Tag Archives: Plot

White Yellow Red – Triumph Spitfire #ADU1B

The Triumph Spitfire GT Coupé was originally concieved by Giovani Michelotti and Triumph in 1963 as a Coupé concept version of the 4 cylinder Triumph Spitfire Roadster. The styling won plenty of kudos, but the Spitfire’s 4 cylinder 1147 cc / 70 cui engine struggled to cope with the extra, steel, body weight.

Triumph Spitfire, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

The Triumph racing department saw the advantage of using the sleek GT4 body for it’s upcoming Le Mans programme and grafted fibre glass copies of the fast back roof on to the tuned 1147 cc / 70 cui racers they were building with further body weight saved by using an aluminium bonnet / hood in place of the regular pressed steel item.

Triumph Spitfire, Classic Motor Show NEC Birmingham

Three Spitfires were entered for the 1964 Le Mans 24 hours in the 3 litre / 183 cui Prototype Class, the #49 bearing the UK licence plate ADU1B and painted with a white nose driven by Mike Rothschild and Bob Tullius qualified 51st but retired on lap 53 after an accident. The #50 bearing the registration ADU2B and painted with a red nose driven by future broadcaster David Hobbs and Rob Slotemaker was the only Spitfire to be classified, 21st from 48th on the grid.

Triumph Spitfire, Classic Motor Show NEC Birmingham

In 1965 four Spitfires returned to Le Mans. Now competing in the more appropriate 1.15 litre / 70 cui GT Class. Jean – Jaques Thuner and Simo Lampinen driving the #60 registered ADU4B with a Borneo Green nose came home a class winning 13th ahead of the #54 registered ADU3B with a white nose driven by Claude Dubois / Jean-Francois Plot who finished 14th.

Triumph Spitfire, Classic Motor Show NEC Birmingham

The #53 ADU2B still with a red nose and driven by Bill Bradley and & Peter Bolton retired after six laps with engine failure, while the #52 ADU1B now bearing a yellow nose and driven by David Hobbs and Rob Slotemaker qualified 48th only to retire after an accident on lap 71. The fate of ADU1B is not known to the author at this time, but it is thought the car no longer exists.

Triumph Spitfire, Classic Motor Show NEC Birmingham

Somewhere around 1990 the owner of today’s featured car Mark Field found a set of four 1960’s old english white painted magnesium alloy wheels being offered for sale at a car boot sale for the price of the tyres mounted on them. Mark established that they came from the works Triumph Spitfire project and soon set about recreating the team car ADU3B which unknown to him at the time still existed in France.

Triumph Spitfire, Classic Motor Show NEC Birmingham

A suitable donor Spitfire chassis was found and modified in the same way as the original Team cars, the mould for the roof was taken from ADU7B which was used in period as a works rally car. When it became known that ADU3B still existed Mark decided to recreate ADU1B, but with the red nose from ADU2B.

Triumph Spitfire, Classic Motor Show NEC Birmingham

The car was completed with all the mandatory modern day safety equipment in time for the fortieth anniversary of the Spitfire’s first appearance at Le Mans in 2004 and with sufficient original parts to be awarded it’s FIA papers to race in historic events ADU1B took part in the 2004 Le Mans Classic for the first time. The wheels Mark found in the car boot sale proved not to be suitable for further use and so the same pattern was remanufactured with modern materials to fit modern tyre sizes.

During the process of building the car Mark and his brither Jo set up a Triumph restoration business called Jigsaw and they hope to have two further recreations of the Spitfire team cars ready for this years Le Mans Classic.

Thanks for joining me on this “White Yellow Red” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Maserati Monday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Thanks for joining me on this “White Yellow Red” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Maserati Monday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Race Winning Myth – Triumph GT6

Race Winning Myth – Triumph GT6

A couple of months ago I got up horrendously early to go filming with the only namesake I know, Opposite his house was this MK3 Triumph GT6.

The GT6 was originally concieved by Giovani Michelotti and Triumph in 1963 as a Coupe version of the 4 cylinder Triumph Spitfire and was to be known as the Spitfire GT4. Unfortunately while the styling won plenty of kudos the Spitfires 1147 cc / 70 cui engine struggled to cope with the extra body weight.

However the boffins in the Triumph racing department saw the advantage of using the sleek GT4 body for it’s upcoming 1965 Le Mans programme and made fibre glass copies of the fast back and grafted them on to the tuned racers they were building, thus the racers did not incur the same weight penalty as the one off GT4 built by Michelotti. The Spitfires of Jean – Jaques Thuner / Simo Lampinen and Claude Dubois / Jean-Francois Plot came in 13th and 14th winning their class against several Alpines non of which were classified as finishers.

Triumph decided to capitalise on the racing success by developing the GT6 fitted with the 6 cylinder 1998cc 121.9 cui engine from the Vitesse model. The handling of the Mark I GT6 launched in 1966 was so bad, it understeered/pushed terribly compared to the Spitfire because of the extra weight of the 6 cylinder engine, that huge improvements to the rear suspension were introduced for the 1968 MK2.

The MK3 GT6 introduced in 1970 features a completely different body to the earlier versions broadly in line with upgraded of the Spitfire MKIV. The GT6 MK3 comfortably out performed it closest competitor the MGB 0-60 mph by nearly 3 seconds and top speed by 12mph yet the MGB outsold the GT6 despite the marketing myth that the GT6 was developed from the “race wining Le Mans Spitfires”, when as we have seen the GT was a separate programme that predated the racing programme.

History class over, wishing you all a fine day, don’t forget to come back now.

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