Triumph Dolomite Sprint

Widely reckoned to be the best car ever to come out of British Leyland, the Triumph Dolomite Sprint was launched in 1973. The Sprint was a true sports saloon and offered a degree of performance that is impressive even by today's standards.

At the heart of the car was a modified 16-valve version of the Dolomite 1850 engine which developed a stonking 127bhp and could sprint to 60mph in just 8.4 seconds on its way to a top speed of 118mph. The Sprint used the four headlamp Dolomite shell reserved for the upper models in the range and also retained their classy interior trim with a walnut dash and door-cappings – making an odd contrast with the sporty alloy wheels which hinted at the power available. Sales for the Sprint were strong and the model remained in production until 1980 by which time 22,941 examples had been sold.

This example is a little bit different however. A copy letter on file to Gerry Marshall Racing Limited dated October 1981 confirms an order for a brand new, specially built Dolomite Sprint race car on behalf of the Letchworth Roofing Company.

Gerry Marshall Racing purchased a brand new shell (body number 059002WD) directly from British Leyland and proceeded to build the car which was driven with considerable success by Pete Walters – sponsored by Letchworth Roofing. A copy of a note from the Classic Saloon Car Club also states that it was driven at one point by Gerry Marshall, although no results can be found to substantiate this.

Following a successful racing career, the car was sold on, before shortly passing on to Peter Brown who campaigned it successfully in the Classic Touring Car Series until around 2005 when the vendor purchased it for him and his son to drive. They ran this car until 2007, after which time they decided to spend their development time on a less historic Sprint, the Marshall-built car resting at the back of the garage.

Sitting on Compomotive alloy wheels and Dunlop 048 tyres, this is pure race car throughout, having been built from a bare shell rather than converted back from a factory built road car. It is fitted with a long range tank, extinguisher system, roll cage and race battery. Koni shock absorbers with adjustable spring platforms have been previously set for correct corner weights and it has an uprated and adjustable anti-roll bar and solidly mounted steering rack. Stopping is taken care of by discs all round which are vented at the front, a bias valve adjustable from the driver’s seat taking care of front-to-rear balance.

Breathing through twin 048 Weber carburettors and an alloy airbox, the ‘zero hour’ Group 1 engine is fully lightened and balanced and has been fully rebuilt, having been started but not run in anger. It has an aluminium oil cooler, Mach rev. counter and runs a Lumenition system. The clutch is a twin plate 7 ¼ “ AP racing unit mated to a Leyland close-ratio gearbox. Final drive is through a 4.1:1 ratio limited slip diff with uprated half shafts.

In excellent condition throughout, this superbly kitted out Historic Saloon comes with one of the best pedigrees on the circuit and would no doubt be a very welcome addition to any Classic Saloon Car race series.