Triumph Spitfire

Triumph Spitfire
Triumph Spitfire 1500 (European market)
Overview
Manufacturer	Standard Motor Company[1] Triumph Motor Company (Leyland Motors)
Production	1962–1980
Assembly	Canley, Coventry, England Mechelen, Belgium[2] Durban, South Africa Cape Town, South Africa [3] Australia[4]
Designer	Giovanni Michelotti
Body and chassis
Class	Sports car
Body style	2-seat drophead coupé
Layout	FR layout
Related	Triumph Herald, Triumph Vitesse, Triumph GT6
Dimensions
Wheelbase	83 in (2,108 mm)
Length	145 in (3,683 mm)
Width	57 in (1,448 mm)
Height	48 in (1,219 mm) hood up.
Kerb weight	1,568 to 1,759 lb (711 to 798 kg) (unladen U.K.spec)

The Triumph Spitfire is a British sports car manufactured over five production iterations between 1962 and 1980. Styled for Standard-Triumph in 1957 by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti, the Spitfire was introduced at the London Motor Show in 1962.^[5] It was manufactured at the Standard-Triumph Canley works, with approximately 315,000 produced over 18 years.^[6]

Developed on a shortened variant of the Triumph Herald saloon's chassis, the Spitfire shared the Herald's running gear and Standard SC engine. The design used body-on-frame construction, augmented by structural components within the bodywork and rear trailing arms attached to the body rather than the chassis. A manually deployable convertible top, substantially improved on later models, provided weather protection and a bespoke hard-top was available as a factory option.

The model was named after the famed Supermarine Spitfire fighter plane of World War II.^[7]