TheĀ Triumph Cycle Co. Ltd.Ā began producingĀ Triumph motorcyclesĀ at their works in Coventry in 1902. At first, they used engines purchased from another company, but the business prospered and they soon started making their own engines. In 1907 they developed a new factory. Major orders for the 550 cc ModelĀ H were placed by the British Army during the First World War; by 1918 Triumph had become Britain's largest manufacturer of motorcycles.
Triumph Type H
In 1921 Triumph acquired the assets andĀ premises of theĀ Dawson Car CompanyĀ and started producing a car with a 1.4-litre engine, named theĀ Triumph 10/20Ā which was designed for them byĀ Lea-Francis, to whom they paid a royalty for every car sold. Production of this car and its immediate successors was moderate, but this changed with the introduction in 1927 of theĀ Triumph Super 7, which sold in large numbers until 1934.
In 1930 the company's name was changed to Triumph Motor Company. They realized that Triumph could not compete with the larger car companies for the mass market, so Triumph decided to produce expensive cars, and introduced the modelsĀ Southern CrossĀ andĀ Gloria. At first they used engines designed byĀ Coventry Climax, but in 1937 Triumph started to produce engines to their own designs byĀ Donald Healey, who had become the company's experimental manager in 1934.
In November 1944 what was left of the Triumph Motor Company and the Triumph trade name were bought by theĀ Standard Motor Company and a subsidiary "Triumph Motor Company Limited" was formed. Triumph's new owners had been supplying engines toĀ JaguarĀ and its predecessor company since 1938. After an argument between Standard-Triumph managing director,Ā Sir John Black, andĀ William Lyons, the creator and owner of Jaguar, Black's objective in acquiring the rights of the bankrupt Triumph business was to build a car to compete with the soon to be launched post-war Jaguars.
The pre-war Triumph models were no longer produced and in 1946 a new range of Triumphs was announced, starting with theĀ Triumph Roadster. The Roadster had an aluminium body because steel was in short supply and surplus aluminium from aircraft production was plentiful. The same engine was used for theĀ 1800 Town and CountryĀ saloon, later named theĀ Triumph Renown, which was notable for the styling chosen by Standard-Triumph's managing directorĀ Sir John Black
In the early 1950s it was decided to use the Triumph name for sporting cars and the Standard name for saloons In 1953 theĀ Triumph TR2Ā was initiated, the first of theĀ TRĀ series of sports cars that were produced until 1981. The resultingĀ Triumph TR2Ā was shown in March 1953 at theĀ Geneva Motor Show.Ā The TR2 would form the basis of the evolution of the TR line up to theĀ TR6.