The Triumph Herald is a 2-door Saloon (automobile) / saloon / 2-door coupé / 2-door convertible / 3-door station wagon / estate car / 3-door van (Courier) from Triumph, built from 1959 to 1971, at the height of the post-war boom. Under the bonnet: 948 . Giovanni Michelotti drew it.
The background
The Triumph Herald is a small two-door car introduced by Standard-Triumph of Coventry in 1959 and made through to 1971. The body design was by the Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti, and the car was offered in saloon, convertible, coupé, estate and van models, with the latter marketed as the Triumph Courier. Total Herald sales numbered well over half a million. The Triumph Vitesse, Spitfire and GT6 models are all based on modified Herald chassis and running gear with bolt-together bodies.
The engineering
Power comes from 948 other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. It weighs 725 kg (1200 convertible) to 865 kg. It shifts through a 4-speed manual (synchromesh on 2nd 3rd and top gears, no overdrive). The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 91 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Standard Eight / Standard Ten; its successor was the Triumph 1300; assembly was at Canley, Coventry. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Nissan Patrol, the Dodge Challenger, the Mini Mini — show what else the money bought that year. Its Triumph stablemates include the Triumph SD2 and the Triumph Renown.
What it costs now
There is no federal ownership record for the Triumph Herald — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.