Relating the story of Triumph cars is complex enough, but to include all the earlier events which persuaded Siegfried Bettman to begin car manufacture in 1923 is even more so. The two authors, however - both of them experts in all things Triumph, the cars, and the political events surrounding them - have assembled and presented an enthralling story of the way the car-making side of the business came to prosper, was then afflicted by financial problems, and then rescued from oblivion by Standard in 1944. Thereafter, Triumph once again became a prominent marque, eventually dominated Standard, and (from the 1960s onwards) became an important cast member in the melodramatic events which involved Leyland, BMC and eventually British Leyland. Triumph Cars - The Complete Story, however, is not merely a turbulent trawl through the historical record, for both authors were also successful in locating the important characters whose efforts made it possible for Triumph to excite the world. Along the way, the career of cars as famous as the Glorias and Dolomites of the 1930s, the Heralds, Spitfires and TRs of the post-war years, and the headline-grabbing exploits in racing and rallying build up a story which no fictional writer could have created.
About the Author: After a varied career in the automotive industry, Graham Robson has gained a worldwide reputation as a motoring historian, and has more than 160 books to his credit. Born in 1936, and educated at Ermysteds Grammar School in Yorkshire, Graham then went on to study Engineering at Oxford University. He joined Jaguar Cars as a graduate trainee, becoming involved in design work on the Mk II, E-Type and Mark X. Beginning as a hobby, he became a rally co-driver, eventually joining the Sunbeam 'works' team in 1961, and took part in rallies up to International level (once with Roger Clark), but stopped rallying by 1968. During this time, he joined Standard-Triumph in Coventry, in 1961, as a Development Engineer, mainly on sports car projects. He then ran the re-opened 'works' motorsport department from 1962 to 1965, this being the period of the birth of Spitfire Le Mans cars, TR4, Vitesse, Spitfire and 2000 rally car developments. Graham Robson's writing began with rally reports for magazines which evolved into a job with Autocar from 1965 to 1969. He was recruited back to industry at Rootes to run the Product Proving department, then after a brief period in 1972 as technical director of a safety belt company, became an independent motoring writer. Graham has lived 'by the pen' and 'by the voice', not only writing but commentating, presenting and organising events of all types.
Richard Langworth (CBE) has been an automotive writer since 1969, when he sent a freelance article to Automobile Quarterly, on the strength of which he joined AQ as associate and later senior editor. In 1975 he left, and has since written or co-authored more than fifty books and 2000 articles on automotive history. Richard is a graduate of Wagner College and a veteran of the US Coast Guard. He and his wife Barbara have owned ten Triumphs from a 1938 Dolomite to an assortment of Mayflowers, Renowns and TRs. In 1975, he and several friends founded the Vintage Triumph Register, thinking the time had come for a club devoted to every model motorcar Triumph ever built. Langworth's other interest is Winston Churchill. In 1968 he founded what became The International Churchill Society, serving as president or chairman for ten years and editor of its journal, Finest Hour, for 35 years. In 2014 he joined Hillsdale College as senior fellow for The Churchill Project. The project sponsors educational programs and online courses, and is completing Churchill's official biography, now 28 volumes, with three left to go. Richard has written or edited nine books on Churchill. The newest, in 2017, was Winston Churchill, Myth and Reality: What He Actually Did and Said. In 2016 he melded his two interests in an article on Churchill's cars for The Automobile. Richard has hosted 18 automotive or Churchill tours of England, Scotland, France and Australia, including the 1978 Triumph tour of Britain. In 1998, he was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty The Queen "for services to Anglo-American understanding and the memory of Sir Winston Churchill."
