Miguel Sánchez
Thanks to being the first large-scale passenger car equipped with 16 valves in its cylinder head, the Triumph Dolomite Sprint It is especially well known among motor genealogists. A milestone that, by the way, was barely exploited at the time by the English house; which, in marketing matters, seemed to suffer from a certain advertising apathy.
What's more, while only a few years later the application of these cylinder heads - like that of the turbochargers - was announced with quite a few stickers on the bodywork, in the case of this model nothing makes anyone suspect externally of its then daring idea. to carry twice as many valves planned.
However, the main attraction shown by the Triumph Dolomite Sprint after more than half a century continues to be the form and manner in which it served as an alternative, and even an economic contest, to the momentum shown by BMW and Alfa Romeo in relation to sports sedans.
A segment that, although it ended up flourishing during the eighties, had been showing original signs since the appearance of the 1900 TI in 1952. Something to which was added the design of the Giulietta and Giulia to, only a little later, end synthesizing perfectly thanks to the release of certain versions between the call New Class from BMW.
ALFA ROMEO, DEFINING THE SPORTS SALOON
When Alfa Romeo presented the 1950 saloon in 1900, it did so in order to enter a totally new era; marked by production in large series and the motorization of the new urban classes, the then state company did not abandon its sporting character thanks to the variants International Tourism.
Likewise, the appearance of the Giulietta and the Giulia confirmed a really interesting path of work. And, in contrast to a multitude of family models that have been improvised into vehicles with a sporty feel thanks to certain later adjustmentsIn the case of these Alfa Romeos we are talking about sedans designed from scratch with an eye on their sports preparations.
Something whose paroxysm came in 1962 thanks to the launch of the Giulia, capable of hybridizing the habitability of a three volumes with a taste not for performance but for sports. In the end, two terms that are close in their definition but very far apart in their application. A debate that we will surely enter shortly since the current flight forward in terms of power well deserves slow reflection.
BMW, FROM PLOWS TO SPORTS CARS
Before the Second World War BMW already had an excellent technological record in sports matters. In fact some of his motorcycles - especially the units compressors for its official team - marked authentic technological milestones capable of calling into question the then magnificent British machinery.
Likewise, in terms of automobiles, the brand's name resonated strongly thanks to designs such as the 328, whose mix of power and lightness -even with interesting aerodynamic experiments under his belt- made him the undisputed dominator during the 1940 Mille Miglia.
However, the rigors of the post-war period put BMW on the ropes, forcing it to survive by launching plows and even kitchen equipment on the market in order to balance its accounts. Accounts so weak that, if it were not for successes like that of the twin cylinder 700, they would have given Mercedes-Benz the absorption of the brand on a plate.
Fortunately that did not happen, thus leading to the appearance of a new range from 1962 onwards characterized by combining, increasingly successfully, large-scale production with a certain sporty character applied to passenger cars suitable for everyday use. In fact, and in clear response to what Alfa Romeo has undertaken, BMW presented its Touring International versions based in 2000. A milestone for the European Touring Car Championship in its 2 Liter class.
TRIUMPH DOLOMITE SPRINT, THE ALTERNATIVE
Born with an eye on the circuits, those BMW and Alfa Romeo saloons quickly presented coupe versions - rivers of ink have been written about Alfa Romeo's GTV, also today in relation to its constant commercial revaluation - capable of increase both its power and its corresponding bills.
What's more, these began to move in the field of customer-pilots with pretensions in touring competitions based on two-liter models. A fact not accompanied by the inattention of the sporty touch in various sedans from both manufacturers although, at the same time, it is capable of leaving a certain gap through which some intrepid brand could reinvent the concept of the original Giulia adapted to more austere pockets.
Thus, Triumph - which knew the lighter side of sportiness thanks to models like the Spitfire - entered the game in 1973 by presenting its Dolomite Sprint to the press in Switzerland. Based on the previous year's Dolomite - equipped with a curious front-wheel drive version thanks to the work carried out by Alec Issigonis in BMC with the Morris 1100/1300-, this increased the displacement of the four-cylinder engine to 1.998 cc to produce 127 HP at 5.700 rpm.
All of this - and this is especially important - with a bill that is around a third cheaper than the one presented by the BMW and Alfa Romeo homologated in the two-liter segment. Without a doubt a bet, an ordeal, to the two companies responsible for having defined the concept of sports saloon during the fifties and sixties.
16 VALVES, THE GREAT NEW
It is curious to see how the appearance of the Triumph Dolomite Sprint coincides - unintentionally - with the outbreak of the Oil Crisis. A moment from which manufacturers began to take everything related to the issue much more seriously. fuel savings, thus resulting in extensive research on how to enhance the engine without the need to increase - even more - the displacement.
Thus, the fruit of such a context led to the popularization - already during the following decade - of quite a few sports models based on compacts with a displacement of less than two liters. All of this, of course, not only starred by the massive application of turbochargers but also by the appearance of electronic injection or 16 valves.
A significant advance that, although it was inherent to sportiness in a popular format back in the nineties, had its debut in a car. great series under the hood of the Triumph Dolomite Sprint.
Furthermore, in this case it had the particularity of placing the eight cams on a single shaft supported by a rocker shaft. A solution as original as it is simple and easy to maintain, thus helping the action of the two carburetors to provide a progressive and powerful torque curve even from low revs.
And, despite its Sprint surname, this Triumph did not have to be taken to high laps in order to get the best out of it. Without a doubt, a sports sedan to consider even today, more than half a century since its launch.
Images: Historic Auctioneers
