Lot 407: Triumph Dolomite Sprint

In 1972, the Triumph Dolomite was released. Designed as the successor for the upmarket variants of the front-wheel drive designs, and also for the 6-cylinder Triumph Vitesse, a sporting relative of the Herald.The name "Dolomite" had been used by Triumph for a range of models prior to the Second World War and this name was revived for the new car. Although the Dolomite proved to be both refined and rapid, competitors such as the BMW 2002 had a performance advantage which was costing Triumph dearly, both in terms of sales and prestige. To remedy this,Triumph unveiled the Dolomite Sprint in the summer of 1973. A team of engineers led by Spen King developed a 16 valve cylinder with all of the valves being actuated using a single camshaft rather than the more normal DOHC arrangement.The capacity was also increased to 1998 cc (122 cu in), and combined with bigger Carburretors the output was upped to 127 bhp (95 kW).This vehicle has a claim to be the world's first truly mass-produced muliti-valve car, and the design of the cylinder head won a British Design Council award in 1974. Performance was excellent, with the 0–60 mph dash taking around 8.4 seconds, with a maximum speed of 119 mph (192 km/h). Trim was similar to the 1850, with the addition of standard allot wheels (another first for a British production car), a vinyl roof, front spoiler and lowered suspension. By now seats were in cloth on the 1850, and these were also fitted to the Sprint. This 1998cc manual version of the Sprint is said to be in fair condition for its'age, with no structural rust evident at the last MOT. It is offered with only 30,000 miles registered, but has no supporting documentation and the owner hasn’t declared it as accurate.The Kenwood fan is said to operate efficiently and the car is fitted with a good set of tyres and is generally described as having a tidy interior and excellent vinyl roof covering.A good useable classic at a very attractive price.