV). Hand-made, rebodied Triumph TR3, with attractive Michelotti-designed bodies by Vignale, shown at Torino in 1958. Made under contract to Ruffino SpA. Never officially a Standard–Triumph model, particularly after Leyland Motors’ takeover and the company’s withdrawal of support. Often referred to as Triumph Italia. Very expensive when new, and not popular; underpowered considering the price, though reasonably competent.

AMC Marlin. 1967 (prod. 2,545). 2-door coupé. F/R, 232 in³ (6 cyl. OHV), 290, 343 in³ (V8 OHV). Marlin shifts to the full-size AMC Ambassador (1967–8) platform, but production dropped further due to poor sales. Deleted after one year. Price up from 1966 as Marlin became a full-size car, with more luxury appointments.

Ford Anglia Torino. 1964–8 (prod. over 10,007). 2-door saloon. F/R, 997 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV). Rebodied Anglia, with body made by OSI of Italy. Created for markets which might have found the original 105E to be too unconventionally styled, but export plans were never realized and the car remains very rare. Doors and front windscreen shared with English Anglia, but other panels new. Michelotti design: attractive to some, ugly to Angliaphiles. Two one-litre engines: standard tune with 41 hp and Torino S with 52 hp from 1965.

Volvo P1900. 1956–7 (prod. 67). 2-door convertible. F/R, 1414 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV). Flimsy fibreglass convertible from Volvo, with uprated engine shared with export model of PV444, developing 70 hp. Inspired by American roadsters of the 1950s, but killed off after new Volvo boss, Gunnar Engellau, felt the quality was under par.

What was your first car?

That was a 1977 Triumph Toledo 1500 (a 1500 was indeed offered in New Zealand). Meaty car: it had a lot of pulling power. But it was laboured with an unfortunate colour which British Leyland called Bitter Apricot. It was a shame to see it go because I worked on that car like crazy. It’s probably worth zero now if I had held on to it, but I loved that wooden dashboard and it wasn’t even that bad to drive.
   Incidentally, this QotD seems awfully familiar. Have we had it before?

Here’s an Autocade series for the Brits. Remember these? Well, maybe all but the last one. I haven’t put in the data for the MG ZR yet though.

Triumph Acclaim. 1981–4 (prod. 133,625). 4-door saloon. F/F, 1335 cm³ (4 cyl. SOHC). Anglicized version of Honda Ballade, made on the BL production lines at Cowley. Notable as one of the first Japanese designs to be built within the EEC, to bypass the gentlemen’s agreement where Japan limited itself to an 11 per cent share of the European market. Cramped in the rear compared with rivals. Limited-edition Avon Acclaims with more equipment and turbocharger; CD trim model later added as luxury version. Last Triumph car.

Rover 213/Rover 216. 1984–90 (prod. 418,367). 4-door saloon. F/F, 1342, 1598 cm³ (4 cyl. SOHC). Nicknamed ‘SD3’ or ‘Ronda’, successor to Triumph Acclaim followed the same formula: begin with a Honda Ballade. This time, Rover input was greater, evident on the cars themselves, which looked more distinctive. Reliable, advanced for its time thanks to 1·3 unit, slightly less up with the play with 1·6 derived from old Austin Maxi unit but still economical. Intended to be a niche player but had very healthy sales in comparison with other Austin Rover products of the time. Facelift in 1987 including revisions that Honda itself adopted for its Civic and Ballade.

Rover 214/Rover 216/Rover 218/Rover 220 (R8). 1989–98 (prod. 708,003). 3- and 5-door saloon, 2-door convertible, 2-door coupé. F/F, 1396 , 1590 cm³ petrol, 1769, 1905 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. OHC), 1588, 1590, 1994 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC). Twin to Honda Concerto with even greater Austin Rover input than prior Rover 200 series, and probably the company’s most competitive range against ageing Ford Escort and even newer rivals such as Fiat Tipo. Some diesels sold with Honda badges but Rover bodywork. Cabriolet from 1992. Three-door launched 1992 with more powerful versions competing as a hot hatch; two-door coupé, codenamed Tomcat, well regarded as a performance derivative, from 1993. Two facelifts, including 1994 one grafting on formal Rover grille. Saloons deleted with launch of R3, but coupé and convertible carried on to 1998 without 200 name.

Rover 200/Rover 214/Rover 216/Rover 220SD (R3). 1995–9 (prod. 470,449). 3- and 5-door saloon. F/F, 1396, 1589, 1796 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC), 1994 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. OHC). Originally designed as a replacement for Metro, but BMW and Rover nudged it upmarket where it was a premium product and rather expensive for its size. Smaller than former Rover 200 due to its Metro-replacing origins and cheaply developed at £200 million. Attractive David Saddington-styled car with ideas above its station, promoted by Sting on TV, aimed at the 20-somethings. As an Escort or Golf competitor, far too cramped. Most cars soon badged 200, regardless of engine size. Limited-edition BRM in 1998. Successor was eventually brought down to earth and sold in the Fiesta class.

Rover 25. 1999–2004 (prod. 217,620 all 25 incl. Mk II). 3- and 5-door saloon. F/F, 1120 cm³ (4 cyl. SOHC), 1120, 1396, 1588, 1795 cm³ petrol (4 cyl. DOHC), 1994 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. OHC). BMW-influenced facelift for 1995 Rover 200, designed to keep the car current till replacement ready in the 21st century—sadly, that never came. Repositioned lower in the market-place with price adjusted, making 25 seem better value. Introduction of Streetwise “soft-roader”: a 25 with cladding pretending to be an off-roader, but which had the same FWD transmission as others. Laughed at then, but now Volkswagen, Ford, Citroën, Peugeot and others offer similar cars. 

Rover 25. 2004–5 (prod. 217,620 all 25 from 1999). 3- and 5-door saloon. F/F, 1120 cm³ (4 cyl. SOHC), 1120, 1396, 1588, 1795 cm³ petrol (4 cyl. DOHC), 1994 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. OHC). Facelift and new interior—and last hurrah—for British-made 25, codenamed Jewel. Packaging dated but car still fairly handsome and reasonably good value. Streetwise faux off-roader continued. Lasted till April 2005 when MG Rover went into administration, and tooling now owned by Red Chinese state.

MG 3 SW. 2007 to date (prod. unknown). 5-door sedan. F/F, 1396, 1795 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC). Subcompact crossover developed from Rover Streetwise. MG 3 SW (for Streetwise, not Station Wagon) a front-wheel-drive model with Rover 200 platform from 1995, made in Nanjing, China from 2007 after a two-year hiatus caused by MG Rover’s collapse. New to buyers in Red China, where most are sold.    

George W. Bush’s first car was a Triumph. So was mine. Come to think of it, my mother’s first car was a Triumph, too—I sort of wound up with hers when I started driving and she bought another car. Dad bought a Triumph as his first car in New Zealand, but it wasn’t his first in his lifetime.
   Unless you count toy cars, in which case my first was a Chevy, my second was … you guessed it, a Triumph.
   Rob Muldoon used to drive his Triumph 2500S to work when he was Prime Minister (who needs chauffeurs? Get your lazy butts out of the LTDs!).
   A great brand, now owned by BMW, and unlikely to see the light of day again. Shame, really. I still would be happy to get a nice Dolomite Sprint.