[TR] Rover - back to Triumphs

[Bill Davies]

> Someone (of Triumph factory experience) once said that the T2000/T2500
> and Dolomite were "Badge Engineered", so I wonder what chassis or
> platform series they formed for what other manufacturers?

I think this may be a matter of Chinese whispers. Both Dolomite ad 2000
family were pure Triumph (Michelotti) designs, with little commonality with
other vehicles in the Leyland, and later BL, catalogue. Of course, Triumph
was just one part of a much larger organisation, with access to a very large
parts bin. Odd components cross over to Austin, Morris and (more
significantly) Jaguar, but the designs themselves were pure Triumph.
The Chinese whispers may relate to the Dolomite engine, designed by Triumph
and sold to SAAB. The SAAB variants of the slant-4 engine reached the
marketplace before the indigenous Triumph 1854cc versions. Exact capacities
were different between the Triumph and SAAB versions, but they were part of
a common design. A 1998cc version was also used in the TR7 and (with 16
valves) the Dolomite Sprint.
The confusion with the 2000 and 2500 may again relate to the engines used.
The Mk3 versions of these cars never reached the marketplace, but the
project got as far as 30-40 prototype bodyshells being produced, many of
which reached the road in various forms. The main identifier of the Mk3 cars
is a longer bonnet and nose, with mildly revised shape, to accommodate a
redesigned (longer) engine also intended for the Mk3 project. Though the Mk3
project was axed, mush of the development work benefited other parts of BL.
That longer engine, now bearing little resemblance to the 2000 and 2500 unit
from which it derived, was used in the Rover SD1 Saloons in 2300 and 2600
capacities. So it was a Triumph engine, derived from the Triumph 2000
project, which ended up powering some of Rover's High profile models.
Cheers,
Bill.