How2Day: 1972 Triumph Spitfire Specs

Classic two-seat sports cars were a big part of the 1970s Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
In 1972, Richard Nixon was the first U.S. president to visit China. Sally Priesand became the first female rabbi, and swimmer Mark Spitz broke a world record by winning seven Olympic gold medals. During the same year the Triumph Spitfire dazzled sports car enthusiasts with its innovative performance and redesign.

The Spitfire was originally designed by Giovanni Michelotti in 1957. It went through three revisions after he retired. In 1972, Michelotti emerged from his retirement to completely upgrade the Spitfire. His redesign became known as the "Mk IV" indicating it was the fourth of the series. It was manufactured with a front end with a square-tail style. Compared to previous models, the car has a sleek, aggressive look. In 1972, the Spitfire became available for the first time as a hard top "saloon" sedan. It weighed in at 1,720 lbs. with an overall length of 149.2 inches and wheelbase of 83.1 inches. It was 58.3 inches wide and 47.6 tall, with a tiny ground clearance of only 5.1 inches.

This sports car was manufactured with a four-speed manual transmission with a bottom gear sychromesh. The engine was a 1.3 liter, 79.087 cubic inches with an in line, duel carburetor. It had a single overhead cam (SOHC) four cylinders, two-stroke side and sleeve valves with an overhead intake exhaust for high-speed performance.

This car, used in Europe for racing, could accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 10 seconds, with a top speed of 97 miles per hour. It had rack and pinion steering, front- and rear-wheel drive with front and rear independent suspension. It also featured coil, semi-elliptic leaf springs and an anti-roll bar. Braking was done with front and rear ABS (anti-lock brake system.)

The Triumph Spitfire was featured in movie scenes for "Cannonball" with Burt Reynolds, and television shows "The Protectors," "The Brady Bunch" and "The New Avengers." Collectible diecast metal models of Triumph Spitfires were produced by the manufacturer Vitesse.

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