The Triumph Vitesse is a compact six-cylinder car built by Standard-Triumph from May 1962 to July 1971. The car was styled by Giovanni Michelotti, and was available in saloon and convertible variants.
The Vitesse name was first used by Austin on their 1914–16 Austin 20 (hp) and 30 (hp) Vitesse models, this was followed in 1922 by G. N.(Godfrey & Nash) on their GN Vitesse Cyclecar, and then by Triumph on a car made between 1936 and 1938.
After the last Triumph Vitesse was made in July 1971, the name remained unused until October 1982, when Rover used it on their SD1 until 1986, and one final time on their Rover 800, 820 and 827 models from October 1988 to 1991, at which time that car was rebodied as the R17 version, which was produced until 1998 as the Rover Vitesse Sport
Racing
The Vitesse competed in the Monte Carlo Rally in the early ’60s and the Trans-Am in 1971.
A number of performance upgrades were available for the Vitesses during and after production. Many of these were provided by SAH accessories later owned by Dunham and Haines in Dunstable, North of London. The “tite-a-turn” modification was an attempt to tame the early swing axle suspension by increasing the resistance to suspension extension on the inside rear wheel (and transition into positive camber) while allowing normal compression into negative camber on the outer wheel. Engine modifications went from simple cosmetics like an alloy rocker cover to more serious changes. Alloy manifolds for triple twinchoke webers or dellortos were available and gave considerable improvements in acceleration and top speed especially if coupled with SAHs tubular exhaust manifolds (2×3 into 1 then 2 into one), straight through rear box/twin boxes and camshaft changes. Some owners realised that the long stroke 2.5 litre engine fitted to the TR5/6 and 2.5PI had the same dimensions as the 2 litre engine and could be fitted to the Vitesse simply by swapping the rear engine plate input shaft bush and clutch. Some were fitted with the original’s Stromberg 150s some Webers and some kept the slightly problematic but very effective Lucas petrol injection system. Unfortunately the Vitesse gearbox and diff were not really up to a 150hp 2.5 litre engine’s output. Fitting the gearbox from the 2.5 was not as simple as the engine so this remained a problem for most with the 2.5
SOURCE WIKIPEDIA
