Introduction

Welcome to our whistle stop tour of post-war Triumphs, as we select six models and offer our thoughts on buying, running, maintaining, upgrading and driving them.

Every single classic car has its fans and devotees, but some marques are true titans of the classic car scene with a huge following around the world and entire industries built around servicing their needs. Into this category fall many cars from the likes of Jaguar, Ford, VW, Triumph, MG, Porsche, Ferrari, Citroën and more. Among such illustrious company, Triumph is arguably unique in that it has maintained this pre- eminent position even though the last car bearing its name was built in 1984.

In some ways this enduring popularity reflects the sheer number of stylish and desirable models the company produced, often a cut above the competition in price as well as in fit and finish – Triumphs were invariably aspirational cars rather than mundane. As a result we have had to be slightly selective for this feature, choosing just six models from the Triumph back catalogue to showcase. But those six offer something for everyone, ranging as they do from small to large and encompassing sports cars, saloons, convertibles, estates and grand tourers.

Clearly we cannot cover every detail of every car in the space available, but for each one we have tried to give a flavour of the ownership experience from buying to fixing and from running costs to the driving experience. If one of them tickles your fancy, then there are clubs and specialists for them all who will be happy to feed your enthusiasm and further your knowledge, not to mention books to fill in any gaps in your new-found knowledge. Hopefully though, this feature will be a springboard into the world of Triumph ownership.

A Note On Running Costs

It is interesting to note that while the various models in this feature are available at very different price points, the running costs do not vary by nearly as much. Take insurance, for example. We got quotes from Lancaster Insurance which started at a modest £79.08 for the Spitfire, Herald, Dolomite and 2000, rising by just £1.40 to £80.48 for the Stag and TR6! (All based on a 45-year old with a second vehicle living in an SP2 postcode in Salisbury who has no claims or convictions, is a club member, and is employed as a marketing manager.

The Triumph is garaged and covers 3000 miles a year. Do remember, however, that policy benefits, features and discounts offered may vary between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria.)

We also put together a sample basket of mechanical parts for each model, and again their costs did not vary by as much as the cars’ purchase prices. Take out the cost of a full engine rebuild and there was even less between them. Using prices from Robsport unless otherwise indicated, this basket of parts worked out as detailed on the facing page. There are also some running costs included over the following pages for each model. These cover servicing costs (which again do not vary by much), and estimated fuel costs for a year of motoring based on a petrol cost of 115.9 pence per litre. The message that came through loud and clear from this was that if you can afford the purchase price and if you buy wisely, then you should be able to run and enjoy any Triumph on a reasonable budget. So read on, start dreaming – then set about turning that dream into reality.