Rear Life Experience

Paul Guinness Editor

ALL-TIME GREAT: TRIUMPH DOLOMITE SPRINT

The launch of the Triumph Dolomite in 1971 was a perfect example of how product development can lead to major success. Using the same bodyshell as the existing Triumph 1500, the Dolomite was different in that it employed rear-wheel drive – and for performance car fans, that meant some serious potential in the years ahead.

Within just two years, the hugely impressive Dolomite Sprint was on the scene – and for Dolomite fans everywhere, it’s the Sprint that will always be the ultimate high-performance saloon. Well, with 2.0-litre 16-valve power on tap (the first 16-valve engine to make it into a mass-produced car), what do you expect?

Aided by its twin carburettors, the Dolomite Sprint developed an entertaining 127bhp, enough for a top speed of 115mph and 0-60 in just 8.7 seconds. By the standards of other four-door sporting saloons, those were impressive figures almost five decades ago. But it wasn’t just the Sprint’s performance that made this one of the all-time greats: the super-taut suspension helped ensure relatively roll-free handling, and those who appreciated well-developed rear-drive performance saloons soon revelled in the newcomer’s all-round competence. With a heavy right foot and a modicum of talent, any Sprint driver was guaranteed to come back from a test drive wearing the broadest of grins.

It’s not that there was anything particularly clever about the Sprint’s suspension set-up, which employed a live-axle rear end (albeit one sitting on coil springs) with independent suspension up front, complemented by front disc brakes. But it was effective enough to make this most sporting of Dolomites a formidable machine on both road and track, competing in the British Saloon Car Championship from 1974 to ’78. Andy Rouse and Tony Dron won the Manufacturers’ Championship in ’74, with Rouse going on to win the Drivers’ Championship the following year. Dron