With Central London being overwhelmingly taken hostage by the Royal Wedding revelers, you should have probably heard by now of tomorrow’s wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. And partygoers taking the streets of the Capital by storm, this weekend at Zanacco we had no choice but to plan The Great Escape!
As you probably noticed from our previous post, we are big admirers of Steve McQueen, he remains one of the film’s most enduring characters, having become an icon of cool who continues to inform popular culture, and “The Great Escape” just seemed to be a natural inspiration for this week post.
Above Steve McQueen on the Triumph T100.
This time we will be looking at one of the most iconic British motorcycle maker and some of its finest vintage machines. The idea being to get as far as you can, as fast as you can out of London!
The Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The marque had its origins during 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own trade-name in London. The trade-name became “Triumph” the following year. Early 1889 Triumph started producing their own bicycles in Coventry, England.
The company was renamed the Triumph Cycle Co. Ltd. during 1897. During 1902 it began producing Triumph motor cycles at their workshop in Coventry on Much Park Street. Major orders for the 550 cc Model H were made by the British Army during World War 1 and by 1918 they were Britain’s largest maker of motorcycles.
Above Triumph 550 cc Model H
Over more then a century, Triumph has been producing distinctive motorcycles celebrated for their style and engineering.
Above Triumph Thunderbird 1939
Through the Fifties and Sixties, names such as Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando and Clint Eastwood cemented the Triumph legend.
While numerous land speed records and race track successes gave bikes like the Thunderbird, Bonneville, Tiger and Trident iconic status.
Above Triumph Trident 1974
We love these vintage graphic tees.
In 1991, the new Triumph company emerged. Remaining true to the heritage, Triumph was reborn combining the very latest design and manufacturing facilities with the character and design flair that has always been associated with the famous swooping badge.
A must have to fine tune the cylinders of your motorcycle is this Leather Biker Jacket by Maison Martin Margiela.
Not tempted yet…have a look at this amazing video www.youtube.com and enjoy the history, the present and the future of such an iconic British motorcycling institution…
…and make sure you don’t try this stunt on your way to the countryside!
Wishing you a Great Escape!
