TriumphSpitfire

Triumph Spitfire VIN Decoder

Only the very last Spitfires carry a VIN. Every earlier car is known by its commission number, the "chassis number" of many papers and club guides: how to read it, with the suffix letters, the engine number, the late VINs and the Heritage Certificate that ties them together.

A black commission plate reading COMM No, PAINT and TRIM, with a smaller painted plate below it, on red bodywork above a cut-open sill.
The commission plate of a Spitfire Mk IV or 1500, riveted to the left side of the bulkhead with a smaller plate below it, above a sill cut open for repair, in October 2012.BiTurbo228, CC BY 2.0

The number that identifies a Spitfire is stamped on a small alloy plate under the bonnet (hood), and for all but the last cars it is not a VIN. Triumph identified its cars by commission number, and plates with a VIN replaced the commission plates only at the very end of production. Owners, and even the clubs' guides, often call the commission number the chassis number; they mean the same thing. Read with the engine number, and with the factory's own ledger behind them, it tells a buyer which version a car is, where it was meant to be sold and how it left the factory.⁠1​2​3​4

Reading a commission number

Lift the bonnet and look at the left side of the bulkhead (firewall), just above the sill (rocker panel): the plate is riveted there. A commission number has up to three parts. Its prefix names the version and, for the American cars, the market; the serial places the car in its run; and the letters after it, where there are any, record how it left the factory.

On later cars for the United States, Moss Motors' data for the US Mk IV and 1500 put the vehicle number beside the left-hand door striker plate. A plate of February 1976 pictured on triumphspitfire.com gives the month and year the car was made, with the American safety statement. The same site pictures an early plate, which names the Standard Motor Company as maker.

The plate also has boxes for the paint and trim codes. Colours decodes them, and explains why the plate of an early Spitfire 4 may hold no code at all.⁠1​5​2​6​7​8

FM28001U

  1. FMThe prefix: a Spitfire 1500 for North America
  2. 28001The serial: the first car of the 1975 model year
  3. UThe suffix: built to US specification
An example: FM28001U, the number at which the Vintage Triumph Register starts the US 1500s of the 1975 model year, with the U of a US-specification car.

Contents

Commission numbers by version

The Vintage Triumph Register, the guide of the Triumph Sports Six Club (TSSC) and the Dutch Triumph Spitfire Club print the same ranges, though the Dutch club gives the Mk III's as one run, FD1–FD92803. The Register says its list was collected from various sources, so the three may share an origin.

VersionBuiltCommission numbersNotes
Spitfire 4October 1962 to December 1964FC1–FC44656Fewer numbers than cars: see below
Spitfire 4 Mk IIDecember 1964 to January 1967FC50001–FC88904triumphspitfire.com gives the last as FC88912
Mk IIIJanuary 1967 to December 1970FD1–FD15306, FD20000–FD51967, FD75000–FD92803One triumphspitfire.com page ends the run at FD99203, which would give more numbers than any production figure in print (our arithmetic); the same site lists FDU for the federal US cars
Mk IVNovember 1970 to late 1974FH3–FH64995Outside North America; triumphspitfire.com lists FK for US cars of the 1971 and 1972 model years
1500Late 1974 to August 1980From FH75001Outside North America; the TSSC's guide runs to FH130001, then VINs
1500 for North America1973 to 1980 model yearsFrom FM1The cars of the 1973 and 1974 model years have the Mk IV body; FM28001 starts the 1975 model year

triumphspitfire.com also lists FL for Swedish cars, and a 7 before the prefix, as in 7FD, on some Canadian cars; Wikipedia instead ties a 7 to cars assembled in Ireland. Both are leads, and no reliable source read confirms either.⁠2​3​5​9​10​7​11

A dark green Spitfire 4 with its black hood up, square on from the front on a show field.
A green Spitfire 4 square on at the Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair in February 2011, its grille a fine mesh in two halves.Ian Sutton, CC BY 2.0
A pale blue Spitfire 4 Mk II with a hardtop, square on from the front, showing its horizontal-bar grille.
A pale blue Spitfire 4 Mk II with a hardtop, square on in a car park in March 2009, its grille of horizontal bars.Dave Howes, CC BY-SA 2.0
A white Spitfire Mk III square on from the front, its chrome bumper crossing the grille, outside closed shopfronts.
A white Mk III square on in France in June 2012, its bumper raised across the grille.Akela NDE, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr
A dark green Spitfire Mk IV with the hood down, square on from the front on park grass under trees.
A green Mk IV square on at Wallace Park, Lisburn, County Antrim, its smooth bonnet badged "Spitfire IV".Notafly, CC BY-SA 4.0
A red Spitfire 1500 with the hood down, square on from the front, its decal on the bonnet.
A red Spitfire 1500 square on in July 2008, with its bonnet transfer, chin spoiler and black under-riders.Brian Snelson from Hockley, Essex, England, CC BY 2.0

Contents

Numbers and cars

A range is a run of numbers issued, not a count of cars built, and the two do not always agree. The Spitfire 4's range, FC1 to FC44656, holds 44,656 numbers by our arithmetic: 917 to 1,097 fewer than the two production figures in print, which the production tables below give with their sources. The Mk II's range runs the other way, with some 1,500 more numbers than cars, and the Mk III's three ranges come within a few hundred of its production figure.

Close-up of a red Spitfire 4 boot lid with chrome TRIUMPH letters, a T-handle and 'Spitfire 4' script.
The "Spitfire 4" script on the boot (trunk) of a race-prepared car at the Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival in May 2015; no Mk 2 badge shows, so it is most likely a Spitfire 4 rather than a Mk II.SarahStierch, CC BY 4.0

Contents

Suffixes

Letters after the serial record how the car left the factory. Practical Classics gave buyers the key in 2000:

Triumph used commission, not chassis, numbers: 'O' after the commission number indicates Overdrive; 'U' stands for USA spec ('UC' for California); 'L' for lefthand-drive.

Practical Classics, "Buyers Guide: Triumph Spitfire", May 2000

triumphspitfire.com lists more, among them IU on American 1500s that it says were assembled in Belgium in 1974; no reliable source read confirms them.

The tail of a dark blue Spitfire 4 Mk II with its Overdrive script, wire wheels and chrome quarter-bumpers.
An Overdrive script beside the TRIUMPH letters of a dark blue Spitfire 4 Mk II at a show in May 2015; the O after a commission number records the same fitting.Handelsgeselschaft, CC BY-SA 4.0
The rear of a pale blue Spitfire 4 Mk II with a hardtop, its boot script and quarter bumpers.
No Overdrive script on the boot of a pale blue Spitfire 4 Mk II in a car park in March 2009; the suffix of its commission number would say whether it left the factory with overdrive.Dave Howes, CC BY-SA 2.0

Contents

The engine number

The engine number is stamped on a machined face high on the left of the cylinder block, where the head meets the block. Its prefix names the engine, so it shows at once whether a car still has the kind it was built with. Canley Classics' chart of the prefixes leaves out American engines.

PrefixFitted to
FCSpitfire 4 and Mk II
FDMk III; triumphspitfire.com instead labels FD the US Mk III's engine and lists FE for engines with emission controls
FHMk IV
FKUS Mk IV, as triumphspitfire.com lists it
FM1500, in every market; in the United States from the 1973 model year
FPMG Midget 1500: the same engine, so in a Spitfire it is a swap
KC, KETriumph GT6, a six: in a Spitfire, a conversion

Letters follow the number too. triumphspitfire.com reads H and L as high and low compression and E as engine, so that HE marks a high-compression engine, with U and C for American and Californian engines and FR for one reconditioned at the factory; no other source read confirms the list.⁠5​6​14​1​7

Close view of a Spitfire engine with a polished rocker cover, red block, orange distributor cap and alternator.
A four-cylinder engine in a dark green Spitfire, described by its photographer as a 1500, in July 2012; no stamped number can be read in this view, and the polished rocker cover and red leads are later fittings.Sunappu-shashin, CC BY-SA 4.0

Contents

Where the other numbers are

Other parts carry numbers of their own:

NumberWhereWho says
Body numberA small plate below the commission platetriumphspitfire.com
Gearbox numberThe upper right of the gearbox (transmission) casingMoss Motors, for the US Mk IV and 1500
Rear axle numberThe bottom flange of the axle housingMoss Motors, for the US Mk IV and 1500
Frame numberOriginal Dutch-market cars only: stamped in the frame on the right, under the rear carburettorThe Dutch club
Late VIN plateAfter October 1979, a small plate welded to the right-hand boot (trunk) guttertriumphspitfire.com

No source read explains how to read the gearbox numbers.⁠6​5​7

Contents

VINs, 1979–80

triumphspitfire.com dates the change from commission plates to VIN plates to October 1979. Practical Classics explained the new numbers:

Very late 1500s were given VIN numbers beginning TF. A figure 1 in the number is righthand-drive; 5 is rhd with overdrive.

Practical Classics, "Buyers Guide: Triumph Spitfire", May 2000

The TSSC's guide lists the VINs after its last commission numbers, from TFADW1AT onwards. The rest of the decoding is triumphspitfire.com's: an eight-character prefix, each letter or figure standing for a fact about the car, then a six-figure serial, 14 characters in all.

Decoded, it describes a right-hand-drive car with overdrive for Britain and Europe, built at Canley, with the letter for the 1980 model year: the last Spitfire, which the British Motor Museum keeps. The museum's record gives no VIN, so the number rests on triumphspitfire.com alone.⁠1​3​7​15

TFADW5AT009898

  1. TTriumph
  2. FSpitfire
  3. AThe market: A Britain and Europe, V the United States, Z California, L Canada
  4. DThe body: a two-seat convertible
  5. WThe engine: the 1500's
  6. 5Drive and gearbox: 1 right-hand drive, 2 left-hand drive, 5 and 6 the same with overdrive
  7. AThe model year: 9 for 1979, A for 1980
  8. TThe plant: Canley
  9. 009898The serial
An example: TFADW5AT009898, the last Spitfire's VIN as triumphspitfire.com records it, read by that site's key.
A brown Spitfire 1500 with black rubber bumpers and added driving lamps, hood up, square on in the desert.
A brown Spitfire 1500 with the black rubber bumpers of the 1979 and 1980 American model years, in Arizona; its VIN plate is not shown, and the driving lamps and souvenir plate were added.jillnjer, CC BY 2.0

Contents

Heritage Certificates

The archive of the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, holds the factory records of Triumph cars from 1946 to 1981. A Heritage Certificate is a certified copy of one car's entry in the original ledger, and the museum describes what it can show:

Discover details such as build and despatch dates, engine and body numbers, colour scheme, and details of factory fitted equipment.

British Motor Museum, "Heritage Certificates"

The museum adds that the ledgers vary, so not every detail is recorded for every model, and names the uses: confirming a car's identity, tax exemption, an age-related registration, and import and export. The body number is a check of its own; triumphspitfire.com describes it as close to the commission number but not the same.

A certificate cannot prove that the car in front of you is the car in the ledger. Only the numbers on the car can do that, by agreeing with the certificate and with each other.⁠4​7

A brick museum building with a round glazed entrance, purple flags and a lawn crossed by a chain barrier.
The British Motor Museum at Gaydon, Warwickshire, where the Heritage Trust's archive keeps the factory records a Heritage Certificate is copied from, in September 2021.Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0

Contents

Checking a car's numbers

  1. Plate and papers

    The commission number on the plate should match the car's papers, and the engine and body numbers should belong with it; a Heritage Certificate gives the factory's pairing.

  2. Close, not identical

    triumphspitfire.com notes that a car's commission, body, engine, differential and frame numbers differ but run close, and that only a large difference should worry a buyer.

  3. The engine prefix

    FC, FD, FH and FM are Spitfire engines. An FP engine is a Midget 1500's, a swap; a KC or KE engine is a GT6's, and it and any other engine are conversions, which the buying guide describes.

  4. The plate itself

    It should be riveted to the left of the bulkhead. An American door-pillar plate on a car presented as a British one, or a later American car without one, needs explaining.

  5. The sill joint

    The weld runs where each sill meets the bulkhead show whether a sill has been replaced; the buying guide explains.

  6. Dutch cars

    Original Dutch-market cars also carry their number stamped in the frame, the Dutch club says: a second check that the frame belongs to the car.

  7. American cars

    How an American car's commission number relates to its model year and its title is on North American Spitfires.

A pale yellow Spitfire Mk III with its whole bonnet tipped forward, showing the engine, on a show field.
A pale yellow Mk III at a car show in July 2009, its bonnet and wings (fenders) tipped forward to open the engine bay where the engine number is stamped.dave_7, CC BY 2.0
The round tail of a white Spitfire Mk III with its hood folded, seen from behind on tarmac.
A white Mk III from behind in France in June 2012: its "Spitfire Mk3" script names the version, which an FD commission number should confirm.Akela NDE, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr

Contents

Production

Production: how far the sources agree

45,753, Spitfire 4 (Mk I), 1962–64
Disputed.
45,573, Spitfire 4 (Mk I), Oct 1962–Dec 1964
Disputed.
626, Spitfire 4, of which sold in South Africa to Dec 1965 (NAAMSA-based estimate)
One good source.
37,409, Spitfire 4 Mk II, Dec 1964–Jan 1967
Good sources agree.
257, Mk II, of which built in South Africa (Motor Assemblies)
One good source.
265, Mk II, of which sold in South Africa (NAAMSA)
One good source.
65,320, Mk III, Jan 1967–Dec 1970 (federal 1969–70 cars included)
Good sources agree.
632, Mk III, of which sold in South Africa, 1968–71 (NAAMSA)
One good source.
70,021, Mk IV, Nov 1970–Dec 1974; whether the US 1973–74 FM cars are included is not stated
Good sources agree.
95,829, 1500, Dec 1974–Aug 1980; whether the US 1973–74 FM cars are included is not stated
Disputed.
91,137, 1500, 1974–80
Disputed.
over 314,000, Spitfire, all versions, 1962–80
Good sources agree.
314,342, "Canley built 314,342 Spitfires"
One good source.
more than 310,000, Spitfire, all versions
One good source.
approximately 315,000, Spitfire, all versions
Not yet confirmed.
1,523, Spitfire, sold in South Africa, Jul 1963–early 1972, all Marks
One good source.

  1. 45,753Spitfire 4 (Mk I), 1962–64

    Triumph Sports Six Club, Model pages: Spitfire 4/Mark II (model_ID=24), Mark III (23), Mark IV (25), 1500 (26)⁠12; Classic & Sports Car, A–Z of classics: Triumph Spitfire I, II, III, MkIV, 1500⁠18; Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph Spitfire", 2026⁠11; triumphspitfire.com ("Spitfire & GT6 Magazine and Information Warehouse"), Reference pages (group): models and options; Mk I–1500 options-and-changes logs; engine numbers; 1979–80 VINs; what year is my car; final drive; general specification data; stock tyres; wheel alignment; lubrication; tuning; fuses; paint and trim codes; side stripes; decal and badge placements; wire wheels; head swaps; substitute parts; suppliers; new owner; pre-purchase checklist; spotters guide, pages modified 2023⁠7

  2. 45,573Spitfire 4 (Mk I), Oct 1962–Dec 1964

    Canley Classics, "Production Figures"⁠9; Triumph Spitfire Club (Netherlands), "Spitfire modellen", "Aankoop informatie", "Clubinfo", home⁠5; triumphspitfire.com ("Spitfire & GT6 Magazine and Information Warehouse"), Reference pages (group): models and options; Mk I–1500 options-and-changes logs; engine numbers; 1979–80 VINs; what year is my car; final drive; general specification data; stock tyres; wheel alignment; lubrication; tuning; fuses; paint and trim codes; side stripes; decal and badge placements; wire wheels; head swaps; substitute parts; suppliers; new owner; pre-purchase checklist; spotters guide, pages modified 2023⁠7

  3. 626Spitfire 4, of which sold in South Africa to Dec 1965 (NAAMSA-based estimate)

    Classic Car Africa, "The Wallflower"⁠19

  4. 37,409Spitfire 4 Mk II, Dec 1964–Jan 1967

    Canley Classics, "Production Figures"⁠9; Triumph Sports Six Club, Model pages: Spitfire 4/Mark II (model_ID=24), Mark III (23), Mark IV (25), 1500 (26)⁠12; Classic & Sports Car, A–Z of classics: Triumph Spitfire I, II, III, MkIV, 1500⁠18; Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph Spitfire", 2026⁠11; Triumph Spitfire Club (Netherlands), "Spitfire modellen", "Aankoop informatie", "Clubinfo", home⁠5; triumphspitfire.com ("Spitfire & GT6 Magazine and Information Warehouse"), Reference pages (group): models and options; Mk I–1500 options-and-changes logs; engine numbers; 1979–80 VINs; what year is my car; final drive; general specification data; stock tyres; wheel alignment; lubrication; tuning; fuses; paint and trim codes; side stripes; decal and badge placements; wire wheels; head swaps; substitute parts; suppliers; new owner; pre-purchase checklist; spotters guide, pages modified 2023⁠7

  5. 257Mk II, of which built in South Africa (Motor Assemblies)

    Classic Car Africa, "The Wallflower"⁠19

  6. 265Mk II, of which sold in South Africa (NAAMSA)

    Classic Car Africa, "The Wallflower"⁠19

  7. 65,320Mk III, Jan 1967–Dec 1970 (federal 1969–70 cars included)

    Canley Classics, "Production Figures"⁠9; Triumph Sports Six Club, Model pages: Spitfire 4/Mark II (model_ID=24), Mark III (23), Mark IV (25), 1500 (26)⁠12; Classic & Sports Car, A–Z of classics: Triumph Spitfire I, II, III, MkIV, 1500⁠18; Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph Spitfire", 2026⁠11; Triumph Spitfire Club (Netherlands), "Spitfire modellen", "Aankoop informatie", "Clubinfo", home⁠5; triumphspitfire.com ("Spitfire & GT6 Magazine and Information Warehouse"), Reference pages (group): models and options; Mk I–1500 options-and-changes logs; engine numbers; 1979–80 VINs; what year is my car; final drive; general specification data; stock tyres; wheel alignment; lubrication; tuning; fuses; paint and trim codes; side stripes; decal and badge placements; wire wheels; head swaps; substitute parts; suppliers; new owner; pre-purchase checklist; spotters guide, pages modified 2023⁠7

  8. 632Mk III, of which sold in South Africa, 1968–71 (NAAMSA)

    Classic Car Africa, "The Wallflower"⁠19

  9. 70,021Mk IV, Nov 1970–Dec 1974; whether the US 1973–74 FM cars are included is not stated

    Canley Classics, "Production Figures"⁠9; Triumph Sports Six Club, Model pages: Spitfire 4/Mark II (model_ID=24), Mark III (23), Mark IV (25), 1500 (26)⁠12; Classic & Sports Car, A–Z of classics: Triumph Spitfire I, II, III, MkIV, 1500⁠18; Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph Spitfire", 2026⁠11; Triumph Spitfire Club (Netherlands), "Spitfire modellen", "Aankoop informatie", "Clubinfo", home⁠5; triumphspitfire.com ("Spitfire & GT6 Magazine and Information Warehouse"), Reference pages (group): models and options; Mk I–1500 options-and-changes logs; engine numbers; 1979–80 VINs; what year is my car; final drive; general specification data; stock tyres; wheel alignment; lubrication; tuning; fuses; paint and trim codes; side stripes; decal and badge placements; wire wheels; head swaps; substitute parts; suppliers; new owner; pre-purchase checklist; spotters guide, pages modified 2023⁠7

  10. 95,8291500, Dec 1974–Aug 1980; whether the US 1973–74 FM cars are included is not stated

    Canley Classics, "Production Figures"⁠9; Classic & Sports Car, A–Z of classics: Triumph Spitfire I, II, III, MkIV, 1500⁠18; Malcolm McKay, "Triumph Spitfire buyer's guide: what to pay and what to look for", Classic & Sports Car, 10 May 2019⁠20; Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph Spitfire", 2026⁠11; Triumph Spitfire Club (Netherlands), "Spitfire modellen", "Aankoop informatie", "Clubinfo", home⁠5; triumphspitfire.com ("Spitfire & GT6 Magazine and Information Warehouse"), Reference pages (group): models and options; Mk I–1500 options-and-changes logs; engine numbers; 1979–80 VINs; what year is my car; final drive; general specification data; stock tyres; wheel alignment; lubrication; tuning; fuses; paint and trim codes; side stripes; decal and badge placements; wire wheels; head swaps; substitute parts; suppliers; new owner; pre-purchase checklist; spotters guide, pages modified 2023⁠7

  11. 91,1371500, 1974–80

    Triumph Sports Six Club, Model pages: Spitfire 4/Mark II (model_ID=24), Mark III (23), Mark IV (25), 1500 (26)⁠12

  12. over 314,000Spitfire, all versions, 1962–80

    Vintage Triumph Register, "Spitfire" (production history, production dates and numbers, buyer's guide tabs)⁠2; Sam Skelton, "Buying Guide: Triumph Spitfire (1962–1980)", Hagerty UK, 3 Feb 2021⁠21

  13. 314,342"Canley built 314,342 Spitfires"

    British Motor Museum, "Spitfire 1500 (last of line), 1980", accession 1980-1-190⁠15; Triumph Spitfire Club (Netherlands), "Spitfire modellen", "Aankoop informatie", "Clubinfo", home⁠5

  14. more than 310,000Spitfire, all versions

    Graham Robson, "One Design, Many Derivatives", Moss Motoring, 26 Oct 2022⁠22

  15. approximately 315,000Spitfire, all versions

    Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph Spitfire", 2026⁠11

  16. 1,523Spitfire, sold in South Africa, Jul 1963–early 1972, all Marks

    Classic Car Africa, "The Wallflower"⁠19

Contents

Sources

Sources are given as plain text; their addresses are on the sources page.

  • Primarymade at the time, by the maker or by people who were there
  • Referenceserious later work: clubs, specialists, magazines, books
  • Uncheckedencyclopaedias and enthusiast sites: cited beside a good source, named in the sentence, or marked Unchecked
  1. Practical Classics, "Buyers Guide: Triumph Spitfire", May 2000, p. 84, "Where are the identifying marks?"; p. 84; p. 81, engine; pp. 81, 84. Reference
  2. Vintage Triumph Register, "Spitfire" (production history, production dates and numbers, buyer's guide tabs), "Production Dates and Numbers"; "Production Dates and Numbers", 1975; Spitfire page, production summary. Reference
  3. Triumph Sports Six Club, Spitfire Buyers Guide (two-page PDF, undated), p. 1, numbers; p. 1. Reference
  4. British Motor Museum (BMIHT), "Heritage Certificates". Primary
  5. Triumph Spitfire Club (Netherlands), "Spitfire modellen", "Aankoop informatie", "Clubinfo", home, "Aankoop informatie"; "Spitfire modellen"; "Aankoop informatie"; "Spitfire modellen"; "Spitfire modellen" page, production figures; "Spitfire modellen" page. Reference
  6. Moss Motors, "Car Specifications – Triumph Spitfire Mk IV 1971–1974"; "…Spitfire 1500 (1975–1980)", Spitfire Mk IV 1971–74 and 1500 1975–80, identification; identification. Reference
  7. triumphspitfire.com ("Spitfire & GT6 Magazine and Information Warehouse"), Reference pages (group): models and options; Mk I–1500 options-and-changes logs; engine numbers; 1979–80 VINs; what year is my car; final drive; general specification data; stock tyres; wheel alignment; lubrication; tuning; fuses; paint and trim codes; side stripes; decal and badge placements; wire wheels; head swaps; substitute parts; suppliers; new owner; pre-purchase checklist; spotters guide, pages modified 2023, "Decal & Badge Placements" (plate photographs); models and options; Mk 3 options-and-changes log; models and options; 1500 options-and-changes log; "Triumph Engine Numbers"; "1979-80 Triumph Vehicle Identification Numbers"; "Decal & Badge Placements"; "1979-80 Triumph Vehicle Identification Numbers"; models and options; "New Owner (or want to be)?"; "Decal & Badge Placements"; "New Owner (or want to be)?"; Mk I page; models page; models page, "95829 cars made". Unchecked
  8. Rimmer Bros, "Triumph Paint & Trim Identification Codes". Reference
  9. Canley Classics, "Production Figures", Spitfire table, dates; Spitfire table; Production Figures table, row "Spitfire 4"; Production Figures table, row "Spitfire 4 MK II"; Production Figures table, row "Spitfire MK III"; Production Figures table, row "Spitfire MK IV"; Production Figures table, row "Spitfire 1500". Reference
  10. British Leyland Motors Inc., Spitfire 1500 (sales brochure), USA, 1974 model year, SP741, 1973. Primary
  11. Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph Spitfire", 2026, assembly plants; production figures, citing Robson 1982 p. 187; lead section. Unchecked
  12. Triumph Sports Six Club, Model pages: Spitfire 4/Mark II (model_ID=24), Mark III (23), Mark IV (25), 1500 (26), Spitfire 4/Mark II page, quantity; model_ID=24, "Quantity: 45,753/37,409"; model_ID=23, "Quantity"; model_ID=25, "Quantity"; model_ID=26, "Quantity". Reference
  13. Canley Classics, "Macau Spitfire", the L suffix. Reference
  14. Canley Classics, "Engine Number Identification Chart". Reference
  15. British Motor Museum, "Spitfire 1500 (last of line), 1980", accession 1980-1-190, accession 1980-1-190; accession 1980-1-190, object record. Primary
  16. Chic Doig and John Kipping, "Survivors, replicas, fakes, and other funny business", Canley Classics. Reference
  17. Canley Classics, "Spitfire ADU ~B Le Mans". Reference
  18. Classic & Sports Car, A–Z of classics: Triumph Spitfire I, II, III, MkIV, 1500, A–Z entry "Spitfire 4"; A–Z entry. Reference
  19. Classic Car Africa, "The Wallflower", Mk I section; Mk II section; Mk III section; summary. Reference
  20. Malcolm McKay, "Triumph Spitfire buyer's guide: what to pay and what to look for", Classic & Sports Car, 10 May 2019, production figures. Reference
  21. Sam Skelton, "Buying Guide: Triumph Spitfire (1962–1980)", Hagerty UK, 3 Feb 2021, buying guide, history paragraph. Reference
  22. Graham Robson, "One Design, Many Derivatives", Moss Motoring, 26 Oct 2022, Robson, "One design", total. Reference

Contents