Triumph 1300, 1500, Toledo and Dolomite Sprint: saloon selectives

By Andrew Roberts

| 10 Dec 2025

Classic & Sports Car – Triumph 1300, 1500, Toledo and Dolomite Sprint: saloon selectives

If you told a Triumph dealer in 1965 that less than two decades later the famous name would have been last seen on a British-built Honda, they would probably have regarded you as an eccentric.

Some 60 years ago, the marque aspired to be the British equivalent of Alfa Romeo, BMW or Lancia – and it had just launched its first front-wheel-drive car.

The Triumph 1300 established a dynasty of models that included myriad engine changes, two body lengths and even front- and rear-wheel drive.

In tribute, we have assembled four key members of the range in Coventry, the home of the brand.

This Triumph 1300’s cabin features glossy veneers and an aftermarket steering wheel

In 1962, Standard-Triumph – as the concern was then known – began work on the new Project Ajax as a replacement for the Herald.

Just two years later, there was a change of plan as management decided the older model would remain in production. Herald sales were improving, so the Ajax would create its own niche.

Triumph’s director of engineering, Harry Webster, told Autocar in 1966 that it was “for a special market – for the man who can’t afford caviar but doesn’t want to live by bread alone”.

The future 1300 would bridge the gap between the Herald and the 2000, and it would be the first front-wheel-drive car to wear a Triumph badge.

The 1300 marked Triumph’s foray into medium family cars with aspirations of grandeur

Webster said he had wanted to use the layout since 1949, adding: “When the 2000 was being considered, FWD drawings were made.”

Front-wheel drive allowed the 1300 to have “the longest-possible wheelbase within an established overall length”.

The 1300’s 1296cc ‘four’ was from the Spitfire, and Webster opted for a north-south layout.

Building the powerplant and transmission in a single unit meant that the new model would require a minimum of factory space.

The Triumph 1300 shares its four-cylinder with the Spitfire

Designer Giovanni Michelotti devised the coachwork following Webster’s packaging diagram and instructions to establish a visual link with the 2000, so customers would associate the two.

Triumph launched the 1300 in September 1965 and, looking at Paul Grosvenor’s 1969 example, the gulf between the Ajax design and the Herald appears vast.

By the mid-1960s, the latter already belonged to a bygone era of espresso bars and Italian-suited Modernists.

Triumph’s globe logo appears on the 1300’s hubcaps

In contrast, Michelotti’s understated lines meant that the 1300 was ideal for the quietly ambitious owner, such as a with-it junior solicitor.

Today, some prefer its short boot and unadorned lines to the later Dolomite.

One glimpse inside Paul’s 1300 is enough to appreciate its appeal to the owner who aspired to the progressive culinary tastes of 007 in Casino Royale.

In addition to the veneered fascia and a folding rear armrest, Triumph equipped it with a multi-adjustable driver’s seat and a steering column that could be tailored for both height and reach.

The Triumph 1300’s neat dashboard includes a warning-light roundel and Smiths rev counter

The 1300 further benefitted from spring-loaded, recessed window winders and – in another first for Triumph – the ‘All Systems Go’ warning-light roundel.

At the wheel of your 1300, you could almost imagine yourself in Thunderbirds.

CAR magazine doubted whether it was possible to buy ‘an equal blend of luxury, space and performance (regardless of outside size) any cheaper in Britain’.

In fact, the 1300 cost £796 12s 11d, compared with £780 18s 9d for the Riley Kestrel 1100, its closest UK-built, front-driven rival.

The Triumph 1300’s subtle styling was by Michelotti

As for the Ford Anglia Super and the Vauxhall Viva HA SL90, neither had four doors, and they were less Beluga caviar and more Birds Eye Cod Portions and chips.

Paul remarks on what it’s like to own a 1300: “It keeps you awake! When I first had one, years ago, I thought how comfortable it was.

“It’s still a great experience and still comfortable, but it takes a lot of concentration to anticipate for braking.

“That said, my 1300 is enjoyable, goes well and has great handling – apart from the turning circle. If I didn’t do 1000 miles a week, I could use it as my daily runner.”

The Triumph 1300 evolved into the 1500, with a 65bhp 1493cc motor

Some buyers demanded more performance, and in 1967 Triumph introduced the 75bhp 1300TC (for twin carburettors).

Meanwhile, Canley was working on the Ajax III upgrade, which made its debut three years later.

It is here that the narrative starts to confuse, because Triumph in effect replaced the 1300 with two models.

The Toledo combined two doors with simplified trim and rear-wheel drive.

Remarkably, the early versions had drum brakes all round, which was anachronistic even in 1970.

‘Even allowing for the lower bar of decadence in early ’70s suburbia, the 1500’s specification was rather fine’

Further up the hierarchy, the 1500 retained the front-drive layout combined with a 1493cc engine, a longer boot and a smart new grille with quad headlights.

To some disappointment, the 1300’s independent rear suspension was replaced by a beam axle, to reduce costs.

Canley further hoped that the 1500’s enhanced performance would result in improved profit margins.

Today, Kevin Hirst’s 1500 is a reminder of how it appealed to motorists of the Terry Scott school of fashion for a mere £1113 6s 5d.

Inside the Triumph 1500’s well-finished cabin

The Viva HC 1600SL was cheaper at £1027, while the £1338 Cortina 2000 GXL was more powerful, but the Triumph was apparently ‘a 1½-litre limousine’.

One possible in-house rival from the British Leyland empire was the £1082 Wolseley 16/60, although that was more for tweed-wearing motorists who considered David Frost to be a dangerous radical.

Naturally, Kevin’s 1500 features ‘an interior rich in hedonistic joys’, to quote the sales copy of the time.

Even allowing for the slightly lower bar of decadence in early ’70s suburbia, when buying two boxes of After Eights from Fine Fare would cause a sensation, the specification was rather fine.

Chrome adds flair to the Triumph 1500’s design, which previewed the forthcoming Dolomite

A cigar lighter, two-speed wipers, reclining front seats and an adjustable steering column meant the 1500 would ‘collect jealous glances wherever it appears’.

Kevin reports that his 1500 drives very well. He adds: “It has light steering, will cruise at 60 all day long and returns 29mpg.”

In its appraisal in period, Autocar thought: ‘For the family man who can afford it, the car will appeal as much for its comfort as for the prestige it brings.’

And that, of course, was the 1500’s raison d’être.

The Triumph Toledo’s design was modern

The rear-wheel-drive 1500TC replaced the 1500 in 1973, with BL commissioning a remarkable Confessions of a Driving Instructor-style launch commercial.

The remainder of the Ajax range was rear-wheel drive, so it made little financial sense for Canley to build a front-drive version.

As for the Toledo, one 1971 advertisement for the new model advised ‘Why Herald owners should change’: its heir had modern lines and proved that ‘craftsmanship is not a thing of the past’.

By then, Triumph was offering a four-door version for £937.64, gaining the proud owner a small saloon that was a cut above the equivalent Hillman Avenger.

The Toledo was a short-lived name in Triumph’s range of saloons

One brochure proclaimed: ‘Remarkably, the Toledo costs little more than an ordinary bread-and-butter car.’ And that rather encapsulates the appeal of Andrew Burford’s 1974 example.

The Honeysuckle four-door joined Andrew’s fleet in 2002; its original owner was a bank manager who specified the optional reclining front seats, mudflaps and rubber floormats.

The cabin is simple but elegant, with British Leyland saying of the Toledo’s competitors: ‘The Cost Accountant had a bit too much to say in the design.’

Besides, a timber fascia was ‘so much more civilised than being faced by a characterless painted panel every morning’.

The Triumph Toledo shares the 1500 saloon’s 1493cc engine

Toledos such as Andrew’s aren’t renowned for their performance, but they fulfilled their role within the range quietly and well.

As for road manners, Andrew says: “Obviously, it has no power steering or any other mod cons, but it’s generally slower and softer.

“The tyres being older also means the Toledo’s handling is very different from most modern front-wheel-drive cars.

“It lets you know by twitching the tail out in the wet… but I never drive it in the rain!”

This Triumph Toledo is fitted with the optional reclining seats

In ’71, Motor Sport noted disparagingly of the 1500: ‘Eventually, one assumes, more British Leyland technicians will discover the overhead camshaft.’

Which leads us neatly on to the final member of our quartet.

Triumph had intended to launch the Dolomite, which combined the 1500’s bodyshell with an single-overhead-cam 1854cc engine and rear-wheel drive, as a replacement for the Vitesse in 1970.

Somewhat ominously for the firm, industrial problems meant it didn’t appear until 1972.

This Triumph Dolomite Sprint has new Spax dampers

By then, British Leyland’s plans for a high-performance version were at an advanced stage, with the Dolomite Sprint taking a bow in June 1973.

According to Bill Davis, then the managing director of BL’s Rover/Triumph division, it would “dispel the myth that the Continental manufacturers have a virtual monopoly on fast, medium-sized cars”.

Canley developed the 16-valve, 1998cc engine with Coventry Climax and uprated the Dolomite’s brakes and transmission to match.

Triumph had intended to call the latest Dolomite the 135 to reflect its power output, but it had 127bhp, so the Sprint name was adopted instead.

The Triumph Dolomite Sprint’s 45° slant-four, on Special Tuning carburettors

Your friendly local Triumph dealer would proudly tell you it was the world’s first mass-produced car with a multi-valve engine, plus a 116mph top speed.

This was before they mentioned the alloy wheels (another first for a mass-produced British saloon) and vinyl roof.

The luxurious, quiet and utterly civilised Sprint cost £1786.84, making it more than £700 cheaper than an Alfa Romeo Alfetta Berlina and, better still, more than £1000 less than a BMW 2002tii.

British Leyland set a production target of 250 units per week, and the proud Sprint owner could ever so graciously look down on their neighbours with Ford Cortina 2000Es and Vauxhall Magnum 2300s.

The Triumph Dolomite Sprint has comfortable seats

Motor believed the Sprint didn’t have a rival in sight, while CAR concluded: ‘As a bargain, it ranks almost alongside some of Jaguar’s offerings.’

Autocar’s test, meanwhile, enthused: ‘Britain shows the way.’

This 1978 model, driven by Dolomite expert Ken Clarke, has the Special Tuning options of a tweaked engine and uprated dampers.

“The Sprint belongs to a customer, Ian Baker, who has owned it for more than 20 years,” says Ken. “We have just recommissioned it: built a new engine, fitted new floorpans and chassis legs, and rebuilt the front end.”

The Triumph Dolomite Sprint’s upmarket cabin

Overdrive became standard in 1975, and Ken adds: “It makes all the difference – the revs drop by 800rpm on the motorway.”

He believes the Sprint is perhaps the best 1970s sports saloon: “Everybody seems to rave about the Ford Escort RS 2000, but the Dolomite is quieter and smoother, and does everything better.”

Even when the Sprint was new, however, Motor found its looks ‘a mite old-fashioned with its chunky lines.’

This was not an initial sales drawback – the BMW 2002’s styling also harked back to the 1500 Neue Klasse of 1961 – and owners were more likely to wear string-backed driving gloves than Hai Karate aftershave.

The Triumph Dolomite Sprint’s alloy wheels were a first for a volume British saloon

Triumph promised: ‘No stripes. No GT badges. No matt-black bonnet.’

To quote Bill Boddy of Motor Sport: ‘The interior of the Sprint is that of a gentleman’s carriage.’

However, as Ken points out: “The Sprint’s engine was based on an early 1950s Coventry Climax design, and the transmission derives from the Standard Vanguard Phase 1.”

British Leyland needed a second-generation version to compete with the likes of the 1978 BMW 323i, but there was never a Sprint Mk2.

The Dolomite design was beginning to look dated by the time the Sprint arrived

In 1975, the joint Dolomite/Marina TM1 replacement programme was cancelled, a victim of the company’s increasingly parlous financial state.

The final significant change to the range was in 1976, with the demise of the Toledo: the entire line-up now featured Dolomite badges and the longer body.

On 26 December 1979, Michael Edwardes, BL’s chairman, signed an agreement with Honda.

Dolomite production ceased in 1980 and a year later the Acclaim – in essence a British-built Honda Ballade – belatedly replaced the cheaper versions.

The Triumph Dolomite Sprint’s discreet badge

If British Leyland in the 1970s had not been a maelstrom of chaos, the Ajax range could have founded a dynasty of in-house designs to rival the Audi 80/90 and BMW 3 Series.

Timing was its misfortune, because by 1968 the great collapse of the conglomerate was well under way.

Yet it should not be forgotten that when Triumph unveiled the 1300 it appeared as much a part of the new post-war Coventry as the city’s cathedral and Belgrade Theatre.

Each member of our quartet projected a very different image, yet each was ideally suited to the owner with caviar aspirations but an income more suited to the Berni Inn.

After all, it had been touted as ‘the limousine with everything except limousine length’.

Images: Jack Harrison

Thanks to: The Triumph Dolomite Club; Ken Clarke Motorsport (01455 616617); Coventry University; Coventry Cathedral

Factfiles

Triumph 1300

Sold/number built 1965-’70/113,008
Construction steel monocoque
Engine all-iron, ohv 1296cc ‘four’, single Stromberg carburettor
Max power 61bhp @ 5000rpm
Max torque 73lb ft @ 3000rpm
Transmission four-speed manual, FWD
Suspension independent, at front by double wishbones rear semi-trailing arms; coil springs, telescopic dampers f/r
Steering rack and pinion
Brakes discs front, drums rear
Length 12ft 11in (3937mm)
Width 5ft 1¾in (1568mm)
Height 4ft 6in (1372mm)
Wheelbase 8ft ½in (2454mm)
Weight 1960lb (892kg)
0-60mph 19 secs
Top speed 84mph
Mpg 28
Price new £796 12s 11d (1965)
Price now £3-6000*

Triumph 1500
(Where different from 1300)

Sold/number built 1970-’73/66,353
Engine 1493cc, SU HS4 carburettor
Max power 65bhp @ 5000rpm
Max torque 80lb ft @ 3000rpm
Suspension: rear beam axle, trailing and semi-trailing links, optional anti-roll bar
Brakes Girling vacuum servo
Length 13ft 6in (4115mm)
Weight 2089lb (948kg)
Mpg 26.6
0-60mph 17.1 secs
Top speed 88mph
Price new £1113 6s 5d (1970)

Triumph Toledo
(Where different from 1500)

Sold/number built 1970-’76/119,182
Transmission RWD
Max power 58bhp @ 5300rpm
Max torque 70lb ft @ 3000rpm
Suspension: rear live axle
Length 13ft (3962mm)
Weight 1870lb (848kg)
0-60mph 18.4 secs
Top speed 87mph
Mpg 28
Price new £889 (1970)

Triumph Dolomite Sprint
(Where different from 1500)

Sold/number built 1973-’80/22,941
Engine alloy-head, sohc, 16-valve, 1998cc, twin SU HS6 carburettors
Max power 127bhp @ 5700rpm
Max torque 122lb ft @ 4500rpm
Transmission overdrive on third and top, RWD
Suspension: rear diagonal upper links, longitudinal lower arms; anti-roll bar f/r
Weight 2214lb (1005kg)
0-60mph 8.4 secs
Top speed 116mph
Mpg 23
Price new £1786.84 (1973)
Price now £7-15,000*