Triumph

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Defunct

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.

History

The Triumph Cycle Company

From bicycles, the Triumph Cycle Company as the company was named in 1897, 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. 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.

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 2.3 and developed an ambitious new car with an Alfa inspired Straight-8 engine called the Triumph Dolomite.

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 1945 what was left of the Triumph Motor Company and the Triumph brand name was bought by Standard Motor Company 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 1800 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

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.

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. But many Triumphs of this era were unreliable, including the 2.5 PI with its fuel injection problems.

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 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. Standard and Triumph are now, along with Riley, Rolls-Royce and Mini, part of the BMW Group.

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	832 cc inline 4	(1927-1932)
Triumph Super 8	832 cc inline 4	(1930)
Triumph 12-6 Scorpion	1203 cc inline 6	(1931-1933)
Triumph Super 9	1018 cc inline 4	(1932)
Triumph Ten	1122 cc inline 4	(1933-1934)
Triumph Southern Cross	1018/1122 cc inline 4	(1932-1934)
Triumph Gloria Four	1087/1232 cc inline 4	(1934-1937)
Triumph Gloria Six	1476/1991 cc inline 6	(1934–1937)
Triumph Gloria Southern Cross	1232/1991 cc inline 4/6	(1934-1937)
Triumph Gloria 14	1496/1767 cc inline 4	(1937-1938)
Triumph Vitesse	1496/1767 cc inline 4/6	(1936-1938)
Triumph Dolomite 8	1990 cc supercharged inline 8	(1934-1935)
Triumph Continental	1991 cc inline 6	(1936-1937)
Triumph Dolomite 2-Litre	1991 cc inline 6	(1937-1938)
Triumph Dolomite 14/60	1767 cc inline 4	(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
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 2-litre GT		1967–1971
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 4	1147 cc inline 4	1962–1965
Triumph Spitfire Mk.II	1147 cc inline 4	1965–1967
Triumph Spitfire Mk.III	1296 cc inline 4	1967–1970
Triumph Spitfire Mk.IV	1296 cc inline 4	1970–1974
Triumph Spitfire 1500	1493 cc inline 4	1974–1980
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 1500	1493 cc inline 4	1970–1973
Triumph Stag	2997 cc V8	1971–1977
Triumph Toledo	1296 cc inline 4	1970–1978
Triumph Dolomite 1850/HL	1850 cc inline 4	1972–1981
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

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.

External links

• International Triumph TR Registry free database with Comission numbers and photographs of TR2-TR6s
• Triumph at the Open Directory Project
• Vintage Triumph Register - North American Triumph owners club
• Pre-1940-Triumph Owners' Club
• http://www.classic-cars-online.co.uk
• Triumph paint codes and examples
• Free on line magazine with Triumph Spitfire restoration