Читать книгу The Illustrated History of Triumph Sports and Racing Cars - G. William Krause - Страница 9

CHAPTER 1

Triumph’s first motorized vehicle was created in 1902 when a 2¼-hp Minerva engine from Belgium was fitted into a reinforced bicycle frame. Siegfried Bettmann also experimented with a variety of power units before creating his own 5-hp units in 1905. Throughout the early part of the century, Triumph motorcycles looked similar to this 1909 version. The bicycle origins are clearly evident with the pedal chain drive and the belt drive. Triumph was known for quality and excellence, which can be seen in all of the controls, fittings, and fuel lines. (Photo Courtesy Geert Versleyen/Yesterdays Antique Motorcycles)

Triumph’s automotive history does not begin with a car or even a pre-turn-of-the-century cycle car. In fact Triumph’s genealogy did not even start with a motorized vehicle. The first automobile came about late in the company’s timeline, some 38 years after the company’s founding. But the pre-history of the car deserves some attention because of its evolution and the equally famous cycle company of the same name. Yes, they are related.

The birth of the marque dates back to the 19th Century and a transplanted German living in London. Siegfried Bettmann started his no-name bicycle business in London in 1885. A few years later, he moved his facility 100 miles northwest of the city to Coventry. It is doubtful that Bettmann foresaw Coventry as the home to as many as 20 different carmakers 50 years down the road.

In the 1890s, all sorts of experimentation was being conducted about how a person could travel faster than on foot. Bicycles were the newest and most popular form of travel and the bicycle business was therefore booming. Bettmann’s brand-less bikes were enjoying brisk sales both domestically and internationally. Bettmann knew that he needed a name that would translate all over the world to ensure success so he chose the name Triumph. And thus the marque was born.

The company continued to prosper until the turn of the century when the market became saturated and the frenzied popularity of bicycles had begun to wane. Bettmann was looking for an innovation to keep his Triumph company going. He only needed to look as far as his closest competitors.

TRIUMPH’S FIRST MOTORIZED VEHICLE

At that time, most of Bettmann’s competitors were experimenting with mounting small internal combustion engines on their bicycles. Adding an engine to a Triumph was as inevitable as it was natural.

In 1902, a Belgian Minerva 2.25-hp engine was fitted to a reinforced Triumph bicycle frame. This experimental unit was effectively the first Triumph motorcycle. The little Minerva was successful at propelling the bicycle, but Bettmann had plenty of other engines to test, including the locally sourced J. A. Prestwich (known today as JAP) 3-bhp units. A good engineer is always looking for more power.

After years of experimenting with JAP and a variety of other off-the-shelf engines, Triumph finally developed its own 3-hp powerplant in 1905. The new 300-cc, side-valve engines were capable of cruising at a very respectable 30 mph and sold for a not insignificant £45. It was a reasonable price for the day but edged toward expensive. This was when things really began to take off for Triumph. In 1906, the company produced slightly more than 550 motorcycles; by 1909, the company was producing 3,000 motorcycles annually.

STANDARD MOTOR COMPANY IS BORN

As the new Triumph motorcycles were enjoying this early success, it is important to note some of the other names and developments in Coventry at the time. In early 1903, Reginald Maudslay founded the Standard Motor Company; he was hard at work on his first car, the Victoria. Maudslay began the company with the idea that all parts for all cars would be interchangeable, hence the sensible name “Standard.” Rapid growth and heavy competition caused this charter to be dropped, but the cars continued to be built under the Standard name. Just as the first motorcycles were motorized bicycles, the first cars were essentially motorized horse carriages. Standards were available as either open or closed models.

Standard’s engineering reputation grew quickly and by 1906 it had joined the ranks of Rolls-Royce and Napier as the only manufacturers producing a 6-cylinder engine. The 1910 line of Standard coupes and saloons was considered as elegant and fashionable as the higher-ranking competition from Rolls-Royce and others.

Like Maudslay, Bettmann had also built a reputation for high quality and craftsmanship, thanks to his Triumph motorcycles. The adoring public called the motorcycles “frisky” because of their performance. Bettmann also enjoyed great personal prosperity and popularity in that period; he was elected mayor of Coventry, an odd office to be held by a German, especially in 1913. However, more important to his story is his first involvement with automobiles, which began a year earlier.

In 1912, Maudslay needed cash to buy out his partner and keep the Standard Motor Company running. Bettmann was among those offering capital. From 1912 until the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Bettmann was Chairman of the Standard Motor Company while also maintaining his leadership role at Triumph.

The war helped to further cement Triumph’s reputation for quality and reliability. Approximately 30,000 of the 550-cc motorcycles were shipped to France during the war and by the end of hostilities, the military referred to them as “Trusty Triumphs.” By 1920, Bettmann’s motorcycles were the most popular motorbikes in Great Britain.

By this point, nearly all of Triumph’s two-wheeled competitors had begun experimenting with four wheels. William Morris, also of Coventry, began building bicycles and motorcycles in 1901. By 1912, he had introduced his first car, the Morris Oxford. In 1914, the Morris Chummy debuted; it was very well received with good reviews and brisk sales. Others, including Austin, Singer, Standard, and Crosley, had evolved in a similar manner and were riding the wave of these popular new little, or “light” cars, as they were known.

TRIUMPH’S FIRST CAR

Bettmann had no choice but to follow suit. In 1921, Triumph acquired the Dawson Car Company and announced plans to produce the first Triumph automobile. Because this development was fully expected and anticipated, the announcement went virtually unnoticed by the newspapers or public. It was only a matter of when the car would be announced.

Finally, in 1923, Triumph debuted its first car called the 10/20, which was named for its Royal Automobile Club (RAC) horsepower rating of 10 and its actual horsepower of 20. The 102-inch wheelbase was nearly 20 inches longer than the other “light” cars of 1916 but was right in line with its postwar contemporaries. It was powered by a 1,393-cc 4-cylinder side-valve engine capable of 45 mph. Three body styles were available: two-seat and four-seat standard bodies and a four-seat Weymann sedan. Each was set on a typical box frame with semi-elliptic leaf springs placed longitudinally front and rear. The 10/20 stood on 21-inch tires mounted on 10-spoke steel rims that were just 3⅕ inches wide.

Triumph debuted its first four-wheeled vehicle in 1923. The model 10/20 was named for its Royal Automobile Club (RAC) horsepower rating of 10 and actual horsepower output of 20. The 1,393-cc 4-cylinder engine was capable of propeling the car to a top speed of 45 mph. Brakes were fitted to the rear wheels only. The high quality of fit and finish set the Triumph cars apart from the others of the day. (Photo Courtesy British Motor Industry Heritage Trust)

Triumph did not set any design trends with the first car; most cars of the period looked very similar. The difference was in the final product. All of the cars were finished to the same high-quality standards as its motorcycles and aimed at the upmarket consumer who would be attracted to a car that was a level above Morris and Austin. As with the motorcycles, the cars had brakes on the rear wheels only.

The two- and four-seat bodies were priced at £430 and the Weymann body was priced at £460, which was twice that of the Morris and Austin cars. The Standard Nine models were priced at £250.

Despite rave reviews for the new Triumph cars, sales were sluggish.

In 1928, Triumph introduced the 13/30 and, one year later, its successor, the 15. Each model was larger than its predecessor in every way. The wheelbase had grown to 112 inches, the engine to 2 liters, and speeds to 55 mph. Triumph’s same high standards of quality prevailed, and that drove the price up to £500. However, the cars received even less notice than the original 10/20. These cars’ only claim to fame was that their hydraulic brakes were fitted to all four wheels while other cars still had two-wheel braking. Fortunately, Triumphs had at least caught on in Australia, and the motorcycles continued to sell well enough to keep the company afloat.

Meanwhile, across town at Standard, the co-founder of the Swallow Sidecar and Coachbuilding Company came calling. A young William Lyons was in the market for a chassis to fit his new car design. Lyons and partner William Walmsley had a successful business building stylish sidecars to bolt onto just about any type of motorcycle. Swallow had begun to dabble in automobiles two years earlier with its version of the Austin 7, called appropriately the Austin Seven Swallow.

Lyons, armed with a sketch penned by coachbuilder Cyril Holland, wanted to create a two-seat open car. He purchased the Standard Nine chassis, and in 1929, the Standard-Swallow debuted at £235.

The diminutive 1929 Austin Seven Swallow, with its narrow track and slightly cartoonish lines (by today’s standards), was designed by the up-and-coming William Lyons of the Swallow Sidecar Company. The car was the result of Lyons’ body design being mounted atop a purchased Standard Nine chassis. It was offered as a coupe and a roadster, the latter having a rather bulbous tail section. (Photo Courtesy Richard Spiegelman)

The dramatic and stylish 1933 Standard Swallow, which was later known as the SS1. In four short years, Lyons’ designs had graduated from spindly little cars for everyman to the big leagues of cars with remarkable style and performance. This coupe, known as a saloon, was powered by the Standard 6-cylinder engine that made 48 hp. (Photo Courtesy Gary Harmon)

As you would expect for a car with these looks on the outside, the interior of the SS1 was spacious and well appointed. It was a very large two-passenger car, as was the trend of the day. (Photo Courtesy Gary Harmon)

Maudslay’s new partner at Standard, John Black, recognized the importance of such a relationship and nurtured it along with other similar opportunities. Standard Motor Company supplied Lyons with engines and chassis to fit Swallow bodies.

Black was also instrumental in helping Lyons realize his dream of producing a distinctive new sports car. In 1933, Lyons introduced the sleek and stylish SS (formerly Standard-Swallow) sports car. This was a true roadster with its cut doors, boat tail rear, and rakish design; it looked as if it were built to go fast.

The immediate success of the new SS was the springboard from which Lyons created SS Cars Ltd. and eventually Jaguar. Of course, the Swallow name reverted to Triumph 20 years later.

As Lyons was getting started, Bettmann needed to react quickly to the slumping sales of his Triumph automobiles so he turned his attention to “light” cars. As with the pre-war cars, these were essentially identical to the current production cars but of a smaller scale, almost like shrunken kiddy cars for adults. However, Bettmann was determined to maintain the same high quality of his full-sized line.

The popular 1932 Super Nine four-door sedan. These smart-looking saloons exhibited Triumph’s reputation for quality fit and finish and, along with its performance, helped pave the way toward Triumph’s first official sports car: the Gloria Southern Cross. The most prominent feature of the car was the 1,018-cc 9-hp Coventry Climax i.o.e. (inlet over exhaust) engine. With the exhaust valves on the side, pushrod-actuated intake valves over the top, and fed by a Solex carburetor, the car could achieve a top speed of 50 mph. An uprated 1,122-cc version of the engine delivered 10 hp and an additional 15 mph in the Southern Cross. Triumph sourced engines from Coventry Climax from the end of the Great Depression until the late 1930s when the company began building its own engines. (Photo Courtesy Simon Goldsworthy/Triumph World)

In the fall of 1927, Triumph introduced “the last word in the smallest class,” the Super Seven. Whether it was premonition, foresight, or just plain luck on the part of Bettmann, it proved to be the car that established Triumph as a prominent auto manufacturer.

The new little car had a wheelbase of just 81 inches and a width of 51 inches but it had room for four adults. It was powered by a 21-hp 832-cc 4-cylinder capable of 48 mph. The ladder frame featured semi-elliptic springs at the front, shock absorbers at all four wheels, and Lockheed hydraulic brakes. The customer had a choice of 19-inch 10-spoke stamped steel wheels or the more-sporting wire wheels. A bare chassis could be purchased for just £113 and a completed car for only £149.

This pricing made the car popular among coachbuilders as well as the public. At £149, the Super Seven cost more than the very popular Austin Chummy (£135) and the Singer 8 (£140), but Triumph was able to promote its higher level of quality as well as advanced comfort and safety features.

By 1928, Triumph was offering the Super Seven in six body styles ranging in price from £149 to £200. The most expensive was a custom-bodied sedan complete with leather interior. Prominent coachbuilders shied away from little cars. However, the Triumphs were so versatile that revered names such as Morgan-Hastings created cars on the Seven chassis.

SUPER SEVEN AND DONALD HEALEY

Bettmann was only concerned with his cars’ successes on the showroom floor; he paid little attention to the fact that the Seven was also enjoying competition success. By winning countless speed and endurance challenges across Australia and in the United Kingdom, the little Triumphs were building a reputation as sports cars. Of particular note is the name of one of the most successful drivers, Donald Healey, who later joined the company as Experimental Manager in 1934.

The success of the Super Seven continued through 1932, when it moved upscale with nicer appointments and became the Super Eight. In 1932, the Super Nine was also introduced; it boasted a new Coventry Climax 1-liter engine capable of 60 mph. Triumph was one of a handful of car manufacturers to survive the Great Depression, during which scores had failed. Lacking funds to design and build a new 4-cylinder engine, it sourced powerplants from Coventry Climax, located just a mile down the road.

With this car Triumph formally recognized the sports car market with a new body design called Southern Cross. It was an open car featuring a fold-down windshield, wire wheels, and semi-cut-down doors. Under the narrow hood sat a bored-out version of the Climax engine. It was a bit awkward and looked disproportionate, as did all the Seven models because of their short wheelbase. The Southern Cross received its wings when it was made part of the larger Gloria line in 1935.

The Gloria line of cars was actually quite stylish and attractive at the time. The cars were powered by 1,087- or 1,232-cc 4-cylinders engines or the optional 1,467- or 1,991-cc 6-cylinder Coventry Climax engines. The l Gloria Tourer looked a bit gangly because of the long wheelbase and this was particularly so with the softtop in place.

To create the sporting two-seat Southern Cross, the wheelbase was cut by a full 12 inches. The lines may not have flowed well, but it was certainly sporty and aggressive looking. Imagine, if you will, a more brutish version of the T-series MG with the notched doors. They were not fully cut-down doors because the downward angle rose again to meet the rear of the car, which appeared more rugged because of the external fuel tank sandwiched between the cockpit and the dual spare tires.

But credit is due to Donald Healey for making this 1,232-cc-powered underslung car into a sporting success. His Monte Carlo version featured dual down-draft Zenith carburetors delivering 48 bhp.

From 1934 to 1938 Triumph had a successful run of cars based on the Gloria platform. The platform allowed a variety of bodies to be almost interchangeable on the Super Nine chassis. All models featured conventional semi-elliptic leaf springs on all four corners, along with hydraulic brakes. (Photo Courtesy Simon Goldsworthy/Triumph World)

The Gloria line featured coupes, open two-seater roadsters, and larger enclosed touring models. This sporting two-seater Southern Cross, named for the constellation, was the result of shortening the 108-inch wheelbase by 12 inches. This created a sportier and more proportional-looking car. The Monte Carlo version used this same cut-door design but the additional length made it less proportional in profile. (Photo Courtesy Simon Goldsworthy/Triumph World)

The cut-down doors were a common styling element at the time. However, Triumph trademarked an optional hinged flip-up panel to fill in the gap in inclement weather. (Photo Courtesy Simon Goldsworthy/Triumph World)

This 1,232-cc engine is fitted with dual side-draft carburetors. Donald Healey went on to fit larger 30-mm Zenith down-draft carburetors that boosted horsepower to 48 for competition. (Photo Courtesy Simon Goldsworthy/Triumph World)

The remarkable 1934 Dolomite Straight Eight. Named for the Italian mountain range, the car was inspired by Alfa-Romeo’s world-beating 8C; it is sometimes referred to as Triumph 8C. When the car was in development, Donald Healey traveled to Italy to meet the designers of the Alfa to ensure he got all the details right. A U.S.-based car collector, who owns several Alfa 8Cs and one of the surviving Dolomites, said that, in his experience, the Triumph was quicker and handled better than its Italian inspiration. (Photo Courtesy Gary Harman)

The arresting lines of the Dolomite Straight Eight were designed by Walter Belgrove. The body sat on a pressed-steel ladder frame supported by semi-elliptic leaf springs at all four corners. (Photo Courtesy Gary Harman)

As this was all happening, Bettmann had had enough and retired. Claude Holbrook replaced him. The new management faced great challenges during the early 1930s. The light-car boom was over; Gloria sedans and saloons were not selling, but production costs were rising quickly. Only the motorcycles continued to thrive.

During this same period, Healey proposed and built Triumph’s first great car, and perhaps its greatest. He was fresh from his success at the Alpine Trial with a bare-bones Southern Cross Monte Carlo that had dominated the competition. He wanted to build a car capable of challenging the big names from Germany and Italy.

Healey’s creation was the Dolomite Straight Eight, which was modeled directly from the highly successful Alfa-Romeo 2300. In fact, not only did Healey purchase an Alfa for research, he also traveled to Italy to speak directly to the car’s designers to be certain he got it as correct as possible.

THE REMARKABLE DOLOMITE STRAIGHT EIGHT

Triumph’s new car, named for the famed mountain range, was like no other it had built before or since. This project was both a brilliant engineering feat and a miraculous financial feat because the company was seriously strapped for cash. This was, unfortunately, a recurring theme throughout Triumph’s history. It was perennially short of financial resources just as it was on the verge of creating a car that could have completely changed the fortunes of the company. The Dolomite was the first of several very special cars.

Looking similar to the Alfa, it featured a hand-built 1,990-cc double overhead cam (DOHC) 8-cylinder engine boasting 120 hp aided by a Roots supercharger. The engine’s design almost made it appear as if two 4-cylinder engines had been fused inline. This appearance was accentuated by the dual four-pipe intake manifolds feeding each cylinder from two Zenith down-draft carburetors. On the opposite side of the engine were eight individual exhaust pipes that curved down and out through an opening in the hood in the style of the Frazer-Nash. The eight pipes joined a single large muffler running longitudinally just ahead of the passenger-side door. The exhaust was then piped to the rear of the car.

This on-the-street snapshot captures Donald Healey showing the Straight Eight engine compartment to a group of inquisitive young men while stopped during a road test. The photo is thought to have been taken in Perranporth, Cornwall. (Photo Courtesy Rich Saunders)

Power was channeled to the rear wheels through an Armstrong Siddeley-Wilson pre-selector gearbox sourced from Siddeley. Pre-selector gearboxes were in vogue at the time, but usually only found in the upper end of the automobile spectrum on vehicles such as Mercedes-Benz, Bugatti, Maybach, and Talbot-Lago.

A pre-selector gearbox was preferred in the Dolomite because it allowed for fast and easy shifting. However, more important was the fact that it could handle more power than a conventional manual transmission.

Named in part for Major W. G. Wilson, one of the co-inventors of the tank during World War I, the transmission had many internal operational similarities to an automatic transmission. The driver could select a gear ahead of time on the small mechanism tucked neatly within a finger’s reach behind the steering wheel. When the gear change was required, the driver simply pressed and released the gear change pedal (similar to a clutch pedal) and the new gear was engaged. It was quick with no possibility of a missed shift and the driver’s hands remained on the steering wheel.

The heart of the beast: the hand-built DOHC 1,990-cc inline 8-cylinder engine. With the help of a Roots supercharger, horsepower was rated at 120 bhp and capable of top speeds more than 110 mph. Looking like two 4-cylinder engines fused together, it was actually one alloy block with alloy head that featured 10 main bearings. (Photo Courtesy Simon Goldsworthy/Triumph World)

The multi-plate dry clutch was set to engage at a relatively low RPM when compared to competition cars with a similar setup. This made the car more street-able in town. Touring cars equipped with the pre-selector gearbox favored the fluid flywheel clutch, which was closer in feel to an automatic.

The Dolomite sat on semi-elliptic longitudinal leaf springs and Rudge-Whitworth 19-inch wire wheels. The 120 horses were harnessed by 12-inch Lockheed hydraulic brakes at all four wheels. Walter Belgrove designed the body for the purposeful-looking open two-seater. It was, and still is, a very stylish design.

This is the driver’s view of the instruments for the Straight Eight. The control for the Wilson pre-selector gearbox can be seen to the right of the steering wheel. The driver could change gears easily by moving the lever into position and then simply dipping the clutch at the appropriate time. Gearboxes of this type were typically found on the mightier European marques such as Mercedes-Benz and Maybach. (Photo Courtesy Gary Harman)

Although Donald Healey’s amazing Straight Eight Dolomite did not go into production, he was instrumental in the engine changes for the Dolomite saloons and roadsters offered from 1937 to 1939. He converted all Climax engines to overhead-valve configuration for greater efficiency and reliability. Walter Belgrove penned the fashionable body lines, which can be likened to the Jaguar and MG saloons of the day. However, the distinctive “waterfall” grilles with bounteous rounded chrome was not popular. (Photo Courtesy Simon Goldsworthy/Triumph World)

Healey’s work was pure genius. Everything in the Dolomite was built in the Coventry facility by Healey and his crew. They undoubtedly racked up some hefty overtime hours because the car was completed in just six months.

The car performed brilliantly in almost every test, with the straight-8 capable of sustaining 100 mph (and faster) and could run the quarter-mile in 17.8 seconds. In an interview with Motor Sport magazine, Healey said he was disappointed that the car fell short of the 120 mph he had hoped for on a lap at Brooklands.

Nevertheless, Healey was highly encouraged by the Dolomite’s performance and entered the 1935 Monte Carlo rally. Healey was well acquainted with the event and had won the 1931 rally in an Invicta. His new Triumph looked poised for a top finish.

Car No. 1 was rebuilt on an even tighter budget to run again in the 1936 Monte Carlo rally. Healey finished eighth, running the entire event without the aid of the supercharger. All indications are that the Dolomite was every bit a match for the Alfa-Romeo 2300. However, fate intervened. It was to be the last glory savored by Triumph; the fortunes of the company were about to change permanently.

The motorcycle division was sold off that year to raise cash, and the Dolomite program was canceled with only three cars built. The Dolomite name was migrated to a new line of production sedans set to bow in the next year.

It is unfortunate that the Dolomite did not survive the accountant’s guillotine because a line of exclusive and exotic cars with the kind of performance pedigree Healey engineered could have set Triumph on a very different course.

TRIUMPH FALLS ON HARD TIMES

Times were tight and more changes came at the top. Holbrook was replaced by one of his old rallying partners, Maurice Newnham. However, Newnham had developed a bent for family cars and by 1937, the only sporting production car in the Triumph lineup was the Southern Cross. Its “sporting” nature was rather limited because it was only available with a 4-cylinder engine of modest performance.

A series of unremarkable sedans and saloons that blended into the background of Rileys, MGs, and Austins followed. They were good cars to be sure, with a reputation for being big and slow but possessing no sporting flair. Newnham took a lot of flack for fitting the 1937 Dolomite coupes and saloons with an obnoxiously large, chrome nose with the hope of attracting the American market. It failed miserably and Triumph’s fortunes declined further.

By 1939 only 50 cars were built, and Triumph Motor Company was put on the auction block. Bidding for the troubled car manufacturer was just as underwhelming as unit sales. Eventually, steel manufacturer Thomas Ward took the helm of Triumph just as war was declared on Germany. The Coventry factory was closed for the duration.

Ward kept Donald Healey on as general manager to help sell the company. Unfortunately, while Healey was presenting the company to potential suitors as a viable operation in need of financial support, Ward was selling off many of Triumph’s manufacturing assets. This left little to interest any potential buyer.

Healey had his own vision for Triumph after the war. He presented a design for a new line of sports cars to Ward and his board of directors. Unfortunately, the ideas were rejected so Ward continued with the sale of the company.

During the 1930s and 1940s, many carmakers were absorbed by larger entities or simply faded from existence. It’s a bit of a miracle that the Triumph badge carried on. Credit lucky timing and the war.

This is also where Healey’s involvement with Triumph ends. He took his ideas across town to Riley, which was interested in working with him. It began to build the Healey car in 1946 and everyone knows where that led. It was another great one that got away from Triumph.

As hostilities wound down and peacetime manufacturing resumed, only a few logical buyers for Triumph were revealed: Austin, Rootes, and Standard. Austin didn’t need Triumph; it would have fit better with Rootes’ marques Sunbeam and Hillman. Standard made the most sense.

Standard was thriving with an output of 50,000 cars in 1939 and looking to expand under newly appointed managing director John Black. He had recognized the dangers of events in Germany well before war was declared. He had begun working with the British government and preparing to convert factories for wartime production.

By doing so, Black was able to keep his company running during the war years. Standard built primarily armored cars, but its most significant contribution was production of the all-wooden Mosquito fighter/bomber.

Black was instrumental in keeping manufacturing plants running to support the war effort in Britain. As a result, he was knighted after the end of World War II.

Just as Black was savvy enough to anticipate the declaration of war, he also saw it drawing to a close. Before the last shot was fired, Standard was already converting factories back to auto production. That’s when John Black went in search of a sports car to complement his line of family cars.