Triumph Vitesse By Dinky Toys

The real Triumph Vitesse was developed out of the Herald, so it was perhaps inevitable that Dinky Toys would do the same thing with their miniature version.

- Andrew Ralston

Meccano Limited, the makers of Dinky Toys, had always enjoyed a close relationship with Standard-Triumph and this had enabled a model of the Herald to be launched on the same day as the real car in 1959 – an undertaking which must have depended on confidential plans being supplied to the toy company in advance. When it came to the Vitesse, Dinky weren’t so quick off the mark: the real car was introduced in May 1962, but the Dinky wasn’t announced in the Meccano Magazine until February 1964. The Dinky Herald had been quite innovative, as it was one of the very first Dinky Toys to be fitted with spring suspension, following on from the Rolls Royce Silver Wraith two months earlier. From a marketing point of view, too, the Dinky was notable for being made available in some special promotional colour schemes to be given away in Triumph showrooms, and these items can now fetch huge sums at auction.