Triumph Acclaim. More than the last Triumph

In the fall of 1981, British Leyland launched the Triumph Acclaim. This car was the last model from the once illustrious Coventry manufacturer, and caused a stir in several ways. The Acclaim originated from the partnership that British Leyland entered into with Honda in 1979, and was a renamed Honda Ballade for the European market. It was built from 1981 to 1984.

The Honda Ballade was a derivative of the second generation of the Honda Civic and was specifically developed for non-EEC countries. The launch of the Ballade was planned for 1980. While Honda was developing the Ballade, British Leyland was looking for a strategic partner to develop the car to succeed the Dolomite. The latter (by the way, extremely beautiful sports sedan) was actually based on a concept from the mid-sixties. British Leyland was also forced to seek cooperation. During the XNUMXs, the image had not only faded internationally; the group's market share had also shrunk enormously in its own country. In short: British Leyland had no money left, so it was emphatically looking for a production partner under the leadership of Sir Martin Edwardes.

First British-made 'Japanese' car

Honda was one of the targeted manufacturers. For British Leyland it was important that Honda was well aware of the European requirements that were set for a car, moreover, the Japanese had built up a considerable technical reputation. In 1980 Honda launched the Ballade, a year later the fruits of the Anglo-Japanese collaboration became visible. The agreement to build the (modified) Ballade in Great Britain resulted in the Triumph Acclaim. It became the first (actually) Japanese car to be built in Great Britain and was also a convenient solution to circumvent Japanese sales technical self-limitation in Europe. Production took place at Pressed Steel, where production technically he took the place in the name of Austin Maxi, which was removed from the program by British Leyland. Incidentally, British Leyland invested a fortune in the Acclaim production line.

bridger

The Acclaim not only had the task of succeeding the Dolomite, it also marked British Leyland's transition phase to new models such as the Rover 200 and the Austin Maestro and the Montego. The latter actually became the successor to the Morris Ital, which, together with the Triumph Acclaim had to guide the British through a difficult phase in the early XNUMXs.

More than a rebadge

Purists were saddened to see that models like the Dolomite, TR7 and Spitfire had been abandoned when the Acclaim was introduced. This was a rebadge, a cloned Honda, the brand name Triumph not worthy. At least, that's what they thought. The Acclaim was also seen by critics as the beginning of the sell-out of the European/British car industry to Japan. What was overlooked was that the legitimacy of the name Triumph was extended with a contemporary and smooth sedan, which also completely deviated conceptually from most BL products. The Acclaim could boast of excellent Honda technology, a fresh design and an interior that was complete and excellently cared for from the basic version in the Japanese way. In driving tests, the Acclaim came out fine.

at the time

De Triumph Acclaim welcomed the 1.335 cc Honda EN-4 engine, which, in contrast to the same unit in the Civic and Ballade, was fitted with two Keishin-Seiki VB carburettors. The aluminum cylinder head had two valves per cylinder operated by an overhead camshaft. Buyers could choose from a five-speed manual or a three-speed Triomatic vending machine. The wheels were suspended independently (all around). The suspension and damping took place all around according to the Mac Pherson principle. Suspension, suspension and damping were thus adapted for the British market. The brakes were power-assisted (disc brakes at the front, drums at the rear) and the track was separated. Even though played Triumph actually borrowed from Honda: the small middle class was quite up to date and very balanced. The top speed of 155 kilometers per hour and the power of 71 DIN hp suited the light-footed character of the Triumph.

Multiple versions

Depending on the market, the Acclaim was available in several equipment levels. The regular delivery versions were the HL, the HLS and the CD (including factory air conditioning, electric door windows, headlight washers, luxury upholstery). Later (for Great Britain) the slip-on “L” was added. At the other end of the spectrum was the Avon Acclaim, a limited version that could be supplied with a turbo on special request. That became a rarity. The Acclaim was a very reasonable success, especially in the regular versions on the home market, it reached the top 10 of the sales statistics. In 1982 it was seventh in the list of best-selling cars, a year later it had dropped one place. In the rest of Europe, the role was modest.

Marking point after a lousy decade

The last Triumph was a qualitative benchmark for the British car industry in general and British Leyland (from 1982 Austin Rover) in particular. He also paved the way for the later Rovers based on Honda models. In addition, more Japanese manufacturers went to Great Britain, which saw a base there to bring their production closer to the important European market area. The example of (the collaboration between BL and Honda) apparently tasted like more. And the dubious reputation of BL's cars in the XNUMXs was cast in a different light, partly thanks to the Acclaim. There was one but: the Acclaims were known for their sensitivity to rust, and that was an ailment that the British could not control from the factory. But apart from the rust monster: the Triumph Acclaim was also excellently put together.

The last Triumph, built over 130.000 times

In terms of operational reliability, buyers could rely on the Acclaim. It was slightly facelifted once during its fairly short production period (1981-1984) and above all: it was built a total of 133.625 times. It also became one of the best-selling Triumph models from the history of the beautiful brand. The Acclaim was illustrious in several respects, and after a bad era was the first car that, partly thanks to the Japanese, gave the British car industry color again. Apart from that: the compact sedan was spicy and extremely well put together. Moreover, he proved the brand name Triumph as the very last model honor. In its own striking way.