TRIUMPH CARS: 100 Years, beautiful nostalgia for a bygone way of motoring

TRIUMPH CARS: 100 Years
ROSS ALKUREISHI
Motorbooks International
$60.00 hardcover, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Triumph Cars is a comprehensive, gorgeously illustrated history of the Triumph sports cars sought by today’s collectors and admired by automotive enthusiasts.

Experience the entire history of Triumph sports cars in this comprehensive volume featuring stunning studio photography, rare archival images, and period advertising.

Triumph Cars chronicles the company and its remarkable vehicles, from the first 10/20 through a string of automobiles sought after by collectors, from the early Supers and Glorias through the entire TR and Spitfire ranges, and on to the legendary GT6 and the latter-day 1300, 1500, and Dolomite sedans—filled with images, history, and in-depth analyses of players, tech, and styling.

With roots extending to a London bicycle importer established in 1885, Triumph built its first car in 1923: the Triumph 10/20. By 1930, the Triumph Cycle Co. had become Triumph Motor Company and was on its way to establishing seven decades of automotive heritage.

Author Ross Alkureishi showcases how company visionaries developed the brand—and how the brand changed hands—in the trying economic times of the 1930s and during the war years. The Standard years beginning in 1944 are also examined, along with associations with Jaguar and the range of roadsters and saloons developed, arguably peaking with the introduction of the TR2 sports car in 1953.

Alkureishi proceeds through the stylish 1950s cars and on to the Leyland years beginning in 1960, and associated engine and styling developments. The story ends with the last Triumph model, the Acclaim introduced in 1981, and the marque’s subsequent mothballing. Along the way, Alkureishi also highlights Triumph motorsport exploits, particularly in the realm of rally cars.

From the 1923 steel-paneled 10/20 through a range of roadsters, saloons, and sports cars, Triumph Cars offers a definitive review of an iconic British marque. The book is illustrated with hundreds of historic, contemporary, and racing photographs, as well as detailed text. This is the one volume no sports car enthusiast can be without.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: When I was a kid in Austin of the 1970s, my friend Mike's much-older sister had a Triumph Spitfire that, a couple times, she let him drive me around in...what heaven that was! A little zippy car in the hilly, fun-to-drive city! It was hot, of course, being Texas and a roadster without air conditioning, but such was the price for being able to whip around the Cadillacs and F150s the choked the roads then—and now, I'll bet.

It was the same color as this one, even!

What makes Triumph an interesting make of car to learn about is the extent of its history in the UK car market, the sporting niche it occupied for much of its existence, its racing legacy...but here in the US, it was one of the British Invasion little, nimble, fun-to-drive cars that came along with the Beatles.

I loved revisiting the Spitfire, and the TR6 that one of the guys I dated in the 1980s had:

...but I also learned about the motorsports heritage of the marque:

...that was largely unknown to me. The Triumph nameplate is, as of now, not applied to any modern cars. BMW owns it, so if it is revived we can expect the product wearing it to be a badge-engineered sporty BMW. Given how well BMW has done with its ownership of the Mini marque, they'll only use Triumph if there's some pressing advantage to doing so. Maybe we'll see some electric cars that look like the older models of Triumph's past!

It could happen....

A great Yule-gifting treat for your gearhead!