Triumph Motor Company
The Triumph Motor Company had its origins in 1885 when Seigfrield Brittman and Mauritz Schulte started producing Triumph bicycles at Coventry, England.
In 1921 Brittman acquired the assets of the Dawson Car Company and started producing a 1.9 litre model called the Triumph Light Car. A number of other models were made up until the 1929 depression when production almost stopped entirely.
In the 1930s the company changed its name to the Triumph Motor Company. Donald Healey became the company?s Experimental Manager in 1934.
The Triumph bicycles ended production in 1936, and Healey purchased an Alfa 2.3 and developed an Alfa/Triumph called the Triumph Dolomite.
In July 1939 the Triumph Motor Company factory, equipment and goodwill were offered for sale. T.W.Ward purchased the company and placed Healey in charge as General Manager, but war in Europe again stopped the production of cars.
After the war, what was left of the Triumph Motor Company and the Triumph brand name was bought by Standard Motor Company.
In December 1960 the company merged with Leyland Motors.
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 twin-cam, 16-valve engine. But many Triumphs of this era were unreliable, including the 2500 PI with its fuel injection problems, and the poor quality of the TR7 and TR8 sports cars, which killed the marque in the United States.
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 also simply 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.
Triumph Motor Car models include
(incomplete list)
- Triumph 10/20 1923-25
- Triumph 13/35 1927-27
- Triumph 15 1927-30
- Triumph 12/16 1932
- Triumph Super 7 1928
- Triumph Super 8 1930
- Triumph Super 9 1932
- Triumph Southern Cross 1932
- Triumph Gloria 10 1933
- Triumph Gloria 12 1934-37
- Triumph Gloria 6 1934-35
- Triumph Gloria 6/16 1935
- Triumph Gloria 6/16 Sports 1935
- Triumph Dolomite 8 1934
- Triumph Dolomite 14/60 1936
- Triumph Dolomite 16 1938
- Triumph 12 1939-40
- Triumph 1800 Saloon 1946-49
- Triumph 1800 Tourer 1946-48
- Triumph 2000 Saloon 1949-51
- Triumph 2000 Tourer 1948-49
- Triumph Mayflower 1949-53
- Triumph GT4s 1300 1967-70
- Triumph 2-litre GT 1967-71
- Triumph Fairthorpe
- Triumph TR1 / 20TS 1952
- Triumph TR2 1953-55
- Triumph TR3 1956-58
- Triumph TR3A 1958-62
- Triumph TR3B 1962
- Triumph Italia 1959-63
- Triumph TR4 1961-65
- Triumph TR4a 1965-67
- Triumph TR5 1967-69
- Triumph TR250 1967-69
- Triumph Dove GTR4
- Triumph TR6 1969-76
- Triumph TR7
- Triumph TR8 1980
- Triumph Spitfire 1962-80
- Triumph GT6 1966-73
- Triumph Herald 948 1959-64
- Triumph Herald 1200 1961-70
- Triumph Herald 12/50
- Triumph Herald 13/60 1967-71
- Triumph Vitesse 1962-71
- Triumph 1300 1965-70
- Triumph 1500 1970-73
- Triumph Stag 1971-77
- Triumph Toledo 1970?8
- Triumph Dolomite 1972?81
- Triumph 2000 1963-75
- Triumph 2500 1968-77
- Triumph Acclaim 1981-83
Triumph-based models include
(incomplete list)
- Swallow Doretti 1954-55
- Amphicar
- Bond Equipe GT 1964-67
See also
