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Like its sportier sibling the Herald was styled by the Italian designer Michelotti. The Triumph Herald is a versatile platform being offered as saloon, coupe, convertible, estate or van so there should be a Herald for everyone. The Herald was produced to replace the Triumph Standard 8 & 10 models but was in direct competition with the successful Morris Minor, Ford Popular and Austin A35s. The first variants to be released were the coupe and saloon models with the remaining convertible, estate and van variants available within the following two years.
The unusually large use of glass in the cars design gave the saloon version of the Herald 93% all-round vision. Instrumentation was a single speedo in-front of the driver with a built in fuel gauge, except on the coupe which came with 3 separate gauges; a speedo, fuel meter and temperature gauge. The car came well equipped for the time with carpets and a heater as standard and options such as leather seats and wood veneer dashboard trim. The Herald's performance was also no better than the competition's, with 60mph coming in 31 seconds it was average at best.
In all the Herald was a successful for Triumph with sales of over 400,000 although the Herald's contribution to Triumph was also felt long after it's own demise, since it formed the basis for many cars in the Triumph line up; the Triumph Vitesse, Triumph GT6 and Triumph Spitfire all being based on the Herald's chassis. The Herald is an ideal budget classic, with a well established enthusiast base, parts and accessories are always easy to buy and with all the different variety there should be a Herald to suit all applications.
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