1964 Triumph Spitfire MK1 Roadster

In the late 1950s, it appeared that Standard-Triumph, with the Standard 8 and 10 and Triumph with the Herald, were locked in a 'right royal battle' with BMC's Austin A35 and Morris Minor, and in 1959 both brands with the Mini. Based on these little sedans, BMC struck first with the Austin-Healey Sprite in 1958. Triumph (just rescued by Leyland) countered with the Spitfire in 1962, by which time the Sprite was a MkII, with MG's Midget alongside. All three were cute, inexpensive open 2-seater sports cars, the unibody, 948cc, Spridgets were designed at home, the body-on-frame 1147cc Spitfire came from Giovanni Michelotti's Turin studio.

The first Triumph Spitfires, the Mark I, had the suffix '4' applied. Perhaps it was '4 for four cylinders and 4-speeds,' capacity 1147cc. This particular Triumph Spitfire 4 was purchased by H.C. Connally - the current owner's father - in 1964 and promptly setup for a life of auto-crossing, winning its Texas Regional SCCA Class Championship in 1964 and 1965 and taking another first in Carroll Shelby's 'Rat Pack group' sponsored 1967 Terlingua Challenge in south-west Texas.

A frame-off, nut, and bolt restoration was completed in 2013, and an equally extensive second restoration in 2017.