The
Triumph Vitesse is a compact six cylinder car built by
Standard-TriumphThe Triumph Motor Company is a defunct British motor manufacturer. The Triumph marque is currently owned by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann and Moritz Schulte from Germany founded Bettmann & Co and started selling Triumph bicycles from premises in London and from...
from 1962 to 1971. The car was styled by Michelotti, and was available in saloon and convertible variants.
The Vitesse name had previously been used by Triumph on a car made between 1937 and 1938.
Vitesse 6
The Triumph Vitesse was introduced on 25 May 1962, re-using a name previously used by the pre-
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Triumph company from 1936-38, and was an in-line 6-cylinder performance version of the
Triumph HeraldThe Triumph Herald was a small two-door car introduced in 1959 by the Standard-Triumph Company of Coventry. Body design was by the Italian stylist Michelotti, and the car was offered in saloon, convertible, coupé, van and estate variants....
small saloon. The Herald had been introduced on 22 April 1959 and was an attractive 2-door car styled by the
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
designer Giovanni Michelotti. By the early 1960s, however, Triumph began to give thought to a sports saloon based on the Herald and using their 6-cylinder engine. Michelotti was again approached for styling, and he came up with a car that used almost all body panels from the Herald, combined with a new front end with a slanted "Chinese Eye" 4-headlamp design.
Standard-Triumph fitted a 1596 cc version of their traditional
straight-6The straight-six engine or inline-six engine is a six cylinder internal combustion engine with all six cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft...
derived from the engine used in the Standard Vanguard Six, but with a smaller bore diameter of , compared with the bore on the Vanguard, equipped with twin
SolexSolex was a French manufacturer of carburetors and the powered bicycle VéloSoleX.The Solex company was founded by Marcel Mennesson and Maurice Goudard to manufacture vehicle radiators...
B32PIH semi-downdraught carburettor These were soon replaced by B321H carburettors, as the accelerator pumps proved a problem The curious observer will notice a "seam" on the cylinder block between the third & fourth cylinders revealing the humble design beginnings from the 803 cc Standard 8 block of 1953. The
gearboxA manual transmission, or manual gearbox is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
was strengthened and offered with optional Laycock De Normanville 'D-type'
overdriveOverdrive can refer to two different things.An overdrive is a device which was commonly used in automobiles to allow the choice of an extra-high overall gear ratio for high speed cruising, thus saving fuel, at the cost of less torque. Usually the final or top gear is called overdrive...
. Front disc brakes were standard as were larger rear brake drums, and the Herald fuel tank was enlarged, retaining the handy reserve tap of the smaller Herald tank. The front suspension featured uprated springs to cope with the extra weight of the new engine, but the rear suspension was basically standard Herald—a
swing-axleA swing axle is a simple type of independent suspension first used in early aircraft , such as the Sopwith and Fokker, usually with rubber bungee and no damping....
transverse-leaf system which quickly proved inadequate for the relatively powerful Vitesse. The chassis was basically the same as the Herald, and the Vitesse was available in
convertibleA convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle. Many different automobile body styles are manufactured and marketed in convertible form....
and saloon forms; a
coupéA coupé or coupe is a closed car body style, the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
never got beyond the prototype stage.
A handful of Vitesse
estateA station wagon is a passenger automobile with a body style similar to a sedan, or saloon, but with the roofline following the full, sometimes extended rear cargo area and sometimes an extra row of sometimes rear-facing seats, ending with a more vertical door than on a hatchback.Also sometimes...
s also were assembled to special order at Standard-Triumph's Service Depot at Park Royal in West
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.
The interior was much improved over the Herald; wooden door cappings were added to match the wooden dashboard and the car featured better seats and door trims. Optional extras included a vinyl/fabric, (Webasto),
sunroofAn automotive sunroof is a fixed or operable opening in an automobile roof which allows light and/or fresh air to enter the passenger compartment. Sunroofs may be manually operated or motor driven, and are available in many shapes, sizes and styles...
on saloon models. Exterior trim was also improved with stainless steel side trim and anodised alloy bumper cappings (replacing the white rubber Herald design). The prospective buyer of a classic Vitesse will do well to check that the side flashes are full-length and continue around the radiator grille.
A year or so after the car's launch, the Vitesse received its first facelift; the dashboard was revised with a full range of instruments instead of the large single dial from the Herald, and from September 1965, at commission number HB27986, the twin Solex carburettors were replaced by twin Zenith-
StrombergStromberg is the name of:*Lyndon Stromberg- US sculptor and designer known for his monumental sculptures in bronze, GFRC, fiberglass and composites. Strombergs works are found in the White House, Caesars Palace, Atlantis Resort, Smithsonian Institution, Texas State Capital, etc...
CD 150carburettors. Power output increased
from the original at 5,000 rpm & torque of , enough to provide a useful performance boost and making the car a much more flexible performer. There was a claimed, although somewhat optimistic increase of 13-14 bhp, and the motoring magazine tested top speed rose to , with the 0-80 mph (0-128 km/h) time decreasing from 46.6 seconds to just 33.6 seconds.
The Vitesse 6 sold extremely well for Triumph, and was by some way the most popular Vitesse sold during the model's lifetime. The car was well liked for its performance and reasonable fuel economy, as well as the well appointed interior. The Vitesse had few rivals for the price: able to perform as well as many sports cars, (it was advertised by Triumph as "The Two Seater Beater"), but with room for a family. The convertible in particular was virtually unique in the marketplace and another genuine 4-seater sporting convertible would not reappear from a British manufacturer until the
Triumph StagThe Triumph Stag is a British car that was sold between 1970 and 1978 by the Triumph Motor Company styled by the Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti.-Design and styling:...
several years further down the line.
Sports 6
The Vitesse 6 convertible was exported to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as the left-hand drive Triumph Sports 6, from 1962-1964, and was marketed as a "limited edition car", but due to its retail price only 679 were sold in the U.S. before it was withdrawn.
The Sports 6 was perhaps better suited to American highways than was the Herald, but it faced stiff price competition from cars such as Ford's new Mustang. The Vitesse Saloon was not officially imported to the U.S., although a few do come up as P.E.D. (Personal Export Delivery), cars usually imported by American service personnel. Original U.S. price (POE East Coast) was $2499 for the Sports 6 Convertible.
Vitesse 2-Litre
In 1966 Triumph upgraded the engine to 1998 cc, in line with the new
Triumph GT6The GT6 was a 6-cylinder sports coupé built by Standard-Triumph and based on their popular Triumph Spitfire convertible. Production ran from 1966 to 1973.- Development history :...
coupé, and relaunched the car as the
Vitesse 2-Litre. Power was increased to , endowing the new car with a 0–60 mph time of around 13 s. The performance increase was welcome, but it highlighted the deficiencies of the rear suspension, also noted on the new
GT6The GT6 was a 6-cylinder sports coupé built by Standard-Triumph and based on their popular Triumph Spitfire convertible. Production ran from 1966 to 1973.- Development history :...
and the
SpitfireThe Triumph Spitfire was a small British two-seat sports car, introduced in 1962. The vehicle was based on a design produced for Standard-Triumph in 1957 by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti. The codename for the vehicle was the "Bomb"...
. There were detail modifications for the
2-litre, including a stronger gearbox and uprated brakes, and an oblong 'VITESSE' badge on the aluminium cowling above the reversing light.
Vitesse Mark 2
The
Vitesse Mark 2 was launched in 1968 as the final update to the Vitesse range. Essentially intended to be Triumph's answer to growing criticism of the rear suspension, the Mark 2 was fitted with a completely redesigned layout using Rotoflex rear couplings. This system, also shared with the new
GT6 MKII, (GT6+ in the U.S. market), tamed the wayward handling for good and endowed the Vitesse with firm, progressive roadholding.
There were other improvements: the engine was tweaked once more to provide , cutting the 0–60 time to just over 11 s and providing a top speed easily in excess of . The exterior featured a new grille,
Rostyle wheelRostyle wheels are a notable design of wheels for cars made by the British firm of Rubery Owen, a diversified industrial company which made many car parts. The wheels had an unusual pressed steel form to imitate the few ribs of mag wheels at the time, but were painted black and aluminium...
trims and silver painted steel rear panel, (described by Triumph as 'ceramic' and the interior was upgraded once more in order to share parts with the new
Herald 13/60. A new colour range was offered for the Mark 2 models.
The aluminium cowling above the reversing light remained, but no longer had a 'VITESSE' badge on it. The separate chromed TRIUMPH letters on the bonnet and the boot lid were also deleted.
This was the ultimate Vitesse, a saloon or convertible with performance easily superior to an
MGBThe abbreviation MGB may refer to:* MG MGB, a sports car produced by the British Motor Corporation and its successors in the 1960s and 1970s and early 80's.* The Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn, a railroad operating in the Swiss Alps....
or
Sunbeam AlpineThe Sunbeam Alpine is a sporty two seat open car or coupé from Rootes Group's Sunbeam car marque.The original was launched in 1953 as the first vehicle to bear the Sunbeam name alone since the 1920 merger of Sunbeam, Talbot, and Darracq....
sports car but with four proper seats and a large boot. The Vitesse sold well until its withdrawal in July 1971, a year before the new
Triumph DolomiteThe Triumph Dolomite was a popular small saloon car made by the Triumph Motor Company division of the British Leyland Corporation in Canley, Coventry in the 1970s and 1980s.-History:...
saloon entered the performance luxury sector for Triumph, and two years before the Dolomite Sprint variant added another high-performance sports saloon to the range. Although the Vitesse was an older model, it proved to be more reliable than its replacement.
Production figures
- Vitesse 6 (1600): 31,261
- saloon: 22,814
- convertible: 8,447, includes 679 Sports 6 (USA)
- Vitesse 2-Litre: 10,830
- saloon: 7,328
- convertible: 3,502
- Vitesse Mark 2: 9,121
- saloon: 5,649
- convertible: 3,472
Racing
The Vitesse competed in the Monte Carlo Rally in the early '60s and the Trans-Am in 1971.
The Vitesse today
Today, the Triumph Vitesse is much sought-after car by enthusiasts; parts supply is excellent, and the cars have a reputation for near bullet-proof mechanics. The Vitesse 6—especially the early Solex-carburettored version—has been somewhat forgotten, and these cars are now becoming scarce. Most popular are the Mark 2 cars for their power and handling, and convertibles in particular continue to be in high demand. Survival rate of the Mark 2, especially the convertible, is surprisingly high and could help explain the relatively low number of older, especially Vitesse 6 saloons, remaining. These lower powered cars have tended to be broken for spares to keep the 2-Litres & Mark 2s on the road. Club support is excellent, and the Vitesse represents a practical and desirable performance 4-seater.