You might wonder
how I went from the near top of the British Car World
(Jaguar) to one of the most modest of all Anglo-cars,
the lowly Triumph Spitfire. Simple. I owned one. I
absolutely loved it, and I miss it terribly. Why? Because
it is the most "fun" I think I have ever had in a car.
The Spitfire is
not a great car. In fact, it is not even really a very good car.
It is noisy, slow, not particularly great handling, and
won't even break 100 MPH down hill! So you are still wondering,
what is about this car that is so special?
That is an easy question to answer.
Very few cars elicit
such a powerful feeling of excitement (to me) as the Spitfire.
Hey, we are talking about an inexpensive car, not a Ferrari
or Aston Martin, which are easy to be loved because
they are so beautiful, desirable--and expensive.
The Spitfire is a beautiful design that was under appreciated
in its day. It feels great. Steering feels
responsive, the engine feels strong--and what a great
exhaust note from a four cylinder! Pure music.
I always felt as if the car
was doing more than it actually was in the Spitfire. 0-60 in
14 seconds felt like 9 seconds. Curves came up to meet
you and you conquered them! 55 MPH felt like 80.
This is a sensual car, not in the sexual sense, but in your
view of the world. Your rear end sits a scant 5 inches off the ground,
feeling as much like a go cart as it does a car.
There is always a slight scent of oil in the cockpit, an incredible
turning radius, a car you can park anywhere (living in
San Francisco, this was always a problem...but not with the
Spitfire!), the feel of (every bump in) the open road.
I loved it. And I miss it. Never mind that any mid-70's Toyota
Corolla could (and did) blow my doors off, in
my heart, this car is right
up there with some other outstanding and superior cars.
Here's a recent up date to this site (12/2002) and a bit of
vindication. Local ads for older cars in area newspapers
had the following cars advertised roughly as follows:
1970 BMW 2002, very good condition, $2,600; 1972 240Z, new paint,
transmission, $3,900; 1972 Spitfire, VGC, new paint,
$5,000. Need I say more?
But when it gets down to it,
a love for cars is about what we feel. I miss this car
and will get another. and when I do, I will be 23 again and
nothing will have changed--at least--not in my heart.
Favorite
British
Cars
