Triumph Spitfires are set to take off

Triumph Spitfire Mkis and MKIIS are becoming hot. Like MGBS and Midgets, Triumph’s affordable sports car is catching the imagination of a new demographic. Easy and undemanding with those comely Michelotti curves and snug cabins they’ve moved up in value over the last couple of years and look a safe bet for the future. Especially when you can buy really pukka examples like the white ’66 sold by Historics in April for £19,244.

That might sound a lot for a MKII Spitfire (and it is compared to previous hammer prices) but this was a lovely unmolested 35,000 miler that needed nothing. To recreate a similar condition Spitfire from scratch would’ve taken many months and cost many thousands more. And then it still wouldn’t boast that lovely low mileage. Even at the very top of the Spitfire price curve, this one was good value.

There’s a clear premium on the MKI/

IIS over the later MKIIIS and 1500s, which run to £5k-£10k for decent examples. In 2019 Mathewsons sold a red ’66 with ‘the most fabulous restoration’ for £13,975 and in 2020 Historics sold another white ’66, again fastidiously restored, with 79,000 miles for £17,920, so prices for exceptional examples have been gently creeping up. A private seller in Cheshire has a stunning red ’68 with a warranted 38,000 miles from new that’s enjoyed a professional ‘nut-and-bolt rebuild’ for £17,999. Like the MGB roadster I highlighted last month, prices of the cute early Spitfire are being bouyed by restoration inflation as buyers realise that £17k is actually great value for what is effectively a brand new, fully sorted and totally restored example. And one that might even continue gently rising in value. Look out for perfect early Spitfires because they’re going places.