The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

The Number One Club for owners of Triumph's range of small saloons from the 1960s and 1970s.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 1:50 pm 
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Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 3:35 pm
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Location: St Annes on Sea, Lancs.
On this issue, which I raised, perhaps off topic, in another thread: Who thinks, given BL produced almost exactly the 5000 cars in 1973 that were needed for its homologation as a Group 1 production saloon on 1 Jan. 1974, that the BTCC becoming open to Group 1 cars is peripheral to the reasons the Sprint was developed? And who, like me, suspects it was a significant part of those reasons?

Yes, this is just history, and therefore irrelevant. But I think history can be interesting in its own right - even given the one thing we learn from history.

And I know BL did keep making a few more Sprints than the FIA would have required to maintain its homologation. But it never reached 5000 per year again, and I assume it was only as a flagship model in the Dolomite range to cash-in on it's successes in competition. It may also be related to the intention to use the cost reduced slant-4 version of the Sprint engine with EFI in the US version of the SD2, which should have had some effect on maintaining engine production capacity; though that all got canned at the end of 1975 - well, sort of continued into early 1976 as half of TM1, but that seems to have been mostly a paper study - when BLMC went bankrupt and Don Ryder's NDC stepped in with a plan for a £3 billion government rescue that demanded big changes to the model and engine ranges and development plans - even they couldn't stop SD1 though.

It was, of course, conjecture on my part that BL knew in advance that they wouldn't be competing in the BTCC with the BDG engined (1975 cc, nominally 275 bhp, from 1973-4 on) RS1800. But it seems unlikely to me that they would not have known Ford/Cosworth weren't looking for Group 1 homologation for it - the issue of eligibility for outright victories rather than just class wins may be part of Ford's motives in that.

Graham

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The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.

Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).


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