avivalasvegas Posted November 24, 2020 Report Share Posted November 24, 2020 I had no idea the GT6 had Le Mans racing pedigree. While it didn't win, it clearly is an incredibly undervalued and under appreciated vehicle, given the selling price of every other car it raced against. I expect this will change rapidly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveweblin Posted November 24, 2020 Report Share Posted November 24, 2020 As the video shows it was the Triumph Spitfire that ran at LeMans. It featured changes from the normal road car including a special reshaped body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted November 25, 2020 Report Share Posted November 25, 2020 Interesting that one was Born in Le Mans and the other Bred at Le Mans. In the second you can see how the Spitfire fastback evolved into the GT6. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted November 25, 2020 Report Share Posted November 25, 2020 According to John Thomason (and who am I to contradict him?) although the "Born/bred at Le Mans" tag was good PR and advertising, it is completely untrue! As early as 1963, shortly after the original "Spitfire 4" had entered production, Michellotti was asked to produce a "Spitfire GT" design. He and his team built a prototype which was essentially the GT6 we know today, with a lifting rear tailgate, obviously a necessity for a practical production car. The group developing the Spitfire for Le Mans needed a closed version of the car for regulation and aerodynamic reasons and took a glass fibre mould off Michellotti's prototype! They omitted the lifting tailgate, to save weight and simplify the construction and installation. That hatchback and its weight were the reason why there never was a production Spitfire GT! It was decided that it held back the four cylinder too much and so the GT6 was developed! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted November 25, 2020 Report Share Posted November 25, 2020 I concur with John (both D and T) as I've read that same history elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avivalasvegas Posted November 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2020 If I understand correctly, you're saying they used the GT6 prototype hardtop, added a more power due to the weight increase, and you're saying road version development is not linked to the race car in the above video somehow? It's either a race Spitfire or a race version of what became known as the GT6, so which one is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted November 25, 2020 Report Share Posted November 25, 2020 The ones in the video are racing Spitfires, as the commentator says. They were 1147cc four cylinder - the engine that was in the production Spitfire at the time but with an 8-port head and high compression, more aggressive cam, and so on. The coupe roof on those Le Mans Spitfires was fibreglass, moulded from the Spitfire GT prototype, which was being developed into the GT6 because, with a steel roof and hatchback, the 1147 engine was underpowered in road trim. So there is definitely a connection between the road car (GT6) development and the Le Mans Spitfires, but it's the opposite way round from what the marketing department claimed in the adverts Colin posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avivalasvegas Posted November 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2020 I'm sure those racing spitfires were putting out close to 100 bhp with the above modifications in those days. No way a road car would ever use that state of tune and so Triumph used a larger engine with similar power ratings and a metal roof. In my very humble view, those Lemans cars are spitfires as much as a GT6 is a spitfire. i.e. more power and a roof Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrapman Posted November 27, 2020 Report Share Posted November 27, 2020 I think it was more than 100bhp from the LeMans engines, and they were much lighter than a Spitfire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babord Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 Such an interesting film! Quite an eye opener racing against Ferrari, Ford, Maserati, Cobra.. Do any of those Spitfires survive today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 6, 2020 Report Share Posted December 6, 2020 yes think you need to ask dave pearson (canley's) or mark field (jigsaw) i think they both have.............. the same car ....always been a bit contentious ( I might be wrong there ) there slots or articles around on the demise of certain registrations eg http://www.gt6mk2.com/Articles/Clone Racer.pdf 2010 Mark brought his 1B down to our are meeting in Hitchn and gave members a blast down the road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVD3500 Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 John Clancy's DVD "Codename: The Bomb" http://www.bfcc.biz/triumphdvd/bomb.html Covers this really well with some exclusive pics and film snips but also how they built the cars etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Twitchen Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 DVD available from the Club shop. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrapman Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 The problems with the LeMans Spitfires is that multiple cars wore the same registration. There was a set of cars sent to LeMans each year, some of which contained bits of the previous year's cars. Dave Pearson has the only car that is "original" Inthink in that it has not had substantial repairs. It lived in Switzerland and then the States for many years. Another car wears its original UK registration. Mark Field has a very authentic recreation, that wears the UK registration of one of the original cars. I has some original parts fitted to it I think. There is a pile of bits that used to belong to a guy called Herve, that was most of one of the original cars. that was slowly being returned to its original shape, but that has been ongoing for many years now. Not sure who owns it. There is the registration of one of the original cars on a Spitfire in the club museum. it has no parts of an original car in it. There is a factory rally car painted to look like a LeMans car, that used to be in France. Ther is a few spares bonnets about, and quite a few petrol tanks as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVD3500 Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 I think Mark started off by getting a wheel (or a pair of wheels) and then someone pointed out they knew where some body part was ( a sill or something) and one thing led to another. I think the engine was in Australia and some parts in Germany... A bit crazy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 Mark brought 1B down to the 3 Moorhens PH Hitchin club meeting for sponsored runs to support the entries to Le Mans gave everyone who pitched in a good fast Buzz down the road and back got a pin badge to prove it that was a good evening Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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