1975 Triumph 4 Cylinder 1000cc Prototype

With the final version of the Trident,the T160, in production the Experimental Department under Doug Hele and based at Kitts Green, looked ahead for a successor and built this interesting four cyclinder prototype which just had to be nicknamed 'The Quadrant'.

The crankcase was made by machining two triple cases and then welding them together before the final machining was done. The cylinder block, the head and camboxes were all produced in the same way but the crankshaft was built up and the camshafts specially made and carried cams with mild timing. Most other parts were from the triple or twin suitably modified where necessary. It pulled a top gear of 4.2 to 1 and ran nearly 125 mph with the mild cams.

Only one was made but as a piece of ingenious and highly skilled engineering, it would be hard to beat.