Historical flash back

Triumph Spitfire

 

 The marquee had a surprising start in Germany in 1885 when Siegfred Bettmann of Nuremburg formed Bettmann & Co.. In England, the parent company was Standard Motors. This marquee retired in 1984 and now acquired by BMW in in 1994.

Dolomite was the saloon car made by the company while under British Leyland in the 1960s. Mentioned that in case someone do remember the saloon better. For sport cars the top contemporary choice was the TR4A. A more powerful sport car fitted with a 2.4 litres engine when compared with the MGB with only 1.8 litres. For collectors of old cars. it was wishful thinking of getting a used TR4A, as there were very few cars registered at its height. So getting an old unit  was looking was like a once in a blue moon affair. As alternative, the smaller pseudo sports car Triumph Spitfire was much easier to get. Very nice looking car It is sleek with lots of curves. The vehicle was based on a design produced for Standard-Triumph in 1957 by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti. This car was not as heavy as the other Sport cars. The down side, it had the small 1147 cc engine
As in the rationale with the Sunbeam Alpine I was quite happy to grab a Spitfire while it is available The refurbishing was done in the factory. Even after the car was completed it was kept in the factory most of the times.

No pictures of the car while it was worked on. But this was an after thought that I needed pictures of the car

The background of all the pictures were that of  industrial buildings.

Really nice, exotic looking car

If I had my way i.e. could afford to outsource the upkeep, I do not mind having these cars with me all the time.

Now all that is left are pictures and memories.

During the usual maintenance drive I would bring it home for a while

 

My children they were very young then.

Despite of its small engine, this cae weighing only 774 kgs was a much easier sport cars to drive. In fact it was smooth, can be driven the same way a saloon would be handled. But sometimes, I also lost confidence taking the car round corners at high speed as it was very light. That made me understood why sports must have certain mass.

 

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