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The Triumph Dolomite is a car that was produced by
Triumph Motor Company The Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company in the 19th and 20th centuries. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg formed S. Bettmann & Co. and started importing bicycles from Eur ...
from 1934 to 1940. It first appeared in 1934 as a sports car and the name was also used from 1937 on a series of sporting saloons and open cars until 1939 when the company went into receivership. A number were still sold and registered in 1940, though it is uncertain whether the receiver or new owner turned out cars from spare parts, or sold off completed cars. All except the Straight 8 featured a "waterfall" grille styled by Walter Belgrove, versions of the saloons with conventional grilles were sold as Continental models.


Dolomite Straight 8

The first use of the "Dolomite" name was in 1934, when it was used for an eight-cylinder sports car which resembled the
Alfa Romeo 8C The Alfa Romeo 8C was a range of Alfa Romeo road, Auto racing, race and sports cars of the 1930s. The 8C designates 8 cylinders, and originally a straight-8, straight 8-cylinder engine. The Vittorio Jano designed 8C was Alfa Romeo's primary raci ...
. However this car did not make production, with only three being made. The engine was of 1,990 cc capacity with twin overhead camshafts and fitted with a Roots-type
supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement (engine), displacement. It is a form of forced induction that is mechanically ...
. The engine output was at 5,500 rpm, giving the car a top speed of over when tested at Brooklands. Lockheed hydraulic brakes with large elektron drums were fitted. The channel-section pressed steel chassis was conventional with a beam front axle and half-elliptic springs all round. One of the cars was entered in the 1935
Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. From its inception in 1911 by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert I, the rally ...
driven by
Donald Healey Donald Mitchell Healey CBE (3 July 1898 – 13 January 1988) was a noted English car designer, rally driver and speed record holder. Early life Born in Perranporth, Cornwall, the elder son of Frederick (John Frederick) and Emma Healey ...
but was withdrawn after being written off in a collision with a railway train on a level crossing in Denmark. Largely because of the financial troubles of the company, the car never went into production. Some spare engines and chassis were later assembled into complete cars by a London company called High Speed Motors (HSM). A car as described above was displayed on Stand 135 at the Olympia Motor Show in October 1934 equipped with an Armstrong Siddeley-Wilson preselective gearbox. The wheelbase was eight feet eight inches and track was four feet six inches. It was priced at 1,000 guineas (£1,050).The Motor Show. ''The Times'', Monday, 15 Oct 1934; pg. 21; Issue 46885 A new small Ford was available for £100.


Dolomite sports saloons and coupés


14/60

The Dolomite name was again used from 1937 to 1940. The car this time had a 1,767 cc four-cylinder engine and saloon body. The design was overseen by Donald Healey and featured a striking new design of radiator grille by Walter Belgrove. The cars were marketed as "the finest in all the land" and targeted directly at the luxury sporting saloon market. Triumph had been moving progressively upmarket during the 1930s, and the 1938 Dolomites were very well equipped, with winding windows in the doors, automatic chassis lubrication, a leather-bound steering wheel adjustable for rake and reach, dual hydraulic brake circuits, twin trumpet horns, and spot lamps included in the price. There was even a tray of fitted tools slotted beneath the driver's seat cushion, and for an extra 18 guineas buyers could specify a radio. The body was aluminium over a rot-proofed ash frame. Like many Triumphs of that time, the car followed the American trend of concealing its radiator behind a flamboyant shining metal grill. The British market, then as now, was in many ways a conservative one, however, and, before Dolomite production was suspended completely, Triumph had time to introduce a "Vitesse"-branded version of the Dolomite on which the grill had been removed and the car's own radiator was exposed in the traditional manner.


Road test

A 14/60 four-door four-light saloon was road tested by ''The Times''. Head clearance was described as moderate but it was felt there was good width and leg room for two persons in the back seat and the doorways gave "reasonable entrance". Interior fittings included three electric lights, two-way visors, a sliding roof, three ashtrays, an instrument board with large dial clock and speedometer, a telescopic spring steering wheel, wholly automatic chassis lubrication, a jacking system and a windscreen which could be wound out to give a direct view.Cars Of To-Day. ''The Times'', Tuesday, 28 Sep 1937; pg. 12; Issue 47801 At the front the equipment included a stabilizing bumper, two wind horns, two fog lights, two large headlamps and small side lamps on the wings. It was particularly noted that the modernistic front to the radiator was a die casting and not a tinny assembly. Testers described driving the car as giving the impression of a fine feel of control and with an engine to match that. Smooth enough to be thought of as a six the engine had "high mettle" and did not mind being called upon for speed affording almost "sportslike" pickup. The gearchange was considered "a delight" with a well located small remote control lever and excellent synchromesh. Steering was not too heavy. The driver was given a good view ahead and behind though the view through the back windows was rather small. The steering and suspension were rated as "adequate", back passengers they said "travel with comfort", top speed was found to be about 75 miles an hour.
Price as tested was £348.


14/65

In April 1938 an increased compression ratio and mild further engine tuning justified a changed designation from 14/60 to 14/65 (where 14 was the
fiscal horsepower The tax horsepower or taxable horsepower was an early system by which taxation rates for automobiles were reckoned in some European countries such as the UK, Belgium, Germany, France and Italy; some US states like Illinois charged license plate ...
and 65 was the claimed actual horsepower).


Roadster coupé

This is an open version of the 14/65, announced 29 March 1938,New Triumph Car. ''The Times'', Tuesday, 29 Mar 1938; pg. 13; Issue 47955 with seating for three people on a single bench seat and "two additional outside seats in the tail, reminiscent of the
dickey seat A rumble seat (American English), dicky (dickie/dickey) seat (British English), also called a mother-in-law seat, is an upholstered exterior front-facing seat which is folded into the rear of a Coach (carriage), coach, carriage, or early motorcar. ...
that was at one time common" for two more people behind. The hood folded completely into the body to give the appearance of an open sports car. The car was announced with the engine with twin SU carburettors. A two-tone (coffee and cream) version of this model featured in the 1945 film version of Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit, directed by David Lean. It was driven by Rex Harrison.


16 two-litre six-cylinder engine

In July 1938 a slightly longer wheelbase version powered by a engine fed by triple SUs joined the range while the saloon version featuring the same 1,991 cc engine still made do with just two SU carburettors. No power output figure was quoted by the manufacturers for the 1,991 cc Dolomite. The cars received excellent reviews from the period motoring press. Triumph Dolomite Roadster 1937 F (8309149464) Cropntidy.jpg Triumph Dolomite Roadster 1937 R (8309149856) tidy.jpg Triumph Dolomite Saloon 1938 F (8309150286) tidy.jpg Triumph Dolomite Saloon 1938 R (8308099273) tidy.jpg Triumph.Dolomite.Roadster.jpg File:Triumph Dolomite Saloon 1938 (1).JPG Triumph Dolomite roadster coupé 1940 - rear.jpg In 1939, less than a month after Britain declared
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
on Germany, and before civilian automobile availability had been withdrawn by government in either country, the '' Autocar'' magazine featured a road test of the two-litre Dolomite Roadster coupe. By this time the manufacturer's published price had risen to £495. The testers recorded a mean maximum speed of , with a best timed maximum speed of ). Acceleration from rest to was timed at 15 seconds. The testers appear to have been impressed by everything except the ambient weather.


-litre

In 1938 a smaller-engined version with a 1,496 cc engine was announced and available as a saloon or tourer. The 1,767 cc engine was an option at first but became standard in 1939.


WWII

The experience of producing hand beaten aluminium panels made the
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
plant where the Dolomite was built a natural candidate for aircraft production as this was ramped up. This also attracted attention from the ''
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
'', and the plant fell victim to bombing in 1940. A coupé was shown, but never went into production.


References

*A-Z of Cars of the 1930s Michael Sedgwick and Mark Gillies. Bay View Books. 1989. *Triumph Cars: The Complete Story by Graham Robson and Richard Langworth.


External links


Pre -1940 Triumph Motor Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Triumph Dolomite (1934-1940) Dolomite (Pre War) 1930s cars Cars introduced in 1934