TRIUMPH MOTOR COMPANY

The 'Triumph Motor Company' had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann (1863-1951) and Moritz (Maurice) Schulte founded Bettmann & Co and started selling Triumph bicycles, from premises in London and from 1889 started making his own machines in Coventry, England.

Contents

History

The Triumph Cycle Company

The Triumph Motor Company

Standard Triumph

Leyland and beyond

Triumph car models

Pre-war

Post war

Triumph-based models

References

External links

History

The Triumph Cycle Company

From bicycles, the Triumph Cycle Company, as the company was named in 1897 The Story of Triumph Sports Cars, , Graham, Robson, MRP, 1972, ISBN 0-900549-23-8 , branched out in 1902 into making Triumph motor cycles at their works in Much Park Street. At first these used bought-in engines but the business took off and they soon started making their own and in 1907 expanded into a new factory in Priory Street taking over the premises of a spinning mill. Major orders for the 550 cc Model H came from the British Army during World War 1 and by 1918 they were Britain's largest motor cycle maker.
In 1921, Bettmann was persuaded by his general manager Claude Holbrook (1886-1979), who had joined the company in 1919, to acquire the assets and Clay Lane premises of the Dawson Car Company and start producing a 1.4 litre model called the Triumph 10/20 which was actually designed for them by Lea-Francis to whom they paid a royalty for every car sold. Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile, , N., Georgano, HMSO, 2000, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 Production of this car and its immediate successors was on a moderate scale but this changed with the introduction in 1927 of the Triumph Super 7 which sold in large numbers through to 1934.

The Triumph Motor Company

In 1930 the company changed its name to the Triumph Motor Company. It was clear to Holbrook that there was no future in pursuing the mass manufacturers and so decided to take the company upmarket with the Southern Cross and Gloria ranges. At first these used engines made by Triumph but designed by Coventry Climax but from 1937 they started to make them to their own designs by Donald Healey who had become the company’s Experimental Manager in 1934.

1937 Triumph Dolomite Roadster

The company hit financial problems however and in 1936 the Triumph bicycle and motorcycle businesses were sold, the latter to Jack Sangster of Ariel to become Triumph Engineering Co. Ltd. . Healey purchased an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 and developed an ambitious new car with an Alfa inspired Straight-8 engine called the Triumph Dolomite.^[1]
In July 1939, the Triumph Motor Company went into receivership and the factory, equipment and goodwill were offered for sale. T.W. Ward purchased the company and placed Healey in charge as general manager, but the effects of World War II again stopped the production of cars and the Priory Street works was completely destroyed by bombing in 1940.

Standard Triumph

After the war, in 1944 what was left of the Triumph Motor Company and the Triumph brand name was bought by Standard Motor Company^[2] and a subsidiary "Triumph Motor Company (1945) Limited" was formed with production transferred to Standard's factory. The pre-war models were not revived and in 1946 a new range of Triumphs starting with the Triumph 1800 Roadster was announced. Because of steel shortages these were bodied in aluminium which was plentiful because of its use in aircraft production.
In the early 1950s it was decided to use the Triumph name on sporting cars and the Standard name on saloons and in 1953 the Triumph TR2 was launched, the first of a series that would run through to 1981. Standard had been making a range of small saloons called the Standard Eight and Ten and had been working on a replacement for these. When this was launched in 1959 as the Herald it carried the Standard-Triumph badge and slowly the Standard name was dropped disappearing in 1963.

Leyland and beyond

Triumph Spitfire

In December 1960 the company was bought by Leyland Motors Ltd with Donald Stokes becoming chairman of the Standard Triumph division in 1963. Further mergers led to the formation of British Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968.

1974 Triumph GT6 Coupé

In the 1960s and 1970s, Triumph sold a succession of Michelotti-styled saloons and sports cars, including the advanced Dolomite Sprint, which, in 1973, already had a 16-valve four cylinder engine. It is alleged that many Triumphs of this era were unreliable, especially the 2.5 PI with its fuel injection problems. While the injection system had proved itself in international competition, it did lack altitude compensation for the adjustment of mixture at altitudes greater than 3000ft / 1000 mtr above sea level. The key reason for the Lucas system's unpopularity, was that Lucas was not inclined to further develop it on the one hand allied to the unwillingness of Standard-Triumph dealers to attend factory and field-based training courses dedicated to this propulsion method.
For most of its time under Leyland or BL ownership the Triumph marque belonged in the Specialist Division of the company which went under the names of ''Rover Triumph'' and later ''Jaguar Rover Triumph'' apart from a brief period in the mid 1970s when all BL's car marques or brands were grouped together under the name of ''Leyland Cars''.
The last Triumph model was the Acclaim which was launched in 1981 in a joint venture with Japanese company Honda. The Triumph name disappeared in 1984, when the Acclaim was replaced by the Rover 200, which was a rebadged version of Honda's Civic/Ballade model. The BL car division was by then called Austin Rover Group which also sounded the death knell for the Morris marque as well as Triumph.
The trademark is currently owned by BMW, acquired when it bought the Rover Group in 1994. When it sold Rover, it kept the Triumph marque. The Phoenix Consortium, which bought Rover, tried to buy the Triumph brand, but BMW refused, saying that if Phoenix insisted, it would break the deal. The Standard marque was transferred to British Motor Heritage Limited, along with Austin, Morris, and Wolseley marques. The Austin , Morris and Wolseley marques were later sold to MG Rover Group Ltd, on the 10th December 2003. The Standard marque is still retained by British Motor Heritage who also have the license to use the Triumph marque in relation to the sale of spares and support of the existing 'park' of Triumph cars.
The MG marque was sold to Phoenix along with the sale of the Rover brand images and a license to use the Rover name. The Rover name was later sold to Ford, with Nanjing Automotive gaining the rights to the brand image. The Triumph name has been retained by BMW along with Riley, Rolls-Royce and Mini.

Triumph car models

Pre-war

'Model Name'	'Engine'	'Year'
Triumph 10/20	1393 cc inline 4	(1923–1925)
Triumph 13/35 or 12.8	1872 cc inline 4	(1927–1927)
Triumph 15/50 or Fifteen	2169 cc inline 4	(1926–1930)
Triumph Super 7	747 cc inline 4	(1928)
Triumph Super 8	832 cc inline 4	(1930)
Triumph Super 9	1018 cc inline 4	(1932)
Triumph Gloria 10	1087 cc inline 4	(1933)
Triumph 12-6 Scorpion	1203 cc inline 6	(1931-1933)
Triumph Southern Cross	1087/1232 cc inline 4	(1932)
Triumph Gloria ('12' / '12') Four	1232/1496 cc inline 4	(1934-1937)
Triumph Gloria ('6' / '6/16') Six	1476/1991 cc inline 6	(1934-1935)
Triumph Gloria 14	1496/1767 cc inline 4	(1937-1938)
Triumph Dolomite 8	1990 cc inline 8 (DOHC)	(1934)
Triumph Dolomite Vitesse 14	1767/1991 cc inline 4/6	(1937-1938)
Triumph Dolomite 14/60	1767/1991 cc inline 4/6	(1937-1939)
Triumph Dolomite Roadster	1767/1991 cc inline 4/6	(1937-1939)
Triumph 12	1496 cc inline 4	(1939-1940)

Post war

'Model Name'	'Engine'	'Year'	'No's Built'
Triumph 1800 Saloon	1776 cc inline 4	1946–1949
Triumph 1800 Roadster	1776 cc inline 4	1946–1948
Triumph 2000 Saloon	2088 cc inline 4	1949–1951
Triumph 2000 Roadster	2088 cc inline 4	1948–1949
Triumph Renown	2088 cc inline 4	1949–1952
Triumph Mayflower	1247 cc inline 4	1949–1953
Triumph TR1 / 20TS	2208 cc inline 4	1950
Triumph TR2	1991 cc inline 4	1953–1955
Triumph TR3	1991 cc inline 4	1956–1958
Triumph TR3A	1991 cc inline 4	1958–1962
Triumph TR3B	2138 cc inline 4	1962
Triumph Italia	1991 cc inline 4	1959–1962
Triumph TR4	2138 cc inline 4	1961–1965
Triumph TR4A	2138 cc inline 4	1965–1967
Triumph TR5	2498 cc inline 6	1967–1969
Triumph TR250	2498 cc inline 6	1967–1969
Triumph GT6	1998 cc inline 6	1966–1971
Triumph Dove GTR4	2138 cc inline 4	1961-1964
Triumph TR6	2498 cc inline 6	1969–1976
Triumph TR7	1998 cc inline 4	1974-1981
Triumph TR8	3528 cc V8	1979-1981
Triumph Spitfire Mk 1 or Spitfire 4	1147 cc inline 4	1962–1965	45,763[2]
Triumph Spitfire Mk.II	1147 cc inline 4	1965–1967	37,409[2]
Triumph Spitfire Mk.III	1296 cc inline 4	1967–1970	65,320[2]
Triumph Spitfire Mk.IV	1296 cc inline 4	1970–1974	70,021[2]
Triumph Spitfire 1500	1493 cc inline 4	1974–1980	95,829[2]
Triumph GT6	1998 cc inline 6	1966–1973
Triumph Herald 948	948 cc inline 4	1959–1964
Triumph Herald 1200	1147 cc inline 4	1961–1970
Triumph Herald 12/50	1147 cc inline 4	1963-1967
Triumph Herald 13/60	1296 cc inline 4	1967–1971
Triumph Vitesse 6	1596 cc inline 6	1962–1966
Triumph Sports 6 (US version of Vitesse 6)	1596 cc inline 6	1962–1964
Triumph Vitesse 2-litre, and Mk.2	1998 cc inline 6	1966–1971
Triumph 1300	1296 cc inline 4	1965–1970
Triumph 1300TC	1296 cc inline 4	1967–1970
Triumph 1500	1493 cc inline 4	1970–1973
Triumph 1500TC	1493 cc inline 4	1973–1976
Triumph Stag	2997 cc V8	1971–1977
Triumph Toledo	1296 cc inline 4	1970–1978
Triumph Dolomite 1300	1296 cc inline 4	1976–1981
Triumph Dolomite 1500	1493 cc inline 4	1976–1981
Triumph Dolomite 1500HL	1493 cc inline 4	1976–1981
Triumph Dolomite 1850	1850 cc inline 4	1972–1976
Triumph Dolomite 1850HL	1850 cc inline 4	1976–1981
Triumph Dolomite Sprint	1998 cc inline 4	1973–1981
Triumph 2000	1998 cc inline 6	1963–1975
Triumph 2.5 PI	2498 cc inline 6	1968–1977
Triumph 2500TC/S	2498 cc inline 6	1974–1977
Triumph Acclaim	1335 cc inline 4	1981–1984	133,625[8]

Triumph-based models

Vale Special	(1932–1936) very low built two-seater based on Super 8 and Gloria
Swallow Doretti	(1954–1955)
Amphicar
Bond Equipe GT	(1964–1967)
Fairthorpe Cars
The Lotus Seven Series 2 had many Standard Triumph parts.

Daimler SP250 used many Standard Triumph running gear and suspension parts

References

1.
2. Triumph Spitfire and GT6, , Graham, Robson, Osprey Publishing Ltd, ,
3. Triumph Spitfire and GT6, , Graham, Robson, Osprey Publishing Ltd, ,
4. Triumph Spitfire and GT6, , Graham, Robson, Osprey Publishing Ltd, ,
5. Triumph Spitfire and GT6, , Graham, Robson, Osprey Publishing Ltd, ,
6. Triumph Spitfire and GT6, , Graham, Robson, Osprey Publishing Ltd, ,
7. Triumph Spitfire and GT6, , Graham, Robson, Osprey Publishing Ltd, ,
8. The Unofficial Austin-Rover Web Resource

External links

★ International Triumph TR Registry free database with Commission numbers and photographs of TR2-TR6s

★

★ Heritage Motor Centre - British Motor Industry Heritage Trust

★ British Motor Heritage Ltd - British Motor Heritage Ltd