Triumph Spitfire Classic Cars - Spitfire Mark III Part 1

Triumph Spitfire Classic Cars - Spitfire Mark III

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The Mark III, introduced in March 1967, was the first major facelift to the Spitfire. The front bumper was raised in response to new crash regulations, and although much of the bonnet pressing was carried over, the front end looked quite different. The rear lost the overriders from the bumper but gained reversing lights as standard (initially as two separate lights on either side of the number plate, latterly as a single light in a new unit above the number plate) the interior was improved again with a wood-veneer instrument surround. A folding hood replaced the earlier "build it yourself" arrangement. For most of the Mark III range, the instrument cluster was still centre-mounted (as in the Mark I and Mark II) so as to reduce parts bin counts (and thereby production costs) for right-hand and left-hand drive versions.

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The 1147 cc engine was replaced with a bored-out 1296 cc unit, as fitted on the new Triumph Herald 13/60 and Triumph 1300 saloons. In SU twin-carburettor form, the engine put out a claimed 75 bhp (56 kW) and made the Mark III a comparatively quick car by the standards of the day. Popular options continued to include wire wheels, a hard top and a Laycock de Normanville overdrive, and far more relaxed and economical cruising at high speeds. The Mark III was the fastest Spitfire yet, achieving 60 mph (97 km/h) in 12.5 seconds.The Mark III actually continued production into 1971, well after the Mark IV was introduced.

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Triumph Spitfire Classic Cars - Spitfire Mark II

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In March 1965 the Spitfire Mark II was released and was very similar to the Mark I but featured a more highly tuned engine, through a revised camshaft design, a water cooled intake manifold and tubular exhaust manifold, increasing the power to 67 bhp (50 kW) at 6000 rpm.This improved the top speed to 92 mph (148 km/h). The coil-spring design clutch of the Mark I was replaced with a Borg and Beck diaphragm spring clutch. The exterior trim was modified with a new grille and badges. The interior trim was improved with redesigned seats and by covering most of the exposed surfaces with rubber cloth. The original moulded rubber floor coverings were replaced with moulded carpets.

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It was introduced at a base price of £550 while the Sprite was priced at £505 and the Midget at £515. Top speed was claimed to be 96 mph (154 km/h) and its 0-60 mph time of 15.5 seconds was considered "lively." The factory claimed that at highway speeds (70 mph (110 km/h)) this lively car achieved 38.1 miles per imperial gallon (7.41 L/100 km; 31.7 mpg-US).

Triumph Spitfire- A Brief History Part 1

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Triumph Spitfire Classic Cars - Spitfire 4 or Mark I

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The production car changed little from the prototype, although the full-width rear bumper was dropped in favour of two part-bumpers curving round each corner, with overriders. Mechanics were basically stock Herald components: The engine was a 4-cylinder of 1147 cc, mildly tuned for the Spitfire with twin SU carburettors. Also from the Herald came the rack and pinion steering and coil-and-wishbone front suspension up front, and at the rear a single transverse-leaf swing axle arrangement. This ended up being the most controversial part of the car: it was known to "tuck in" and cause violent over steer if pushed too hard, even in the staid Herald. In the sportier Spitfire (and later the 6-cylinder Triumph GT6 and Triumph Vitesse) it led to severe criticism. The body was bolted to a much-modified Herald chassis, the outer rails and the rear outriggers having been removed; little of the original Herald chassis design was left, and the Spitfire used structural outer sills to stiffen its body tub.

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The Spitfire was an inexpensive small sports car and as such had very basic trim, including rubber mats and a large plastic steering wheel. These early cars were referred to both as "Triumph Spitfire Mark I" and "Spitfire 4", not to be confused with the later Spitfire Mark IV.

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For 1964 an overdrive option was added to the four speed gearbox to give more relaxed cruising. Wire wheels and a hard top were also made available.

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Triumph Spitfire Classic Cars - Model

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Models Five separate Spitfire models were sold during the production run

Model name	Engine	Year	Number built
Triumph Spitfire 4 (Mark I)	1147 cc inline 4	1962–1965	45,763
Triumph Spitfire Mark II	1147 cc inline 4	1965–1967	37,409
Triumph Spitfire Mark III	1296 cc inline 4	1967–1970	65,320
Triumph Spitfire Mark IV	1296 cc inline 4	1970–1974	70,021
Triumph Spitfire 1500	1493 cc inline 4	1974–1980	95,829

Triumph Spitfire- A Brief History Part 1

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The Origins Triumph Spitfire Cars

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The Triumph Spitfire was originally devised by Standard-Triumph to compete in the small sports car market which had opened up with the introduction of the Austin-Healey Sprite. The Sprite had used the basic drive train of the Austin A30/35 in a light body to make up a budget sports car; Triumph's idea was to use the mechanics from their small saloon, the Triumph Herald, to underpin the new project. Triumph had one advantage, however; where the Austin A30 range was of unitary construction, the Herald featured a separate chassis; it was Triumph's intention therefore to cut that chassis down and clothe it in a sports body, saving the costs of developing a completely new chassis / body unit.

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The Italian designer Michelotti—who had already penned the Herald—was commissioned for the new project, and came up with a traditional, swooping body. Wind-up windows were provided (in contrast to the Sprite/Midget, which still featured sidescreens at that time), as well as a single-piece front end which tilted forwards to offer unrivalled access to the mechanics. At the dawn of the 1960s, however, Standard-Triumph was in deep financial trouble, and unable to put the new car into production; it was not until the company was taken over by the Leyland organization that funds became available and the car was launched. Leyland officials, taking stock of their new acquisition, found Michelotti's prototype hiding under a dust sheet in a corner of the factory and rapidly approved it for production.

Triumph Spitfire- A Brief History Part 1

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Triumph Spitfire Cars- A Brief History Part 2

Triumph Spitfire Cars - A Brief History

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In 1965 the Mark II model was launched, and its engine now produced 67bhp due to a revised camshaft and four branch exhaust manifold. A diaphragm spring clutch was now also fitted. Exterior modifications on the Mk II included a redesigned front grill and emblems on the rear wings, whilst the interior benefited from improved seats, and carpets replaced the earlier models rubber matting. Further improvements were to come with the Mk III which arrived in 1967, the most obvious being styling changes which included a new design of raised front bumper to comply with USA regulations. The engine had been replaced with a 1296cc unit producing 75bhp, and the brakes updated accordingly to cope with the extra performance by enlargement of the front callipers. The interior of the Mk III was complimented by a wood veneer dashboard and better seats. The folding soft-top was also improved and became permanently attached and no longer had to be stored in the boot when not in use.

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In 1970 Michelotti was brought in to redesign the Spitfire, bringing the looks more in line with other Triumphs in the range which he had recently restyled – or recently designed - such as the Triumph Stag which was launched in June of the same year. New rear light clusters, flared wheelarches and thinner bumpers with plastic underriders were among the styling changes. The whole of the interior was completely restyled and was this restyled car was then launched as the Mk IV.

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The MkIV used the 1296cc engine from the Mk III, although improvements to bearing size and con rods were made. Contrary to popular rumour, the engine was in no way detuned for the Mk IV on its introduction. Yes, the Mk IV was not as fast as the Mk III, but this was due to higher gearing and weight increase more than anything else. Although the Mk IV was quoted as producing only 63 bhp as opposed to 75bhp for the Mk III, it was just that the output was now measured using the German DIN system. However In 1972 the engine was detuned to comply with United States emission regulations. Other mechanical changes to the Mk IV Spitfire were an all synchromesh gearbox and much improved rear suspension. The Mk IV Spitfire was finally replaced with what was to be the last incarnation of the Spitfire - the Spitfire 1500 - in 1974, which continued in production with effectively only minor changes until 1980.

Triumph Spitfire- A Brief History Part 1

A Brief Overview Of Triumph Spitfire Classic Cars

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Triumph Spitfire Cars - A Brief History Part 1

Triumph Spitfire Cars - A Brief History

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Triumph had not failed to notice the success of the Austin Healey Sprite, and wanted a small sports car of their own to capture a share of this market. The result was the Triumph Spitfire introduced in 1962. It was an eye-catching two-seater sports car based on a modified Triumph Herald chassis with most of its mechanical components also coming from the Herald. The renowned Italian designer Michelotti had been instrumental in styling the Spitfires sleek bodywork.

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The first Spitfire to go on sale was powered by the 1147cc Herald engine which had received twin SU carburettors, improved camshaft and had a higher 9:1 compression ratio than that of the Herald saloon. It was badged as the Spitfire 4 with the Spitfire name being taken from the famous WW2 fighter plane, and the ”4” referring to the number of cylinders. This model is now often referred to as the Mk 1. Available options on this (and many of the later models) included an overdrive gearbox, steel hardtop and centre lock wire wheels.

A Brief Overview Of Triumph Spitfire Classic Cars

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