T is for Sprint....
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2003 8:49 pm
This appears in the Torygraph Motoring section today:<br>
<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring">ww ... <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br>
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<br>
Car Gourmet's Dictionary<br>
(Filed: 15/03/2003) <br>
<br>
T is for Triumph Dolomite Sprint and TVR. Simon Arron continues the petrolhead's dictionary, originally devised and written by the late Russell Bulgin<br>
<br>
Triumph <br>
<br>
A somewhat inappropriate name for yet another British manufacturer consigned to the automotive graveyard by inept management methods.<br>
<br>
There used to be a number of facets to Triumph, which built its first car in 1923. As the company wobbled towards badge-engineered Honda oblivion it produced pretty and innovative cars that catered for everybody: the cheap-and-cheerful Herald and Toledo for district nurses and driving instructors, TR sports cars for hairy-chested enthusiasts, the elegant Stag for attention seekers. In between lay the Dolomite Sprint: beneath a familiar rear-drive Triumph shell (rendered less ordinary by extra splashes of chrome and a vinyl roof) lurked a 2.0-litre, 127bhp engine with 16 valves operated, unusually, by a single camshaft.<br>
<br>
Launched in June 1973, it was a practical, family saloon with performance to match rivals of more obvious pedigree, such as the Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV. It became a British Touring Car Championship winner and a thorn in the flanks of racing rivals.<br>
<br>
Car Gourmet asks you to doff your cap to the Dolomite Sprint - a giant of any motoring age, not just the 1970s.<br>
<br>
What to ask about the Triumph Dolomite Sprint: "They made 22,941 of the things. Where can I still find one?"<br>
<br>
Its modern legacy: The six-speed gearbox - fashionable now, but the Dolomite Sprint had one 30 years ago.<br>
<br>
<p></p><i></i>
<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring">ww ... <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br>
<br>
<br>
Car Gourmet's Dictionary<br>
(Filed: 15/03/2003) <br>
<br>
T is for Triumph Dolomite Sprint and TVR. Simon Arron continues the petrolhead's dictionary, originally devised and written by the late Russell Bulgin<br>
<br>
Triumph <br>
<br>
A somewhat inappropriate name for yet another British manufacturer consigned to the automotive graveyard by inept management methods.<br>
<br>
There used to be a number of facets to Triumph, which built its first car in 1923. As the company wobbled towards badge-engineered Honda oblivion it produced pretty and innovative cars that catered for everybody: the cheap-and-cheerful Herald and Toledo for district nurses and driving instructors, TR sports cars for hairy-chested enthusiasts, the elegant Stag for attention seekers. In between lay the Dolomite Sprint: beneath a familiar rear-drive Triumph shell (rendered less ordinary by extra splashes of chrome and a vinyl roof) lurked a 2.0-litre, 127bhp engine with 16 valves operated, unusually, by a single camshaft.<br>
<br>
Launched in June 1973, it was a practical, family saloon with performance to match rivals of more obvious pedigree, such as the Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV. It became a British Touring Car Championship winner and a thorn in the flanks of racing rivals.<br>
<br>
Car Gourmet asks you to doff your cap to the Dolomite Sprint - a giant of any motoring age, not just the 1970s.<br>
<br>
What to ask about the Triumph Dolomite Sprint: "They made 22,941 of the things. Where can I still find one?"<br>
<br>
Its modern legacy: The six-speed gearbox - fashionable now, but the Dolomite Sprint had one 30 years ago.<br>
<br>
<p></p><i></i>