1977 Triumph Spitfire Convertible [Italian styling wrapped in British package] for sale

You’re looking at the best of Europe. Italian styling wrapped in a nimble British package and named after a famous WWII fighter plane

If this one seems particularly appealing to you, that’s because it’s frame-off restoration just a few years back. This included stripping and priming the whole car (just look at the undercarriage photos) to ensure that there would be no future issues with the super straight body. The bright yellow paint is the perfect shade for this classic roadster. A sprightly and aggressive bumblebee of a car like this one deserves a bold color that announces this car is here for fun. These final 1500 series Spitfires had arguably some of the best styling cues of the bunch with the flat rear end that was a cue taken from larger Triumphs like the Stag, and this one has been upgraded withgreat looking Maxilite wheels.

The Spitfire was always about representing the plucky nature of a British sports car. That meant an interior built for function, but in true English fashion, craftsmanship was still a priority. This nature is at its best in this roadster because nearly everything was rebuilt or replaced during its full restoration. That’s why the tan vinyl on the seats looks the same as when this car got off the boat in 1977. The real wood dashboard is smooth and beautiful with plenty of room to hold the heater/defrost controls and the full gauge package. From the moment you slip behind the wheel you know why Spitfires were legendary. The three-spoke sports steering wheel is the perfect diameter, and your right hand just naturally rests on the gearstick. This will fit you like a glove, and make you want to play hooky on every sunny day. If the weather does turn gray and wet, then just remove the convertible boot cover and raise the black vinyl top with one hand.

The final series of Spitfires received the largest motor of the bunch. A 1.5-liter four-cylinder might not seem like much, but there’s much more to this story. The powerplant was completely rebuilt less than 200 miles ago with upgrades that include twin HS4 SU carburetors, bored .030 over kit, Kent camshaft, solid state ignition, and stainless header and exhaust. So this is little Spitfire knows how to get aggressive without losing its sprightly charm. And that’s exactly how these became so popular. The car barely tipped the scales but had a level of rigidity not seen on other roadsters of its day. These were built on a solid backbone chassis with lightweight metal partial unibody. This gave them a solid but nimble feeling on the backroads, and it only got better when paired with the four-speed manual transmission w/electronic overdrive and front disc brakes.

This Spitfire almost seems too good to be true, but we have restoration photos and receipts that prove the amount of sweat equity (and money) someone invested. As such, this car is being sold at a significant loss to the restorer and the lucky buyer of this car is going to benefit without having to foot the bill of an expensive restoration. Indeed, this may be one of the nicest Triumph Spitfire’s in the entire world.