£11,600
Styled by Michelotti, the Vitesse brought six cylindered Italian flair to the Triumph range through its nine year run from 1962 until 1971, and was available as both a hard top and convertible. An updated Mk2 was launched in 1968, which featured much improved rear suspension which vastly improved the handling, and improvements to the engine made the 2 litre a true 100mph sports car.
Styled by Michelotti, the Vitesse brought six cylindered Italian flair to the Triumph range through its nine year run from 1962 until 1971, and was available as both a hard top and convertible. An updated Mk2 was launched in 1968, which featured much improved rear suspension which vastly improved the handling, and improvements to the engine made the 2 litre a true 100mph sports car.
Looking around the Triumph its clear to see someone has spent a lot of time, effort and money on the car. Although the dealer knows little about its past, it is an extremely clean car which does appear to have be an restoration, repainted and rebuilt using many new parts throughout, particularly in mechanical and suspension areas, but not clear what period this was done over and with some areas still needing tweaking to fully complete.
The car starts on the button and feels mechanically tight, but better than that, the exhaust note is fabulous, loud and gruff how a sports car should be!
The body appears very solid and free of any corrosion, and has likely undergone restoration with nicely applied white paint although there are small marks and chips variously around the car on on panels and door edges but no dings to the metalwork. The door openings look clean, however there is some bubbling under the paint inside the passenger door.
Brightwork is very presentable, with good door handles and light surrounds, while the bumpers have some marks to the bare metal and there is a badge missing from the boot’s chrome embellishment.
Below the car wire wheels are fitted, they are silver painted and look very clean fitted with good condition 155/80 R13 tyres which have deep tread.
Above, the hood fabric is very good although the plastic windows are quite dulled and scratched, and the quarter panels are coming unstitched in the top corner. A tonneau cover is included but the poppers need a little adjusting before it can be fully fitted.
The interior looks to have been retried with very good carpet and the front seats look very fresh while the rear bench seat has a little more patina of age and the seat back may have been re-coloured, and rear seat belts have been added to the car.
In the front the wooden dashboard is very nice, the lacquer is smooth and not cracked, and the edges of the wood crisp and the dials clean and clear. It has been given a wooden gear knob with Triumph logo, which is in good shape and a Moto Lita wooden steering wheel which although in good shape would benefit from being re-lacquered as it has lost its finish. The door cards are smooth with only a couple of marks at the bottom, although the drivers window winder has lost its bezel.
In the boot the metal work and paint are all very good and a good spare wheel is tucked under the carpet. Some trim is not installed but various parts are included, such as the sun visors.
The car is spotless underneath. The chassis rails look solid and straight, the white paint is fresh and doesn't look like it has seen much of the road, let alone bad weather. Some small welded repairs are visible in the rear footwells, but beneath the new paint so likely done at the time of restoration.
Looking at the cars systems, the fuel and brake hard lines all appear to be recent replacements, and in the suspension the bushes and track rod ends look fairly new as well and the major components were painted or reconditioned.
Elsewhere the exhaust is another recent addition and may be stainless and the engine was dry of oil or coolant leaks.
Sadly the last owner didn’t share the story of how this car came to be when he part exchanged it so we can only make assumptions based on what we see, and that would be a car that was extensively restored a few years ago to a very good standard, with an emphasis on making a great driving sports car which has seen dry use since then but needs a few small jobs tidying to make perfect that were never ‘got around to’, such as the boot trim and the hood windows.
If you are looking for a Vitesse to get in and drive this would be the ideal candidate. It looks like a great deal of effort and money has gone into making a solid and rust free car and that rebuilt suspension longs for open and winding roads. Inside and out it is in very presentable condition more than good enough to make the right impression but not so spotless you would be afraid to use and enjoy it. We think it'll fetch between £10,000 - £14,000.
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