Triumph Acclaim
| Triumph Acclaim | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | British Leyland |
| Production | 1981–1984 133,626 made |
| Assembly | Cowley, Oxford, United Kingdom |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Small family car |
| Body style | 4-door saloon |
| Related | Honda Ballade |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1335 cc EN4 Straight-4 |
| Transmission | 5-speed manual 3-speed automatic |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 91 in (2,311 mm) |
| Length | 161 in (4,089 mm) |
| Width | 63 in (1,600 mm) |
| Height | 53 in (1,346 mm) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Triumph Dolomite |
| Successor | Rover 200 (SD3) |
The Triumph Acclaim was a front-wheel drive medium-sized family car made by British Leyland (BL) from 1981 to 1984. It was based on the Honda Ballade and used a Honda-designed engine, but met United Kingdom component-content requirements. It was the final model of the Triumph marque, and the first fundamentally Japanese car to be assembled in Europe.
The development process began in 1978, when British Leyland entered into negotiations with Honda to develop a new small family saloon. This was originally intended as a stopgap measure until the Maestro/Montego models were to be ready for production in 1983. On 26 December 1979 Michael Edwardes officially signed a collaboration between the two companies. The new car went into production 18 months later, badged as the Triumph Acclaim and based on the Honda Ballade (which was not sold in Europe). It replaced the Triumph Dolomite, which had finished production a year earlier at the defunct Canley plant in Coventry. The Acclaim was officially launched by BL on 7 October 1981. The end of Dolomite and TR7 production meant that the Acclaim was the only car to wear the Triumph badge after 1981.
The Acclaim was significant as the first essentially Japanese car to be built within the European Economic Community (now the European Union), to bypass Japan's voluntary limit of 11 percent market of the total number of European sales. The Acclaim was also a major turnaround point for BL itself, with the car sporting good reliability and build quality from the outset - a stark contrast to the quality issues which had plagued the Austin Allegro and Morris Marina during the 1970s. The Acclaim holds the record for the lowest percentage of warranty claims for a BL car. Unlike previous Triumphs, it was assembled at the Pressed Steel Fisher Plant at Cowley Oxford, taking over the withdrawn Austin Maxi production lines. It paved the way for the Honda-based, Rover-badged range of cars which BL (and successor organisations Austin Rover and Rover Group) would develop throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
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