Triumph Spitfire Review

Overall Rating

The Triumph Spitfire has great looks,I think the petrol is cheap, and I feel is an underrated classic so it was a low purchase price.

rust In my experience, the Triumph Spitfire is very low to the ground.

In my experience, the triumph spitfire is one of the more overlooked classics on the market today. Now this car, along with the herald, vitesse and gt6 is perhaps the easiest ever made to work on with the whole bonnet and front wings lifting off to give unbelievable access to the engine and radiator. However the spitfire and the gt6 differ from the herald and vitesse in a few key areas. The first is that the herald and vitesse have a full chassis with outriggers under the sills. This gives the car strength but also a high ride, acceptable in a saloon. For the sports car's triumph deleted the outriggers, retaining the centre section of the chassis as well as making the sill structurally integral to the car wheras on the herald they are just thin decorative pieces of steel. The other places to check for rust are the chassis, wheel arches, floor pans, windscreen surround and rear valance. In my experience these cars have little drainage and less rustproofing so they will rust unless stored in a dry rainproof shelter. Another key difference is the rear suspension. The mk 1,2,3, spitfires and mk1,2 gt6's and vitesse's have a swing link suspension that is liable to very poor lift of over steer in the corners, especially in the wet. Therefore it is prudent to remember that although the mk3 spitfire and mk2 gt6 look identical one has very different handling to the rest. A device called a camber combensator can be fitted to help alleviate the situation. On mkIV and 1500 spitfires the handling is fine, if a little numb.

However that long list of negatives is rather depressing. In no way is a spitfire a bad car and in contemporary road tests almost always beat the midget, especially in the later versions. Also remember if you buy a mk1,2,3 then they wont have synchromesh on first but in practice it makes little difference. The engines on these cars are reliable if well cared for and should have no reservations about buying a 100,000 miles plus car if it appears ok. Only the stroked out 1500 engines were a little brittle but as they are the latter cars they have survived better.

The spitfire is a great little classic that looks the part, makes a fantastic noise and makes you feel like your going much faster than you are. Its so easy to work on, its a great starter classic and it would be hard to buy an mgb over one.