1962–67 Triumph Spitfire MK I & MK II

When pushed, the back wheels on early cars go through wild camber changes and tuck under, resulting in an unscheduled trip into the weeds

by Rob Sass

Triumph’s diminutive Spitfire sports car was named for the Battle of Britain-winning fighter plane the Supermarine Spitfire and showed up in the nick of time for another life-and-death struggle. By the late 1950s, when the Spitfire was conceived, a different battle of Britain was going on. Instead of battling Nazi bombers, Britain’s carmakers were fighting to export cars to survive. Standard-Triumph was still independent of, and a competitor to, BMC. It needed a basic sports car to compete with the Austin-Healey Sprite and the MG Midget, and the Spitfire 4 (unofficially referred to now as the MK I) was Triumph’s answer. WWII hero and Standard-Triumph chairman Air Marshal Tedder negotiated with Vickers for the name. Small sedan underpinnings are often the basis for volume-produced sports cars. In the Spitfire’s case, Triumph’s Herald was the starting point. The Herald donated its 1,147-cc engine and independent rear suspension. Referred to optimistically...