They were cited by motoring journalists as an example of the thrills to be found in driving slow cars quickly
The Triumph Spitfire 1500, according to the original brochure, is a true sports car whose classic lines express "the harmony of power and grace which is the car's hallmark." The brochure boasted that the 1,493-cc engine is strict on fuel but generous on power. Developing 71 bhp at 5,500 rpm, "the sharp, confident acceleration can take you up to the 100-mph mark," while the optional overdrive is reported to allow 50 mpg.
There's no question about it, any car that only shows 35 original miles on the odometer can be considered brand new. On top of this, it's also the last of its kind, as Triumph ceased production of the Spitfire in 1980. This car stayed in the hands of a Triumph dealer for many years.
Finished in white with a black-and-white interior, this car is equipped with factory overdrive, a luggage rack, and is complete with its original Certificate of Origin, invoice from Triumph to the selling dealer, and a letter to the dealer (dated 1985) with regard to a warranty claim.
The 1980 Triumph Spitfire 1500 features essentially brand-new all-around independent suspension, positive and accurate rack-and-pinion steering, radial tires, and an anti-roll bar on the front. The nine-inch disc brakes in the front and drums to the rear were barely used; in fact, over the course of 35 miles, one could probably guess the brake pedal was depressed a few dozen times.
Contoured seats with headrests are faced in hounds-tooth-patterned brushed-nylon fabric, and interior appointments include a walnut veneer fascia on the dashboard, pile carpet, front parcel shelves, and a center armrest. A cigar lighter, a padded steering wheel, and a two-speed electric windshield wiper round out the amenities.
"The Spitfire has performance, it has style. It is economical and robust. It has impeccable road manners, which come from the proud traditions of the Triumph sports car, a pedigree which assures you of technical excellence and reliability with styling and appointments to appeal to the individualist."
This is what car collecting is all about, as this Spitfire represents a time machine from Triumph showrooms in 1980, a car for any collection and worthy of a museum.
SCM Analysis
Detailing
| Vehicle: | 1980 Triumph Spitfire 1500 |
| Number Produced: | 95,829 |
| Original List Price: | $7,365 (1980) |
| Tune Up Cost: | $250 |
| Distributor Caps: | $25 |
| Engine Number Location: | Plate on engine block under intake manifold |
| Club Info: | Vintage Triumph Register, Membership Secretary, 100 Pine Tree Lane, Riverwoods, IL 60015 |
| Website: | http://www.vtr.org |
| Investment Grade: | F |
This 1980 Triumph Spitfire 1500 sold for $19,800 at the Gooding auction in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 22, 2006. It is tempting to write about the conundrum: “What do you do with a classic car that’s never been driven?” Certainly the moment the driver takes his or her first long trip with the local Triumph club, this car will no longer have that “time-machine” cachet and museum appeal that the catalog goes on about.
Balderdash, we say. Anyone willing to pay $20,000 for a Spitfire has some flame for it burning deep down inside. There wasn’t a whole lot to recommend these cars, and especially this model, when they were new. Safety regulations had saddled them with ungainly rubber baby-buggy bumpers since there wasn’t enough money to re-engineer the chassis.
The guts (what few there were) had been sucked out of them by successive generations of environmental restrictions, leaving them with only 52 sweating horses and 80 anemic pound-feet of torque. (The catalog claims 71 bhp, but that was only for the Canadian cars that still had the dual SUs.) This is the car that couldn’t even catch a cold.
However, the independent rear suspension, known for assuming a bull-legged look in hard cornering on the earlier cars, had by 1980 been fixed. The car weighed less than 1,800 pounds, so it was quick to respond to the wheel. The Spits were cited by motoring journalists as an example of the thrills to be found in driving slow cars quickly.
But it was, nevertheless, one of the last sports cars sold in the United States when nearly everyone else had abandoned anything with a ragtop.
In spite of the drawbacks, the little Spitfires, namesakes of Britain’s finest hour, were still sweet, curvaceous things. They were more of a girl’s car really, cited by designer Tom Matano as one of the influences behind his Mazda Miata.
There are folks who have fond memories of life-changing experiences in a Triumph Spitfire, and they’re willing to pay to recapture them. And if such a person couldn’t have found this one, he might have spent more than $20,000 to restore a well-used example. And what would they have had at the end? A glossy used car with lots of Roadster Factory-reproduced parts and a fresh two-pack paint job.
The person who bought this Triumph Spitfire 1500 will have the same fresh, clean bodywork, unsullied engine compartment, and fray-free upholstery of a restored car. But this person will have something more. Every single part on the car, except for the rubber bits, fluids, and tires (which we trust they will have the sense to replace before driving the car further than the nearest trailer) will be original. No hunting, no doubting, no questions. Original.
And even when this car has 20,000 or 30,000 miles on it over the next ten years or more, it will still be original, (barring an unexpected encounter with an Escalade that can’t see this diminutive roadster in the rearview). We doubt if any other Spitfire owner will be able to say that.
So, proud new owner, get the brakes redone, replace the gaskets and hoses, change all the fluids, and buy new radial tires so the car will be safe and reliable. If you’re fortunate enough to live in a state that is free of smog controls for cars more than 25 years old, swap in a set of SUs and pull the air pump to get back some of those ponies lost to federalizing the car.
Either way, head out on the road and recapture those lost moments of youth. This timid virgin shouldn’t be stuck on a museum pedestal gathering dust as an example of the British auto industry’s last hurrah. And the new owner, for a shade under $20,000, now gets to be one of those lucky ones that you envy when he drives by. You’re stuck in your flawless, faultless, emotionless new car, and he is fulfilling a fantasy.