HISTORIC DISCOVERY OF 1901 PROTOTYPE TRIUMPH

Following the recent announcement of their plans to celebrate next year’s 120th anniversary of the most iconic British motorcycle brand and the production of the millionth Hinckley Triumph produced, Triumph announce the landmark discovery of the very first Triumph prototype ever built.

An amazing historic find, discovered and restored by leading vintage Triumph collector Dick Shepherd, the 1901 Prototype rewrites the history books, adding a whole new chapter prior to Triumph’s official sales starting in 1902. 

Long rumoured to exist and referenced within advertising and reviews that appeared in 1901, this first Triumph prototype was developed from a standard Triumph bicycle, with an engine provided by Belgian manufacturer Minerva, in order to generate interest and gauge the public’s demand for a Triumph motorcycle.

Dick Shepherd said “Having been approached by a friend of a collector, who had sadly recently passed away, to evaluate an old Triumph I was incredibly excited to discover that the bike they had featured unique details that were not present on the first production Triumphs. Along with the bike, the collector had also received a letter from Triumph, dated in 1937, that outlined the bike’s unique origins and provided key details.”

“With an engine number that is consistent with references in Minerva’s engine records of a 1901 first Triumph engagement the historic significance of this motorcycle became incredibly clear.”

“As a lifelong passionate fan of the history and achievements of this incredible British brand, to have discovered this amazing survivor and restored it to the glorious condition it would have been in when it first went on display in 1901, has given me an immense amount of satisfaction.”

First unveiled at the UK’s Motorcycle Live show the 1901 prototype will feature in dedicated event at Triumph’s Factory Visitor Experience on the 14th December, where the machine will be ridden in public for the very first time in over 100 years.  

This incredible, historic motorcycle will then be on display, alongside the millionth Hinckley Triumph, in a new, specially created 120-year anniversary display, hosted within Triumph’s Factory Visitor Experience.

The Triumph Factory Visitor Experience is free to visit and is located at Triumph’s HQ in Hinckley, England and is open daily Wednesday through Sunday, from 10am - 4.30pm. 

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For further information contact:
Lisa Jones, Global PR & Events Manager
lisa.jones@triumph.co.uk 

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Triumph Motorcycles

• First established in 1902, Triumph Motorcycles celebrated 120 years of motorcycle manufacture in 2022. For more than three decades, Triumph Motorcycles has been based in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and has produced iconic bikes that perfectly blend authentic design, character, charisma and performance.
• With more than 83,389 motorcycles delivered in calendar year 2022, and on track to reach a milestone 800 dealers across the world in 2023, Triumph is the largest British motorcycle manufacturer.
• This focus, innovation and engineering passion has today created a broad range of bikes suited to all motorcycle riders, including the stunning Speed Triple 1200 RR, Tiger Sport 660 and Trident 660, all-new transcontinental Tiger 1200 and epic Tiger 900, world leading Rocket 3 R and GT, the new high-performance Street Triple 765 RS, iconic Scrambler 1200, and the legendary Triumph Bonneville family including the Bonneville Bobber, Thruxton RS, Speed Twin 900 Twin, Scrambler 900, and the iconic Bonneville T120 and T100 and the stunning Chrome Collection modern classics.
• Triumph currently employs around 3,000 personnel worldwide and has subsidiary operations in the UK, North America, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Sweden (Scandinavia), Benelux, Brazil, India, China and Thailand as well as a network of independent distributors. Triumph has manufacturing facilities in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and Thailand plus CKD facilities in Brazil and India.
• The Triumph Bonneville, famously named to celebrate Triumph’s 1956 land speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, was the original British superbike and a race-winner straight out of the crate, chosen by famous motorcyclists of the past for its legendary handling, style, and character. Recently updated with even more performance, capability and style, it’s that handling, character and iconic looks, married to modern rider-focused technology that makes the new Bonneville family THE authentic modern classic choice today.
• Triumph has a glorious racing history, competing in and winning races in almost every class and field of motorcycle sporting achievement. From winning the second ever Isle of Man TT in 1908, through to 1960s road and track domination in Europe and America, right up to contemporary racing achievements with the Triumph triple powered 2014 and 2015 Supersports titles and World SuperSport racing, Isle of Man Supersports TT wins in 2014 and 2019, courtesy of Gary Johnson and Peter Hickman, plus an average speed of over 130mph 2023 by Peter Hickman on his Triumph STR765, and a thrilling last-lap victory at the legendary Daytona 200 by Brandon Paasch on the Street Triple 765 in 2022.
• Triumph’s racing legend continues as the exclusive engine supplier to the FIM Moto2™ World Championship since the start of the 2019 season. Triumph Motorcycles provides all of the teams with race-tuned 765cc triples, each of which is based on the class-leading Street Triple RS powerplant. Redefining the class and breaking record after record in the inaugural year, including the first ever +300km/h Moto2™ top speed, the 2020 season got even faster with another 11 all-time lap records and seven different winners from 15 races. Reflecting these great successes, the wonderful feedback and partnerships that Triumph have had with the riders and their teams, and the incredible response from Triumph fans across the world, Triumph and Dorna, in 2021, decided to extend our relationship and sign a new contract for another three years of racing: 2022 – 2024. The 765 Triumph Triple has so far achieved 73 race and outright lap records, enabled 21 different riders to win a Moto2™ race, with 8 different winners in 2022 alone. A 300km/h top speed has been reached at least once in each season, with the bar being moved even higher during practice at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix, when both Celestino Vietti and Darryn Binder recorded the highest ever top speed in Moto2™ of 301.6 km/h.  Triumph 765cc triples have raced more than one million kms, proving the engine’s outstanding performance and reliability.
• Triumph’s racing activities are further bolstered by a return to the World Superbike paddock in 2022 with a factory-supported race team, Dynavolt Triumph, in the World Supersport Championship.
• In 2021 Triumph announced their forthcoming entry into the Motocross and Enduro worlds as well as a new factory racing effort, with a commitment to top tier championship racing in both Motocross and Enduro series.
• In 2022 Triumph revealed their partnership with Thierry Chizat-Suzzoni, one of the sport’s most experienced and successful team owners, who will field two of Triumph’s all-new 250cc 4-stroke MX bikes in the 2024 MX2 class and will add an entry into the 450cc MXGP class in 2025, and with Team Principal Bobby Hewitt and Team Manager Stephen ‘Scuba’ Westfall to field its all-new Triumph 250cc 4-stroke MX bikes in the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship, which is comprised of the Monster Energy Supercross World Championship, and the Pro Motocross Championship, with three season-ending SuperMotocross rounds.  For the 2025 season Triumph will additionally field its new 450cc bike in the SuperMotocross World Championship.
• In July 2022, Iván Cervantes secured victory in the Baja Aragón. Cervantes dominated the 450km race and crossed the finish line 1 hour and 6 minutes ahead of his rivals in the Trail category. In the scratch classification, which included professional riders with light 450cc rally motorcycles, Cervantes achieved an even more remarkable 11th position, clearly demonstrating the Tiger’s ability to compete at an elite level of competition.
• In 2023 Triumph officially claimed the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for ‘The greatest distance on a motorcycle in 24 hours (individual)’.  Riding a factory-specification Tiger 1200 GT Explorer on the High-Speed Ring at the Nardò Technical Center in Italy, 5x Enduro World Champion and Triumph Global Ambassador Iván Cervantes travelled more than 4012km in a 24-hour period, beating the previous record of 3406km by a huge margin of more than 600km.
• In 2023, Triumph launched the Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X: two all-new models. Designed from the ground-up with a brand-new single engine platform at their heart, these new models have been designed to deliver a fun, agile and confidence-inspiring ride for riders of all ages and experience levels. Conceived and designed in Hinckley, UK, these accessible new models represent incredible value for money and bring Triumph’s iconic style, quality and performance to a whole new generation of Triumph riders.