Monday, 9 April 2012

Dreaming of a new Triumph?

This was the last Triumph 2000 series off the line; a 1977 2500S estate
As far as British car marques of yesteryear are concerned, Triumph has to be one of my favourites. Many were sporty, plenty were good looking, (having been styled by Michelotti) and most were pretty cool.
Favourites of mine? They'd have to include the six-cylinder Herald Vitesse, the Stag, TR6 and Dolomite Sprint. I even have fond memories of Triumph's last car; the Acclaim. Although effectively a Honda and not in any way sporty, I remember being taken out in one owned by my grandparents.
It's well known that Triumph suffered from reliability issues and inner-house rivalry as part of the British Leyland empire. Like many BL brands, Triumph suffered as a result. Funnily enough, the Acclaim was actually very reliable, even though it lacked the passion and character that a lot of the brand's earlier models had in spades. The last Triumph rolled off the Cowley production lines in 1984.
BMW currently own the rights to the Triumph marque. The Bavarian manufacturer acquired the name at the same time it bought the Rover Group from British Aerospace in 1994.
It came to light in 2012 that BMW had rather quietly applied for a European trademark in order to use Triumph's laurel wreath badge. It's still unclear as to what BMW's plans were for taking this action. There were rumours that BMW were thinking of introducing a slightly cheaper and lower powered range of sports cars based on BMW underpinnings.

Triumph TR6
Of course, BMW applying for a trademark doesn't necessarily mean producing a new Triumph was a serious consideration. They could have merely been protecting their ownership of the brand or maybe were just considering selling some branded Triumph accessories. It's an interesting thought though...
Certainly Triumph has a lot of brand kudos. Triumph sports cars, (in particular the TR series) were very well received and sold healthily in the US as well as Britain. The allure of owning a modern day Triumph roadster which offers simple and rewarding driving thrills maybe hard for many to resist, myself included...
Would anyone out there like to see a modern day Triumph? If so, what model would you most like to see reinterpreted?...

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