From The Classifieds: 1968 Triumph Vitesse

The Triumph brand, which disappeared from the market in 1984, is remembered for winners and losers; the former including such cars as the Triumph 2000 and 2.5 series sedans from the 1970s, and the TR2, TR3, TR4, TR5 and TR6 sports cars that straddled a period from the mid 1950s to the late 1970s.

The misses included the likes of the V8-engined Triumph Stag sports car from the 1970s, the inconsistent Spitfire entry-level sports car from the same era -- and the car upon which the Spitfire was based, the bravely conceived but flawed Triumph Herald small sedan.

But wait: History doesn’t necessarily reflect that little Triumph’s status today.

Check out the listings for 1960s vehicles for sale and you’ll find not only that the Triumph Herald is a vehicle of special interest, but that the few examples remaining today can command a fair sum, comfortably above some contemporaries including the Morris Minor and even the original Volkswagen beetle.

If that’s the case, it should come as no surprise to discover that the six-cylinder variant of the Herald dubbed Vitesse -- and never sold here -- attracts even higher prices.

But prior to going into that, a quick look at the Vitesse, and how it evolved, is in order.

Sold in the UK from 1962 to 1971, the Vitesse -- like the Herald which was actually made and sold in Australia -- was penned by Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti and was offered in two-door hardtop sedan and convertible form.

Also like the Herald, it was a bold design for its time, what with its full chassis construction, all-independent suspension, removable body panels, a remarkably tight 7.6-metre turning circle, a bonnet that swung open to reveal not just the engine but the entire front suspension, a “cardboard” dash and a roofline that offered what was claimed to be 93 per cent all-round vision. The Herald’s contemporaries looked anything but contemporary at the time.

But the Herald was more a triumph by name than nature. A reputation for twitchy handling (the rear suspension was by a transverse leaf spring controlled by swing axles), coupled to high prices and mediocre performance didn’t help, nor did its proneness to unreliability.

However numerous things saw the Vitesse version evolve into what is said to be a well-regarded sports car in its time including, in the 1968 Mark 2 version, a revised rear suspension that fixed the early handling problems.

By Mark 2 time, the four-seat Triumph was a well-rounded performer with more performance and more room for passengers than its two-seat, four-cylinder British rivals MGB and Sunbeam Alpine. In its latter days it had a better reputation for reliability than the Triumph Dolomite that followed it in 1972.

Today, the Vitesse/Herald’s unique design and Michelotti style have not been forgotten, even if very few are to be seen on the road.

That is why the owner of this remarkable 1968 Mark 2 Vitesse, imported from the UK recently and now offered for sale, feels comfortable putting what might seem at first to be a rather high price on a car based on a model with such a mixed reputation.

In fact, the owner says the car could quite possibly be the best Vitesse in the world -- which may or may not be true in a global sense although, as the model was never sold here, it could certainly be the best of its kind in Australia.

The red and white Triumph wears a set of chromed wire wheels and is fitted not with the 2.0-litre six-cylinder engine that was standard in 1968, but with the 2.5-litre version that was seen in later Triumph sedans and TR5 and TR6 sports cars. This is a far cry from the 1.6-litre six that powered the first Vitesse models.

For an asking price of $19,000 this car comes with a roadworthy certificate and a speedo showing just over 40,000 miles. The owner says a fully-documented restoration took place in the UK before the car was shipped here and brought up to full compliance for Victorian registration. The photos tend to confirm its ability to turn heads, as the owner suggests.

The Vitesse comes with a warning. The owner says: “If you come to see it, you will buy it.”

Another example of the combination of jaw-dropping ingeniousness and sometimes surprising ineptitude that characterised British car designers at the time.