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Tim Britten1 Jul 2014
NEWS

From The Classifieds: 1976 Triumph Spitfire

The 1972 Triumph Spitfire represented a dramatic visual change from its predecessor, here's one classic that you could really warm to

From The Classifieds: 1976 Triumph Spitfire

British designers have habitually looked to regular sedan cars to form the basis of sports cars. Some donor cars were more suited than others. There are those, for example, who would argue that the Triumph Herald that underpinned the early 1960s Triumph Spitfire was not really ideal.

As a smaller brother to the TR4, the Triumph Spitfire was introduced locally in 1963 to compete with British Leyland's (BMC's) Austin Healey Sprite.

Like its BMC rival, the Spitfire was built up from regular sedan-car elements; in this case, the donor was the highly unlikely Triumph Herald two-door that was known for its design originality but not for its reliability, or its dynamic capabilities.

The Spitfire was powered by a little 1.1-litre twin-carburettor pushrod engine relatively unburdened because it had only 700 or so kilograms to move around. It was put together on top of a reinforced version of the Herald's full chassis, complete with a transverse-leaf, swing axle rear suspension that no right-minded car-maker would even contemplate today.

But let's not start off on too negative a note. The Spitfire, in its day, did a pretty fair job as a two-seat soft-top sports car. It may not have packed a serious punch, but then again nor did its Austin Healey rival. And at least it did have a fully-independent suspension system where the Sprite ran a then-universal leaf-spring, live-rear-axle arrangement.

The Spitfire's positive side was counterbalanced by a negative – even if the suspension tended to handle broken road surfaces better, extra care was required when pushing on. Big-time oversteer was a defining characteristic.

In Australia, the Spitfire had nine years on the market. It began with the 1.1-litre Mark 1, stepping up via the Mark 2 to the 1.3-litre Mark 3 in 1968, then to the extensively facelifted Mark 4 in 1972 that saw the Triumph through to its discontinuation in the same year.

The car formed the basis for the six-cylinder GT6 version introduced in coupe form in 1967 and finally discontinued in 1973. The Spitfire's transmission was a four-speed manual, with a five-speeder optional in the Mark 4.

The 1972 Spitfire represented a dramatic visual change: Both front and rear ends were facelifted, the latter more so to replicate the family appearance seen on the bigger Triumph Stag V8.

This Spitfire from The Vines in Western Australia is described as a 1976 model (and therefore imported) and is claimed to be as original a car as you are likely to find. It is now on its fourth owner with 62,000 miles (just under 100,000km) showing on the odometer. The owner says it has always been garaged and covered.

The owner claims there is no accident damage and that the entire car is in “original unmolested condition.”

It comes with a hardtop to supplement the vinyl soft-top, as well as a new battery, tyres that were fitted new in 2013, and sheepskin seat covers.

The owner has put a price of $15,500 on the Spitfire, which is smack in the middle of what most others are asking today.

Not a flawless sports car, but a fun example of what Triumph sports car fans experienced at the entry level in the 1960s.

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Written byTim Britten
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