Although it was clearly a name paying tribute to the second world war plane, there is no record of Triumph licensing the brand. The background to the reason behind calling the car the ‘Spitfire 4’ is not known. The car differed from the Sprite as it had wind up windows, rubber floor mats and locking doors. It took only a total of 15 months to bring the ‘bomb’ to market under the name ‘Spitfire 4’ where it was presented to the public at the London Motor Show of 1962. The ‘Bomb’ prototype may have been lost forever if it had not been for a curious Leyland manager who, while walking around the trim factory, looked under a dust sheet to find the ‘bomb’ prototype hiding there.īritish Leyland loved the idea of an entry level sports car and investment funds were released in July 1961 to relaunch the project.
Triumph got a lifeline in 1961, with British Leyland (BL) taking over the ailing Standard Triumph factory. Unfortunately before the ‘Bomb’ was able to begin production, the financial situation at Triumph became dire and the project was put on hold, and slowly forgotten. To give the car even more stability, stronger side skirts were installed and the wall behind the seats was reinforced so that the spring arms could be mounted there. Since its predecessors had a lack of rigidity in the body, the ‘Bomb’ was no longer riveted but welded. The frame however was newly developed and is characterized by its high level of robustness. The Spitfire borrowed its steering and the suspension. The prototype was heavily based on the Triumph Herald, Michelotti’s other Triumph design. It would be superior to the Sprite by having a larger and more powerful Herald 1.1L engine, along with more spacious and comfortable interior space for the driver. The prototype of the Spitfire was named “Bomb”.
Michelotti creation featured a beautiful swooping body. They had already utilized Michelotti for the Triumph Herald so was the logical choice for this new project. In 1960 the Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti was appointed to draw an attractive design for a sports car. The company needed to produce a sports car to fill their manufacturing void- a car more competitive in the lower end of the sports car market but superior to the Austin Healey Sprite. The Triumph Spitfire story began when the Standard Motor Company that owned Triumph were looking at producing a sports car that could compete against the Austin Healey Sprite - a cheap and fun two-seater that the everyday person could afford and drive.Īlthough Triumph already produced sports cars at the time, they were produced to compete with more upmarket makes like the MGs. The ‘Bomb’ - Prototype to Triumph Spitfire
0 kommentar(er)
