It was introduced at the London Motor Show in October 1965 and intended as a replacement for the popular Triumph Herald.

Their major rival was BMC, who was at the time producing three FWD model ranges including the Mini and the best-selling Austin 1100 series; it was hoped by Leyland that some of the 1100's phenomenal success would rub off on the new Triumph.

(the engine had originated in 1953 in the Standard Eight in 803 cc form) A conventional OHV four-cylinder unit, it developed 61 hp (45 kW) with the single Stromberg CD150 carburettor (also as used in the Herald 13/60) and was mated to a 4-speed all-synchromesh gearbox.

The car was fairly roomy, and aside from a slightly baulky gearchange, easy to drive with very reasonable performance.

The TC used the engine then fitted in the Triumph Spitfire, which featured twin SU carburetors and in this configuration provided an advertised 75 hp (56 kW).

[3] With the car then retailing for a recommended UK price of £909, the road test concluded that "the 1300 TC costs only £41 more than the original model, and is a very good bargain indeed".

The front end was cleaned up considerably, and the rear redesigned with longer tail, providing a useful increase in boot space.

The 1300 was well-made and sold reasonably well in the small luxury sector, but after its direct successor was quietly switched to rear wheel drive in 1973, Triumph never designed[5] another FWD car.

The starter was repositioned to the front of the engine and although was a two-minute job to replace, it made the car extremely noisy during startup.

Although the FWD 1300 was something of a disappointment, the basic design went on to provide Triumph with a popular small car until the end of Dolomite production in 1980 and overall, delivered an outstanding return on their original investment.

However, due to the Israeli government's policy regarding car assembly, Triumph was forced to introduce this vehicle in a 1493 cc version in early 1968, two years ahead of this engine's introduction in the UK.

The Pony was exclusively offered for Autocars within the joint venture contract, but very few units were actually produced in Israel, as of 1968.