Spitfire 4 & Spitfire 1500

The first Spitfire was somewhat confusingly called the Spitfire 4, though most people refer to it today as the MkI. The 1500 was the last of the line and would logically have been called the MkV, but Triumph were keen to draw attention to its bigger 1493cc engine. That – and the other changes wrought along the way from first to last – make the two cars very different in character, as Iain Ayre explains.

- Iain Ayre

The Triumphisti leaning on the bar in the pub will usually tell you that the MkIII Spitfire 1300 is the best of the bunch, and they’re probably right. While at college, I owned a MkIII for a while, and it did very well. In those halcyon days of the last century, there was free university tuition and even a small grant for students, and I worked Saturdays and holidays at a tire shop. That generated enough spending money to run a car, particularly one that offered 30+mpg and cheap spares. Naturally, it would be a Triumph, and while I didn’t have the luxury of choosing a particular period of Spit, the example that showed up for the right price was a MkIII. The college was out in the Buckinghamshire countryside, and frosty winter morning drives with the heater on and the roof down are a pleasant memory.

Not everybody would agree with the prevailing MkIII orthodoxy though, which is just as well since I have been asked to write about the Spitfire 4 and 1500. Fortunately, there’s still plenty to be said in favor of these other varieties too, because all the Spitfire models are pretty, pleasant and easy to drive, cheap to buy and run, convertible, and earlier ones will soon be appreciating if looked after. What’s not to like, as our American friends would ungrammatically but enthusiastically opine?

So I will broaden the first-vs-last brief slightly to say that the Spitfire evolved into two main flavors which are quite different. There are earlier cars and IV/1500s. The earlier cars are sportier, with revvy engines that enjoy the occasional Italian tune-up, and the later 1500s are cruisers with better torque, but their engines can break if revved too hard. The later Spitfire versions are also heavier and comfier, but less lithe. Sample both types before buying and choose a flavor tickles your taste buds.