
The Triumph TR range of cars was built between 1953 and 1981 by the
Triumph Motor Company
The Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company in the 19th and 20th centuries. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg formed S. Bettmann & Co. and started importing bicycles from Eur ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Changes from the TR2 to the TR6 were mostly evolutionary, with a change from a live axle to independent rear suspension in 1965 and a change from a four-cylinder engine to a six-cylinder engine in 1967. An all-new TR7, with a
unit body
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
, an
overhead camshaft
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustio ...
four-cylinder engine, and a live rear axle, was introduced in late 1974. The TR8, a development of the TR7 with a
Rover V8 engine
The Rover V8 engine is a compact OHV V8 internal combustion engine with aluminium cylinder block and cylinder heads, designed and produced by Rover in the United Kingdom, based on a General Motors engine. It has been used in a wide range of ...
, was introduced in 1979 and was sold alongside the TR7 until TR production ended.
Concept car predecessors
TR-X
The Triumph TR-X, also known as the "Bullet", was the first Triumph car to use the TR designation. It was first shown to the public at the Paris Auto Show in late 1950.
Envisioned as a
personal luxury car
Personal luxury car is a North American car classification describing somewhat sporty, sophisticated mass-market coupés that emphasized comfort over performance. The North American manufacturers most often combined engineering, design, and ma ...
, it had
envelope styling with aluminium body panels,
spats over the rear wheels, electro-hydraulically operated seats, windows, and top,
onboard hydraulic jacks,
electrically operated hidden headlights,
and a power radio aerial. The TR-X used the
Standard Vanguard
The Standard Vanguard is a car which was produced by the Standard Motor Company in Coventry, England, from 1947 until 1963.
The car, announced in July 1947, was completely new, with no resemblance to previous models.
Designed in 1945, it was ...
's frame and engine, the
Triumph Renown's suspension,
Laycock de Normanville electrically operated
overdrive, and a 94-inch wheelbase. The top speed was estimated as
The TR-X was discontinued after three prototypes had been built. Some of the electro-hydraulic systems broke down during a demonstration of a TR-X to
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II.
Ma ...
. Standard could not develop and manufacture a car that complicated and still sell it at a profit. The car would also not have been competitive against the
Jaguar XK120
The Jaguar XK120 is a sports car manufactured by Jaguar between 1948 and 1954. It was Jaguar's first sports car since SS 100 production ended in 1939. The XK120 was launched in open two-seater or (US) roadster form at the 1948 London Motor Sho ...
.
Fisher and Ludlow and
Mulliners both refused to build bodies for the TR-X, and negotiations with Italian firms
Carrozzeria Touring and
Pininfarina
Pininfarina S.p.A. (; ; short for Pininfarina Società per Azioni) is an Italian automotive design, car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 ...
also failed. Material shortages caused by the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
ended attempts to manufacture the TR-X. Two of the prototypes were sold; it was reported in 2011 that these still existed.
20TS
Sir John Black, chairman of Standard-Triumph, was determined to have a sports car to compete with
Morgan
Morgan may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment'', also called ''Morgan!'', a 1966 comedy film
* ''Morgan'' (2012 film), an American drama
* ''Morgan'' (2016 film), an American science fiction thriller
* ...
, which he had earlier tried to buy. Black ordered the design of a sports car using existing chassis, suspension, and engine, and inexpensive bodywork. Other design objectives were a price of approximately £500 and a top speed of at least 90 mph.
The resulting car, the
Triumph 20TS, was shown in October 1952 at the
London Motor Show
London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thame ...
.
Public reception was mixed; the front styling and the potential for speed were praised, the cramped interior, stubby rear end, and lack of
boot
A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...
space were not.
BRM test driver
Ken Richardson was invited to drive the car; his low opinion of the car's handling and driveability resulted in him being hired to the development team for its replacement.
Production TRs
TR2 and TR3
The redesign and development of the 20TS led to a longer, roomier car with a larger boot, built on an all-new frame with revised suspension and brakes and an uprated engine. The resulting
Triumph TR2
The Triumph TR2 is a sports car produced by the Standard Motor Company in the United Kingdom from 1953 to 1955. It was most commonly available in open two-seater form.
History
Standard's Triumph Roadster was out-dated and under-powered on ar ...
was shown in March 1953 at the
Geneva Motor Show
The Geneva International Motor Show was an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva.
The show was hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon was organised b ...
. The TR2 would form the basis of the evolution of the TR line up to the
TR6.
The
TR3, introduced in 1955, had a front grille and a more powerful engine. In October 1956, the front brakes of the TR3 were changed from 10 in drums to 11 in discs. A wider grill was also fitted around this time. The TR3 acquired external door handles and a lockable boot in 1957, and was available with a larger 2138 cc engine from 1959; the restyled car was unofficially known as the TR3A. A further development, with the larger engine as standard and with a fully synchromesh gearbox, was made available in 1962, the final year of TR3 production. This last version of the TR3 was unofficially known as the TR3B.
TR4, TR4A, TR5, TR250, and TR6
Introduced in 1961, the TR4 had a completely new body designed by
Giovanni Michelotti
Giovanni Michelotti (6 October 1921 – 23 January 1980) was one of the most prolific designers of sports cars in the 20th century. His notable contributions were for Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati and Triumph Motor Company, Triumph marques. He was ...
. The TR4 was upgraded to the TR4A in 1965 with the addition of
independent rear suspension.
In 1967, the TR line was updated with servo-assisted brakes and a 2.5 L version of the
straight-six engine
A straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balanc ...
that had been used in the
Triumph 2000
The Triumph 2000 is a mid-sized, rear wheel drive automobile which was produced in Coventry by the Triumph Motor Company between 1963 and 1977. It was introduced on 15 October 1963. It was styled by Giovanni Michelotti.
It competed with the co ...
. Two different models were made: the
TR250 with two Stromberg carburettors for the US market, and the
TR5 with
Lucas
Lucas or LUCAS may refer to:
People
* Lucas (surname)
* Lucas (given name)
Arts and entertainment
* Luca Family Singers, or the Lucas, a 19th-century African-American singing group
* Lucas, a 1960s Swedish pop group formed by Janne Lucas Perss ...
fuel injection
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of a fuel injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All c ...
for the rest of the world.
Both the TR250 and the TR5 were replaced by the
TR6 in 1968, with the US version continuing with carburettors. The main difference between the TR6 and the TR5 it replaced was its styling. The front and rear ends of the car had been restyled by German coachbuilder
Karmann, giving the car a more contemporary appearance. An anti-roll bar was added to the front suspension as well.
TR7 and TR8
The Triumph TR7 was introduced in 1974. While all previous TRs were evolutionary designs developed from the TR2, the TR7 was an all-new design owing nothing but its model designation to the earlier TRs. While the TR7's
unit body
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
and wedge shape were advertised by Leyland as major improvements, these were offset by the TR7's return to a four-cylinder engine and a
live rear axle.
The TR7 was initially available as a coupé, with a
convertible
A convertible or cabriolet () is a Car, passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary across eras and manufacturers.
A convertible car's design allows an open-air drivin ...
version being developed after the launch of the coupé. A premium-grade version using the
Rover V8 engine
The Rover V8 engine is a compact OHV V8 internal combustion engine with aluminium cylinder block and cylinder heads, designed and produced by Rover in the United Kingdom, based on a General Motors engine. It has been used in a wide range of ...
was developed as part of the same project. The TR7 convertible was introduced in 1979. Also introduced in 1979 was the Triumph TR8, a premium V8 version of the TR7.
The TR7 and TR8 were discontinued in 1981.
Notes
References
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