Auto Express: BMW Triumphant! Maybe.
Auto Express [AE] is besides itself with excitement at the prospect that BMW's expansion plans will involve the revival of the British Triumph marque. So much so, they're going out on a limb and declaring it a done deal– ish. "Auto Express can exclusively uncover exciting plans by BMW to bring back one of Britain’s best-loved marques – Triumph is on to a winner!" Plans? As Robert Burns pointed out, the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley. Meanwhile, Auto Express has got this thing sussed– ish. "The historic British marque, which the maker took over when it bought MG Rover in 1994, would be a clear choice to market a rival for the new, Chinese-owned MG TF roadster." Clued-in in pistonheads will note that BMW lost billions on its English patient (Rover has since expired) and the forthcoming MG TF roadster has precisely no one shaking in their boots. But you gotta give credit to AE for coming-up with an equally credible explanation for why BMW would bother resurrecting Triumph. "As well as using the household name to market a new roadster, BMW would benefit from having Triumph models to test its low-weight materials and new technologies before using them on mainstream cars." Household name? Low-weight materials? To quote one of our native poets, I must not be drinking enough.
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seems like a stretch but sure, hey, why not. just give us a TR6 and a GT6 with a few technical updates. but is there really enough market in roadsters and 2-door coupes to justify it?
A 1 Series-based Spitfire weighing no more than 2200 lbs., 150-or-so horsepower and a price on the low side of $20k would sell like toothpicks in a termite colony. Make it so, Munich!
...But you still want to drive her. You must not be drinking enough.
Resurrecting Triumph may be a sound proposition for BMW in Europe, where the increasing ubiquity of the 3-series is undoubtedly starting to damage the brand equity. Executive parking spaces may still be full of BMWs, but so now are shopping mall parking lots and town centers on a Friday night - groaning with "pimped" E36 clunkers. If BMW is determined to substantially increase its volume in the sub-$40k market, then it needs to do so in a way that won't tarnish the blue propeller any further. Triumph would sit comfortably with Mini, and "excuse" them producing more front-drive cars.