Practice English Speaking&Listening with: Practical Classics Magazine: rare Triumph Herald four Door prototype

I'm

here with Nigel of the Triumph Sports Six club

behind us is a Triumph Herald with too many doors

Nigel could you tell us what's going on here?

Thanks you Sam

yes this car is a unique prototype that was built by the factory in Coventry

in the nineteen sixties

to develop the four door design for the otherwise two-door Triumph Herald

It's unique because it never went into production in this country in fact Triumph didn't need to

produce it in the UK

because they already had

small saloons on the drawing board like the thirteen hundred front-wheel drive

it did however fit the

Indian market perfectly where there was the need for a small four-door saloon

and so went into production in india in slightly modified form as the

Standard Gazel

Are there any others in the country?

No, this is literally the only four-door Herald that you'd find

apart from possibly one or two people may have imported indian cars

but it's the only UK produced one you'll ever find

right, and I notice it's in a fantastic patinated state. What are your plans for it?

It is the archetypal

barn-find as it was dragged out of a barn

there's quite a debate going on within the club as to

what we should do with the car

should we

restorer it and produce something that's pristine and shiny and could be displayed in a museum?

and taken around to events.

or should we simply preserve it in the as found state and

the argument really is around

would it be nice to have a display car that's all bright an new

or would it be better to simply preserve the prototype?

If we were to restore it

a lot of the original prototyping work is going to be cut up, re-done, thrown away

and the car risks becoming a replica of itself rather than a true prototype

For that reason there is a number of people who feel it would be better to preserve the car

than simply to restore it

And a lot of this car would have been handmade in the prototyping department wouldn't it?

Absolutely, yes absolutely

and that's a lot of the history of the car

So it really could be a shame to undo that work

That's a point of view that quite a few people hold.

What are your thoughts?

I can see pro's and con's for both camps

at the moment the funds are simply not available to carry out a full restoration so

for the moment the car's simply going to be preserved as it stands sad

Good stuff! So it has a stay of restoration for the time being?

That's right yes.

I think it would be nice if it stays that way

Thankyou