Buying Guide
Triumph Dolomite
The 1960s British motor industry wasn’t averse to a bit of confusion, and the Triumph range that spawned the Dolomite certainly wasn’t entirely straightforward. It began with ‘Project Ajax’ – the front-wheel drive 1300 – in 1965. That range grew to encompass bigger engines, the Toledo saloon, and with a change to rear-wheel drive along the way, before morphing into the Dolomite that made its debut at the 1971 London Motor Show.
Production got into full swing the following year and it arrived with an
1850cc twin-carb slant-four, shared with Saab. Spacious, comfortable, and with an upmarket interior, it also handled well – despite using a live rear axle – and was good for 100mph. Equipped with a manual gearbox and overdrive, it represented good value as a mildly-sporting saloon, and while the automatic gearbox sapped a bit of power, it didn’t spoil the broadly enjoyable character.
The Sprint grabbed the most attention, though; launched in 1973 with a 127bhp 2.0-litre 16-valve engine, it was genuinely quick and is rightly sought-after today. As a way of blending family duties with B-road entertainment it’s very tempting, and considerable success in touring car racing did its blossoming image no harm either.
The rest of the Dolomite range wasn’t ignored, growing to include 1300 and 1500 engines and in 1979 the 1500 SE was something of a last hurrah for the model – black paintwork, a Sprint front spoiler and a plush interior marked it out.
The sensible saloon would last until 1980, by which time money was tight and sales were on the slide, and its replacement would arrive a year later in the form of the Hondabased Triumph Acclaim. With affordable prices and excellent club and specialist support, the Triumph Dolomite thoroughly deserves a look.
‘It used a live rear axle, but handled well and was good for 100mph’