WAR THUNDER SPITFIRE M1A DRIVER

They were more of a girl’s car really, cited by designer Tom Matano as one of the influences behind his Mazda Miata. In spite of the drawbacks, the little Spitfires, namesakes of Britain’s finest hour, were still sweet, curvaceous things. The Spits were cited by motoring journalists as an example of the thrills to be found in driving slow cars quickly.īut it was, nevertheless, one of the last sports cars sold in the United States when nearly everyone else had abandoned anything with a ragtop. The car weighed less than 1,800 pounds, so it was quick to respond to the wheel. 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 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. 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. Safety regulations had saddled them with ungainly rubber baby-buggy bumpers since there wasn’t enough money to re-engineer the chassis. There wasn’t a whole lot to recommend these cars, and especially this model, when they were new. Anyone willing to pay $20,000 for a Spitfire has some flame for it burning deep down inside.

WAR THUNDER SPITFIRE M1A DRIVER

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.īalderdash, we say. This 1980 Triumph Spitfire 1500 sold for $19,800 at the Gooding auction in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 22, 2006. Vintage Triumph Register, Membership Secretary, 100 Pine Tree Lane, Riverwoods, IL 60015 Plate on engine block under intake manifold 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. 'The Spitfire has performance, it has style. A cigar lighter, a padded steering wheel, and a two-speed electric windshield wiper round out the amenities. 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. 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. 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. 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. This car stayed in the hands of a Triumph dealer for many years. On top of this, it's also the last of its kind, as Triumph ceased production of the Spitfire in 1980. There's no question about it, any car that only shows 35 original miles on the odometer can be considered brand new.

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. 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.

War thunder spitfire m1a