Here at ViaRETRO, we’re big fans of compact sports saloons such as the Lotus Cortina GT, Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce, Hillman Avenger Tiger to name just three – but two that we particularly like and in a couple of cases, are owners of, are the BMW 2002tii and Triumph Dolomite Sprint.
Like most model ranges, there are “cooking” versions of these two cars – it’s possible to buy a 1502, 1602, 1802 and 2002 bearing the roundel badge, and you can buy a Dolomite with a 1300cc engine rising through 1500 and 1850. My first car back in 1979 was a Dolomite 1850HL, though it’s safe to say it was not the best example…
In many ways the two ranges were as different as they were similar – the Coventry car was generally more sedate, despite its Italianate styling (courtesy of Michelotti); a little more upright, if you will, and all Dolly’s had four-doors compared to the ‘02’s, well, two – in fact, the “2” in the BMW’s model designation stood for exactly that – 2-doors. The Munich car was from an era where BMW’s forward-leaning “sharknose” styling spoke to more sporting pretensions and while the British company was in the midst of a long downward spiral, the German firm was on an upward trajectory that had been started with the introduction of the Neue Klasse range in 1962 that the ’02 took to new heights for the Bavarians.
The ’02 series was launched several years earlier than the Dolomite, first going on sale in 1966 as the 1600-2, and was followed in 1968 by the 2002, by which time the 1600-2 became the 1602.
The standard BMW 2002 was already a pretty perky performer, with it’s 1990cc 4-cylinder pushing out 100bhp and taking this small – just 4.23m long and at 1010kg, light – saloon past 160km/h. I remember driving one owned by one of my cousins back in 1978, belting along some of Germany’s excellent country roads. Unfortunately, he managed to write off that car, and its replacement 2002 met the same fate a few months later, after which he had to limit himself to a VW Beetle for a while…
Additional oomph was added to the 2002 in two stages – first, with the introduction of the 2002ti, with the ti standing for “touring international”; it’s twin-carb set-up boosting power output to 120bhp and increasing top speed to 180km/h. Then in 1971 came the BMW 2002tii – or “touring international injection”, which is a pretty tortured nomenclature, but meant the little boxy BMW now came equipped with Kugelfischer fuel injection.
Thanks to Kugelfischer, the M10 engine now pushed out 130bhp, resulting in sparkling performance which the press loved – 195km/h top speed, 0-100km/h in c.9 seconds or less. As was normal with German cars at that time, it wasn’t the most luxuriously equipped – even in the 2002tiiLux, the one I have, “Lux” meant door pockets, a few bits of wood and a rear centre armrest – but this was a small sports saloon meant to be driven, preferably quickly, and owners did their best to demonstrate this on Germany’s autobahns – I can’t tell you how often I had to move aside as the headlights of an ’02 loomed large in my rear-view mirror…
Of course, BMW went one step further in 1974 by adding a turbo, and the 2002 Turbo – along with the SAAB 99 Turbo and Porsche 911 Turbo, set new standards of performance from relatively small engines. However, these were very expensive – straying into 911 territory – and for most people, the 2002tii remained the ’02 to have.
Over at Triumph, the Dolomite name was revived from the 1934 – 1940 sporting saloon, coupé and roadster; however, the 1970’s Dolomite was a quite different animal. Intended to be an upgrade of the Triumph 1300/1500 and Toledo, there was also a plan to reintroduce a sports saloon to replace the Vitesse.
The Dolomite had a troubled birth – it had been announced at the 1971 Earl’s Court Motor Show, but ongoing industrial unrest delayed production by a full year, with the first cars rolling off the assembly line at the Canley, Coventry factory in October ’72.
Initially available only with the new twin-carburettor 1854cc engine that it shared with the SAAB 99, the Dolomite targeted the compact luxury saloon market, where BMW’s ’02 series and cars like the Ford Cortina GXL ruled the roost. As such, it came with twin headlamps, cloth upholstery, wooden fascia and door cappings, a heated rear window among other luxury accoutrements. Later models also featured an overdrive – remember that little switch on top of the gear lever? It was also a decent performer, using the engine’s 94bhp to reach a top speed of 160km/h, but this fell short of the 2002 in particular.
Triumph’s answer was to introduce the Dolomite Sprint in June 1973 – like the original car, a year later than planned. The Sprint featured a bored-out 16-valve 1998cc version of the 1850 with power output significantly increased to 127bhp, very close to the 2002tii, and performance improved commensurately, with maximum speed now 192km/h and the sprint (sorry) to 60mph was reduced to just 8.4 seconds. The Sprint was claimed to be the first mass-produced car to feature a multi-valve engine, and to differentiate it visually from the standard HL, was given a chin spoiler, vinyl roof, alloy wheels (a first on a standard British car), twin exhausts, go-faster side stripes (of course) and lowered suspension – it looked (and looks) very cool.
As already described, the Sprint is also more luxurious inside than the ’02, giving an upmarket feel to the interior, although the BMW’s cabin is much airier and all-round visibility was and remains superb. Despite the extra luxury, the Coventry car is still some 20 to 35kg lighter depending on whose figures you use.
The Sprint was very well received by the motoring press, praising it’s performance and good road manners, and over the years the formula was little altered, with just the addition of items such as headrests, a laminated windscreen and overdrive as standard, which gave it effectively five forward gears compared to the Munich car’s four, something which didn’t change in the ’02’s lifetime.
In parallel to the Sprint’s upgrades, the Dolomite range itself was expanded as smaller-engined variants were introduced, and overall the model was a moderate success.
The Triumph’s image as a sports saloon was bolstered by successful campaigning in the British Touring Car Championship through the mid-1970’s, with Andy Rouse winning the drivers’ title in ’75, having taken the manufacturer’s title in partnership with Tony Dron in the previous year. The ’02 was also campaigned on tracks and in rallies, winning the 1972 TAP Rally in Portugal, the 24 Nurburgring 24 hours in 1970 with Hans Stuck at the wheel and took a remarkable class win in the 1975 Le Mans, but like the Dolomite, most of its success was in it’s home market.
The Sprint – along with the rest of the Dolomite series, was discontinued in 1980, to be replaced by BL’s first collaboration with Honda, the Acclaim, which with it’s 1335cc engine really wasn’t a replacement for most of the range at all, although it reduced BL’s warranty costs dramatically. As such, the Dolomite was the last proper Triumph, as the Acclaim was replaced in 1984 by another Honda, the Rover 200 series, and the Triumph name faded away forever – at least, on cars.
The 2002 has long been seen as a desirable classic and values in recent years have risen considerably – in the case of the Turbo, to a ridiculous extent. However, the Dolomite Sprint’s reputation has grown considerably and so have the prices for good one – in my mind, deservedly so. While it was initially only offered in Mimosa Yellow, other colours – my favourite being Tahiti Blue – were added, but interestingly, no metallics. Personally, the yellow and blue are my favourites, they really suit the car. The ’02 was offered with a huge range of colours, including several metallic shades – mine is in Golf Yellow, but Inka Orange, is another personal favourite.
Some great colours to choose from!
So here we have two fine sporting saloons, with similar sized engines, power output, top speeds and 0-100kmh times, although the Triumph is a little lighter and ostensibly the more nimble of the two. If you buy one with overdrive, it’s also more economical, if that matters to you but perhaps more importantly, the overdrive reduces the revs and makes the Sprint quieter than the BMW at motorway cruising speeds
Otherwise, the main differences are stylistic and in terms of equipment – the Sprint is certainly more luxurious than the slightly austere ’02, but the German car looks more purposeful to my eyes – it’s that “sharknose” that does it.
Both are thoroughly practical, with room for four adults and room for their luggage, though access to the rear seats of the Triumph is made easier than in the BMW by simple virtue of it having four doors.
The 2002tii and the Sprint were both produced in decent numbers – 38,703 (excluding the Touring) and 22,941 respectively, although more examples of the Sprint remain on British roads (unsurprisingly), with 322 of the latter out there; certainly there’s usually at least a couple at any medium-sized show, back when we had shows. With the 2002tii, numbers on the road have actually been increasing – no doubt a reflection of their rising prices – when I bought mine six years ago there were 67 on UK roads; at the last count, there are now 114.
Currently, the biggest single difference between the two is the price you need to pay for a good example of either – it’s an exceptional Sprint that will set you back more than £15,000 (though there is a fully-restored example with a price tag of £22,642 for sale) – in fact our own Dave Leadbetter found one for sale in January for just £7,395 – whereas 2002tii’s above £20k are not uncommon, and frequently a great deal more; there’s one for sale in Denmark for which just under £30,000 is being asked, and even that is far from the most expensive one I’ve seen advertised.
Which is the better car? Well, I’ve only owned – still own – a 2002tiiLux and never a Sprint, so can’t write from personal experience, but here is an interesting article by someone who owns them both and his view is that he prefers the Sprint, good as he thinks his 2002tii is. I have to say that in researching this piece, and having seen some superb examples at a number of classic car events, I’m finding myself very drawn to the idea of owning a Sprint someday, particularly in yellow or blue (definitely not brown!), though I need to banish thoughts of their unreliability back in the day, problems that a well-sorted example would be unlikely to suffer from these days. And they look to be good value at the moment, but I’m sure prices for sorted examples will rise.
