Welcome
Pathé news footage of the 1962 Earls Court Motor Show picks out the Triumph Spitfire as one of the glittering new highlights awaiting the eager motorist, ‘Faster and altogether more luxurious than any sports car of the same price’, enthused the voiceover in typically clipped, received pronunciation. The £730 (at launch) sports car delivered 90mph from its twin-carburettor engine, and with independent rear suspension, comfortably eclipsed its slightly cheaper Austin-Healey Sprite/MG Midget rivals. With the Tornados’ Telstar topping America’s Billboard 100 and slashed car purchase tax kickstarting record UK car sales, these were exciting and groovy times, perfect for a car that offered much of the glamour of a Jaguar E-type for a third of the price. Unless you’d already started a family, why buy an Austin A40 or Ford Anglia…