Triumph was a British sports car company that made their first appearance in Gran Turismo 4. Originating in Coventry, England, Triumph was formed in 1885 as a bicycle manufacturer, and in 1902 the company begun producing motorcycles. After World War I, in which Triumph produced a large number of 550cc Model H motorbikes for the British Army, the company begun producing cars, starting with the 1.4L Triumph 10/20 in 1921. Sales were slow at first, but when Triumph brought in its Super 7 model in 1927 sales skyrocketed and the Super 7 remained in production until 1934.
Realizing that it couldn't compete with the larger car makers (Austin, Morris etc.), Triumph begun producing expensive vehicles such as the Southern Cross and Gloria using money earned from their lucrative motorcycle arm. The Great Depression however hurt car (and motorcycle) sales and in 1936 the motorcycle arm split off from the company to become Triumph Engineering Co. Ltd. Triumph Motor Company was still responsible for motorcar production and henceforth that continued, but three years later, with the outbreak of World War II imminent, Triumph went into receivership.
In 1944 the Standard Motor Company bought Triumph and production resumed at Standard's Canley factory, on the outskirts of Coventry (the Priory Street works was destroyed by German bombing in 1940). Changing its focus to the sports market, Triumph produced a heap of renowned sporting machines during the 1950s and 1960s, including the Triumph TR series of roadsters, the Herald saloon (1959) and the Spitfire (1962), Vitesse (1962) and Dolomite (1972). However financial troubles hit once again and the huge Leyland Motors concern bought out Standard-Triumph in 1960, beginning an era of good sales... and sometimes bad management.
Nevertheless Triumph sales stayed high. The TR series continued to evolve, and so did the Spitfire, but in 1969 Triumph's parent company, Leyland, merged with the British Motor Corporation (BMC) to form British Leyland (BL). Strikes at many BL factories were common during the 1970s and as a result car quality suffered, but once again Triumph managed to stay on top. But, with BL's financial issues growing out of control and many of their cars becoming old and obsolete, TR7 production ended in 1981-three years later the Acclaim ended production. After 63 years Triumph had closed their doors.
Today the Triumph name is owned by BMW; there are speculations that the Triumph brand may be revived by the big German car maker.
List Of Cars
Gran Turismo 4
Gran Turismo PSP
Gran Turismo 5
Standard Cars
Gran Turismo 6
Simple Cars
See also
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