6 1938 Triumph Speed Twin

It wasn’t the first overhead valve parallel twin, but the 500cc Triumph designed by Edward Turner became a concept that was copied by almost every other major British manufacturer. When it appeared at the 1938 Earls Court Show, resplendent in Amaranth Red, the Speed Twin caused a sensation, as did the more sporty Tiger 100 which followed a year later. The new twin was so compact that it fitted straight into the single-downtube frame used on the existing Tiger 90 single. The same basic design, subsequently enlarged to 650cc and much later to 750cc formed the basis for the Triumph range for decades and made Turner a very rich and influential man. n