Meanwhile, across town at Standard, the co-founder of the Swallow Sidecar and Coachbuilding Company came calling. A young William Lyons was in the market for a chassis to fit his new car design. Lyons and partner William Walmsley had a successful business building stylish sidecars to bolt onto just about any type of motorcycle. Swallow had begun to dabble in automobiles two years earlier with its version of the Austin 7, called appropriately the Austin Seven Swallow.
Lyons, armed with a sketch penned by coachbuilder Cyril Holland, wanted to create a two-seat open car. He purchased the Standard Nine chassis, and in 1929, the Standard-Swallow debuted at £235.
The diminutive 1929 Austin Seven Swallow, with its narrow track and slightly cartoonish lines (by today’s standards), was designed by the up-and-coming William Lyons of the Swallow Sidecar Company. The car was the result of Lyons’ body design being mounted atop a purchased Standard Nine chassis. It was offered as a coupe and a roadster, the latter having a rather bulbous tail section. (Photo Courtesy Richard Spiegelman)
The dramatic and stylish 1933 Standard Swallow, which was later known as the SS1. In four short years, Lyons’ designs had graduated from spindly little cars for everyman to the big leagues of cars with remarkable style and performance. This coupe, known as a saloon, was powered by the Standard 6-cylinder engine that made 48 hp. (Photo Courtesy Gary Harmon)
As you would expect for a car with these looks on the outside, the interior of the SS1 was spacious and well appointed. It was a very large two-passenger car, as was the trend of the day. (Photo Courtesy Gary Harmon)
Maudslay’s new partner at Standard, John Black, recognized the importance of such a relationship and nurtured it along with other similar opportunities. Standard Motor Company supplied Lyons with engines and chassis to fit Swallow bodies.
Black was also instrumental in helping Lyons realize his dream of producing a distinctive new sports car. In 1933, Lyons introduced the sleek and stylish SS (formerly Standard-Swallow) sports car. This was a true roadster with its cut doors, boat tail rear, and rakish design; it looked as if it were built to go fast.
The immediate success of the new SS was the springboard from which Lyons created SS Cars Ltd. and eventually Jaguar. Of course, the Swallow name reverted to Triumph 20 years later.
As Lyons was getting started, Bettmann needed to react quickly to the slumping sales of his Triumph automobiles so he turned his attention to “light” cars. As with the pre-war cars, these were essentially identical to the current production cars but of a smaller scale, almost like shrunken kiddy cars for adults. However, Bettmann was determined to maintain the same high quality of his full-sized line.
The popular 1932 Super Nine four-door sedan. These smart-looking saloons exhibited Triumph’s reputation for quality fit and finish and, along with its performance, helped pave the way toward Triumph’s first official sports car: the Gloria Southern Cross. The most prominent feature of the car was the 1,018-cc 9-hp Coventry Climax i.o.e. (inlet over exhaust) engine. With the exhaust valves on the side, pushrod-actuated intake valves over the top, and fed by a Solex carburetor, the car could achieve a top speed of 50 mph. An uprated 1,122-cc version of the engine delivered 10 hp and an additional 15 mph in the Southern Cross. Triumph sourced engines from Coventry Climax from the end of the Great Depression until the late 1930s when the company began building its own engines. (Photo Courtesy Simon Goldsworthy/Triumph World)
In the fall of 1927, Triumph introduced “the last word in the smallest class,” the Super Seven. Whether it was premonition, foresight, or just plain luck on the part of Bettmann, it proved to be the car that established Triumph as a prominent auto manufacturer.
The new little car had a wheelbase of just 81 inches and a width of 51 inches but it had room for four adults. It was powered by a 21-hp 832-cc 4-cylinder capable of 48 mph. The ladder frame featured semi-elliptic springs at the front, shock absorbers at all four wheels, and Lockheed hydraulic brakes. The customer had a choice of 19-inch 10-spoke stamped steel wheels or the more-sporting wire wheels. A bare chassis could be purchased for just £113 and a completed car for only £149.
This pricing made the car popular among coachbuilders as well as the public. At £149, the Super Seven cost more than the very popular Austin Chummy (£135) and the Singer 8 (£140), but Triumph was able to promote its higher level of quality as well as advanced comfort and safety features.
By 1928, Triumph was offering the Super Seven in six body styles ranging in price from £149 to £200. The most expensive was a custom-bodied sedan complete with leather interior. Prominent coachbuilders shied away from little cars. However, the Triumphs were so versatile that revered names such as Morgan-Hastings created cars on the Seven chassis.
SUPER SEVEN AND DONALD HEALEY
Bettmann was only concerned with his cars’ successes on the showroom floor; he paid little attention to the fact that the Seven was also enjoying competition success. By winning countless speed and endurance challenges across Australia and in the United Kingdom, the little Triumphs were building a reputation as sports cars. Of particular note is the name of one of the most successful drivers, Donald Healey, who later joined the company as Experimental Manager in 1934.
The success of the Super Seven continued through 1932, when it moved upscale with nicer appointments and became the Super Eight. In 1932, the Super Nine was also introduced; it boasted a new Coventry Climax 1-liter engine capable of 60 mph. Triumph was one of a handful of car manufacturers to survive the Great Depression, during which scores had failed. Lacking funds to design and build a new 4-cylinder engine, it sourced powerplants from Coventry Climax, located just a mile down the road.
With this car Triumph formally recognized the sports car market with a new body design called Southern Cross. It was an open car featuring a fold-down windshield, wire wheels, and semi-cut-down doors. Under the narrow hood sat a bored-out version of the Climax engine. It was a bit awkward and looked disproportionate, as did all the Seven models because of their short wheelbase. The Southern Cross received its wings when it was made part of the larger Gloria line in 1935.
The Gloria line of cars was actually quite stylish and attractive at the time. The cars were powered by 1,087- or 1,232-cc 4-cylinders engines or the optional 1,467- or 1,991-cc 6-cylinder Coventry Climax engines. The l Gloria Tourer looked a bit gangly because of the long wheelbase and this was particularly so with the softtop in place.
To create the sporting two-seat Southern Cross, the wheelbase was cut by a full 12 inches. The lines may not have flowed well, but it was certainly sporty and aggressive looking. Imagine, if you will, a more brutish version of the T-series MG with the notched doors. They were not fully cut-down doors because the downward angle rose again to meet the rear of the car, which appeared more rugged because of the external fuel tank sandwiched between the cockpit and the dual spare tires.
But credit is due to Donald Healey for making this 1,232-cc-powered underslung car into a sporting success. His Monte Carlo version featured dual down-draft Zenith carburetors delivering 48 bhp.
From 1934 to 1938 Triumph had a successful run of cars based on the Gloria platform. The platform allowed a variety of bodies