Triumph Acclaim

We would hardly dare write about it, one Triumph Acclaim, the nightmare of the then British Leyland dealer in the 1983s. Time heals all wounds. The car that we encountered a while ago in Great Britain, an Acclaim HLS - the most luxurious version - comes from 36.000. From the first owner and demonstrably just over XNUMX miles on the odometer.

To refresh your memory, the - front-wheel drive! - Triumph Acclaim arose from the relationship that already flourished between British Leyland and Honda in 1978. The British car manufacturer wanted to put a family car on the market to fill in the gap before the Maestro and Montego. After the deal with Honda was completed, it still took 18 months before the Acclaim was born. Was not such a feat, because it was in fact nothing but a Honda Ballade with a Triumph badge on it ... What is special now is that after the production of, among other things, the Triumph TR7 / TR8 and the Dolomite, the Acclaim in 1981 the only remaining Triumph used to be! Moreover, also the first car with which the Japanese could circumvent the imposed EEC (now EU) regulations. For the slowly defunct British Leyland, the Acclaim proved to be a success. Thanks to the Japanese involvement, it was possible to speak of a good quality and reliable car. The Acclaim was available as an L, HL and HLS version with a manual five-speed gearbox or a three-speed automatic. In September 1984 the curtain fell on the Acclaim and was replaced by the Rover 200 which in turn was nothing more than a second generation Honda Ballade… At the time £ 1.200 was asked for, less than 1.500 euros.

Photo: The design deserves the Triumph Acclaim not the beauty prize, but it is a rarity