The Triumph Spitfire is an enthusiast’s dream: beautiful Italian lines, perfect driving position and tremendous aftermarket support. Group 44 Inc. and others made the Spitfire a winner on track. Despite all this, the Spitfire still represents a bargain in our world. You can easily find a nice one for $5000 or less.
Spitfire fans know the truth: This is a …
Best value of any vintage sports car that's out there.
'Read the rest of the story' link is 404
In reply to erohslc:
Yup. 
Looks like the link is fixed. I love my Spitfire and my Wife and sons love theirs too. It's a real family bonding experience, a great way to spend some time together. (pushing the damn things into the garage so we can fix them again)
mike
You need to step over to the Classic site at classicmotorsports.com and click the link from there to view the story. Sorry, it's a bit of weirdness we are working to debug.
I love Spitfires but am unlikely to own one. They are a big reason why I run in the race group I do. I enjoy dicing with them and they also seem pretty sturdy with few DNFs........but with all that said I can't see me kicking my old Japanese car habit.
Tom
I've been looking for a vintage race car to run in the PIBRRR, and I've been concentrating on Spridgets. I don't know a ton about any of these older British sports cars. Is there a good reason to choose a Spitfire over a Spridget?
Well yes. All the cool people drive Triumphs! :)
In reply to Marty:
I didn't know that.
But maybe you could go into a little more detail as to why that would be the case?
They are very similar in size, weight, performance.
Each has their Achilles Heel.
Both are a ton of fun.
I'm a Spitfire guy because it was the first car I got involved with and raced.
As said, they are all fun. Since you are a fellow Ohio folk come on out to PittRace in July. There are usually a handful of both Spitfires and Sprigits at that event and you can compare and talk to the drivers. If you feel like driving a bit farther come to the Kastner Cup at Summit Point in May. There are already 3 sprigits and 6 spitfires registered for that event and its only mid-March. There are 29 Triumphs total registered for that event so if you are into Triumphs this will be THE race to attend for 2015.
Timing is everything when buying or selling an open car. Wait till fall when buying. Then you'll typically buy at a much better price and have all winter to fix it up.
Marty wrote: As said, they are all fun. Since you are a fellow Ohio folk come on out to PittRace in July. There are usually a handful of both Spitfires and Sprigits at that event and you can compare and talk to the drivers. If you feel like driving a bit farther come to the Kastner Cup at Summit Point in May. There are already 3 sprigits and 6 spitfires registered for that event and its only mid-March. There are 29 Triumphs total registered for that event so if you are into Triumphs this will be THE race to attend for 2015.
What event are you talking about at PittRace? PVGP?
The Spitfire has the easiest engine in the world to access.
“The difference between try and triumph is a little umph.”- Marvin Phillips
In reply to spitfirebill:
Well I know from my TVR's that I love flip front ends for access to the engine. That is a plus.
I was Spitfire free for a couple of years, but have solved that by picking up a restorable 1970 model. I truly love Spitfires. As for Sprite vs. Spitfire, we should do that story again. I now have both, and can tell you that if nothing else, a big guy fits in a Spitfire better. IN SCCA racing Spitfires race against Sprites and I believe Sprites hold an edge. In sales, I believe the Spitfire outsold the Sprite, by a comfortable margin. Starting in 1975, they both had the same 1500 drivetrain, something Sprite owners loathe.
In reply to Tim Suddard:
"IN SCCA racing Spitfires race against Sprites and I believe Sprites hold an edge."
Back in the day it was a toss up but Spitfires won more GP and FP titles than did the Spridgets. I used to race a 1296cc Spit back then and was always mixing it up with 1275cc Spridgets (as well as minis). I'm noticing more Spridgets on the track than Spits in vintage racing these days however.
I have owned three Triumph Spitfires over the years. My first two brand new cars were rear-ended by other drivers and both these new cars were totalled. My present Spitfire, a 1978, was bought used by me in 1987 and I still own it and dtrive it regularly! It starts and runs great! It has over 128,00 miles on it. It just goes to show you that these cars are very reliable if one takes care to maintain them and not abuse them. The Triumph Spitfire is still a very attractive and popular car.
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