The Triumph TR4 is a

sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...

produced 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 ...

from 1961 to 1965. Successor to the TR3A, the TR4's chassis and drivetrain are closely related to those of its predecessor, but with an updated body designed by

Michelotti Michelotti is an Italian surname, derived from the given name Michele. Notable people with the surname include: * Biordo Michelotti (1352–1398), Italian mercenary soldier leader * Giovanni Michelotti (1921–1980), Italian automotive designer ...

Development

Triumph began planning a successor to the TR3 as early as 1956. At the time, the company was facing a number of challenges. Lack of capital to fund development was partly relieved by the sale of Triumph's tractor division to Massey-Harris of Canada. A long overdue refresh of their small sedans was further complicated by the departure of chief stylist Walter Belgrove over a disagreement with the direction of the redesign. After being introduced to

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 ...

, Triumph managing director Alick Dick invited the Italian designer to produce a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle or show vehicle) is a car made to showcase new styling or new technology. Concept cars are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not ...

for the British company. Michelotti responded with the Triumph TR3 Speciale, also called the "TR Dream Car". Built by

Vignale Vignale is the luxury car sub-brand of Ford Motor Company used in automobiles sold in Europe. The TR3 Speciale debuted at the

Geneva International 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 by ...

in March 1957. Triumph deemed the car too expensive to put into production, but did give the job of designing the new

Triumph Herald The Triumph Herald is a small two-door car introduced by Standard-Triumph of Coventry in 1959 and made through to 1971. The body design was by the Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti, and the car was offered in saloon, convertible, coupé, es ...

to Michelotti. Later in 1957 Standard-Triumph commissioned Michelotti to develop a serious proposal for a revised TR. A prototype, code-named ''Zest'' and built on a TR3A chassis, was complete by 1958. The ''Zest'' received a full-width body style, with headlamps that were inset from the sides and set high in the grille to stand above the bonnet, which was shaped into cowls over the lamps. Around this time Triumph's Competitions department was working on a new high-performance engine with the development label ''20X'', later named

Sabrina Sabrina may refer to: People and fictional characters * Sabrina (given name), a feminine given name, including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Hafren, known in English as Sabrina, a British princess in Welsh mythology ...

after contemporary British actress Norma Ann Sykes, the 20X is an inline four cylinder engine with dual overhead camshafts, and was expected to develop . To accommodate the engine, a chassis was created that widened the track by four inches and extended the wheelbase by six inches over those of the TR3. In late 1958 Triumph commissioned Michelotti to create a body for the 20X development chassis. The new shape, named ''Zoom'', was a full-width body, with tall doors having wind-down windows, and headlamps moved to the tops of the front wings. Two prototypes were complete by 1959; one convertible and one coupé with a removable roof panel. The ''Zoom'' body was used for the three Triumph TRS race cars fielded at the

1960 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 28th 24 Hours of Le Mans Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 25 and 26 June 1960, on Circuit de la Sarthe. It was the fifth and final round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship as well as being ...

, which were powered by three 20X DOHC engines. The cars staged a formation finish, but were unclassified due to having failed to cover their mandatory distance. The cars were revised and entered again in the 1961 race, where they finished ninth, eleventh, and fifteenth overall, and claimed the manufacturer's team prize for Triumph. By the middle of 1960, Triumph had two potential TR replacements — ''Zest'' and ''Zoom'' — with a combined program cost of £676,000. Originally, ''Zest'' had been conceived as the TR3's replacement, while ''Zoom'' was considered for production as an upmarket model. Having seen ''Zoom'', some at Triumph wanted it to become the next TR, but the cost to produce a detuned 20X engine killed the project. Ultimately management decided that neither ''Zest'' nor ''Zoom'' adequately addressed the target market, so the final design for the TR4 was based on ''Zest'', but included some features from ''Zoom'', including the wider track and hardtop option.

Features

Body and chassis

The TR4's new body, produced in Triumph's Speke factory, does away with the cutaway door design and sloping boot lid of the previous TRs. The taller doors allow room for wind-down windows in place of the previous side-curtains, making the TR4 a true convertible. The taller, more squared-off rear body line encloses a capacious boot for a sports car. The car's bonnet has a power bulge or "bubble" offset to one side to clear the engine's two carburettors. Early cars have a short bubble, while cars after CT 6429 have a longer bubble. TR4 with surrey top

The TR4 offered an optional hard top consisting of a fixed glass backlight with integral rollbar and a detachable centre panel made of aluminium on the first 500 units, and steel on subsequent cars. Featured on one of the ''Zoom'' prototypes, this was the first such roof system on a production car, predating the

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 model series (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in ) is a family of German two-door, high performance Rear-engine design, rear-engine sports cars, introduced in September 1964 by Porsche, Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. Now in it ...

/ 912

Targa Targa or TARGA may refer to: Car racing events *Targa Adelaide, in Australia * Targa Canada West, in British Columbia *Targa Florio, in Sicily, Italy, 1906–1977 * Targa Florio Rally, in Sicily, Italy, from 1978 * Targa High Country, in Victoria ...

by five years. On the TR4 the rigid roof panel could be replaced with a vinyl insert and supporting frame. While the rigid panel could not be stowed in the car, the vinyl insert and frame could be. The factory offered the rigid top and backlight assembly as the "Hard Top kit", and the vinyl insert and frame separately as the "Surrey top". The revised interior introduced adjustable

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ventilation and a collapsible steering column. Features such as these were seen as necessary to keep pace with the competition, particularly in the important US market where the majority of TR4s were sold. The TR4 uses essentially the same ladder chassis with central cruciform bracing as the TR3. At , the TR4 has the same wheelbase as the earlier car, but its track widths are wider in front and wider in back than the earlier model.

Powertrain

The TR4 uses the same

Standard wet liner inline-four engine The Standard wet liner inline-four engine was an inline four cylinder petrol engine produced by the Standard Motor Company. Originally developed concurrently for passenger car use and for the Ferguson TE20 tractor, it was widely used for Standar ...

that powered the TR2 and TR3 models, but with displacement increased from 1991 cc to 2138 cc by enlarging the bore from . The cast iron block carries the crankshaft in three main bearings, and the cast iron head has two valves per cylinder driven from a camshaft in the block via pushrods and rocker arms. The 1991 cc engine was a no-cost option for cars whose owners planned to race in the under-two-litre classes of the day. At different times the factory installed either a pair of SU H6 carburettors, or a pair of Zenith-Stromberg CD175s. The car's four speed plus reverse

manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canadian English, Canada, British English, the United Kingdom and American English, the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed ...

has

synchromesh A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system where gear changes ...

on all forward gears, an upgrade from the transmission in the TR3 which did not synchronize first gear. Additionally, the optional Laycock de Normanville electrically operated overdrive could be selected for second, third, and fourth gears, effectively providing the TR4 with a seven-speed close ratio gearbox.

Running gear

The TR4's front suspension consists of upper and lower wishbones, and telescopic dampers. Running changes to the car included a revised front suspension geometry, indicated by a smooth upper wishbone, and a revised front brake caliper and pad size. The rear suspension includes a

live axle A beam axle, rigid axle, or solid axle is a dependent suspension design in which a set of wheels is connected laterally by a single beam or shaft. Beam axles were once commonly used at the rear wheels of a vehicle, but historically, they have a ...

with semi-elliptical springs, and lever-arm dampers. The TR4 is fitted with

rack and pinion steering A rack and pinion is a type of linear actuator that comprises a circular gear (the ''pinion'') engaging a linear gear (the ''rack''). Together, they convert between rotational motion and linear motion: rotating the pinion causes the rack to be d ...

, replacing the cam and lever system used on the earlier TR models. The TR4 was originally fitted with 15x4.5" disc wheels. Optional 48-lace wire wheels could be ordered with one of three finishes: painted the same colour as the car's bodywork (rare), stove-enamelled (matte silver with chrome spinners, most common) or in matte or polished chrome finishes (originally rare, but now more common). Originally, the tyres most commonly fitted were 590-15 bias ply or optional radial tyres. At one point, American Racing alloy (magnesium and aluminium) wheels were offered in the US as an option, in 15x5.5" or 15x6" size.

Production and sales

The first production TR4 was built on 18 July 1961, and received commission number CT1. The last car was built on 6 January 1965, with commission number CT40304. Final assembly of the cars was done at Triumph's Canley-Fletchamstead factory near Coventry. TR4s were also assembled from

Complete Knock-Down A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, and then exported to another country or r ...

(CKD) kits in Mechelen, Belgium and Borgo Panigale, Italy, the latter in a factory owned by

Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A () is an Italian motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in Bologna, Italy. History Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called ...

. American Triumph dealers were concerned that buyers might not accept the car's updated styling, so a brief special run of TR3s, commonly called TR3Bs, was produced for the US market in 1961 and '62. These cars have the body and chassis of the TR3A, but the 2138 cc engine and fully synchronised gearbox from the TR4. A small number of TR4s were put to use as "Fast Pursuit Cars" by police departments in places such as Manchester City and the Southend-on-Sea Borough. 40,253 TR4s were built during its 3 and 1/2 year production run, of which 37,661 cars were sold in export markets (primarily the US), and only 2,592 cars sold domestically. In comparison, 8,635 TR2s were sold during its 3-year run from 1953–1955; 74,800 TR3s in an 8-year run from 1955 to 1962; 94,500 TR6s in a 9-year run from 1968–1976, and 111,500 TR7s over a 7-year run from 1975–1981. As of Q2 2022 there were approximately 953 licensed and 216

SORN Sorn may refer to: Places * Sorn, East Ayrshire, a village in Scotland * Sorn Castle, East Ayrshire, Scotland * River Sorn, Islay, Scotland * Sørn and Bernt, rocks off the coast of South Georgia * Sorn, restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand People * ...

TR4s registered with the

DVLA The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA; ) is the organisation of the Government of the United Kingdom, British government responsible for maintaining a database of drivers in Great Britain and a Vehicle register, database of vehicles f ...

Technical data

Performance

Motorsports

The TR4 had a number of racing successes in America, primarily through the efforts of Californian engineer

Kas Kastner Robert William Kastner (30 August 1928 – 11 April 2021), commonly known as R.W. Kastner or Kas Kastner, was a builder and tuner of racing cars, a racing driver, and an author. He also raced sailing boats competitively. At different times he was ...

and his top driver,

Bob Tullius Robert Charles Tullius was born 7 December 1930 in Rochester, New York. He is best known as a race car driver and racing team owner. Early years Tullius considered a career in teaching after graduating from high school. He served a term in the U ...

. In 1961 the TR4 with commission number CT 7L, driven by George Waltman and Nick Cone, won first in class and thirtieth overall at Sebring. In 1962 the TR4 won the E production national championship, after which the SCCA reclassified the car to D production, which class Tullius won in 1963 and '64. Soon after the TR4 was introduced, Kastner and with Mike Cook from the advertising department at Triumph in New York City convinced the company to provide three new TR4s to race in the

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race for Sports car racing, sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in S ...

in 1963. Preparation of the cars began in September 1962 in California, where Kastner was service supervisor for Triumph. The cars were then flown to Florida for the endurance race in March 1963. Driven by Mike Rothschild and Peter Bolton from England, Bob Tullius, Charlie Gates, Ed Deihl, Bob Cole, Bruce Kellner and Jim Spencer, the cars finished 22nd, 24th, and 35th overall of 65 entries, and first, second, and fourth in the 2.5 GT class. This was the genesis of the Triumph Competition Department led by Kastner for several years and used to publicize and market the TR4. The next year a privateer TR4 finished dead last in the 1964 running of the Sebring 12-hour race. Kastner returned to Sebring in 1966 with four carefully prepared TR4As, three of which finished winning the class. At Sebring in 1966, Tullius threw a piston in the most highly tuned car and did not finish. Perhaps the greatest racing victory for the TR4A was at Daytona, where a Kastner-prepared car driven by Charlie Gates won the 1965 SCCA D modified championship against Ferraris and other prepared race car exotica. In 1964 the factory-sponsored Team Triumph entered three TR4s in the Canadia
Shell 4000 rally
These "works" cars were reportedly built with gussets on the chassis members and aluminium body panels to strengthen and lighten the car. After import, the engines were prepared by Kastner in New York, where they were also fitted with lightweight magnesium wheels. Although they did not place well in the rally, the surviving cars have become quite valuable, one of which is owned by Neil Revington, the proprietor of Revington TR in the UK. Indeed, the TR4 became a celebrated rally car in Europe and the UK during early to mid-sixties, and various replicas are still campaigned by privateers in vintage rally events throughout Europe. The TR4 continues to be raced in vintage sports car events, and even won an SCCA class championship as late as 1991. In Australia the TR4 was a common sight at hill-climb events and various club rallies and circuit racing events.

TR4A

In 1965, the TR4A superseded the TR4. Although appearing nearly identical to the TR4, the TR4A was equipped with a significantly revised chassis, an

independent rear suspension Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in ...

(IRS), and a wider front and rear track, as well as numerous changes to the exterior trim and interior fitments. An estimated 25% of TR4As sold in the US were not equipped with IRS but instead reverted to a live axle system similar to the TR4's on a slightly modified TR4A chassis.

Dové GTR4

A total of 43 Dové GTR4 and GTR4A fixed head coupés were produced at the direction of L. F. Dove Ltd., an auto dealership in Wimbledon, London. The conversions from standard TR4s were done by

coachbuilder A coachbuilder manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles. The trade of producing coachwork began with bodies for horse-drawn vehicles. Today it includes custom automobiles, buses, Coach (bus), motor coaches, and passenger car (rai ...

Harrington Motor Bodyworks, best known for building the Harrington Alpine, a similarly converted

Sunbeam Alpine The Sunbeam Alpine is a two-seater sports roadster (automobile), roadster/drophead coupé that was produced by the Rootes Group from 1953 to 1955, and then 1959 to 1968. The name was then used on a two-door fastback coupé from 1969 to 1975. T ...

. Conceived as a more weather-proof alternative to the drophead coupé TR4, the Dové provided a way for Dove Ltd. to enter the market for GT automobiles. The company substituted an accented vowel at the end of the Dové name, although it is not typically pronounced. The cars came with a heater in the engine's water jackets to assist cold starts. Tinted swing-down see-through

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sun visors were custom fitted. Two jump seats were located behind the driver's and passenger's seats, covered in material that matched the original TR4 upholstery. A wood-rimmed wheel with riveted perimeter was fitted to some models, along with auxiliary lamps under the front bumper bars. A metallised identifying sticker with "Dové" on it was fitted to the

glovebox A glovebox (or glove box) is a sealed container that is designed to allow one to manipulate objects where a separate atmosphere is desired. Built into the sides of the glovebox are gloves arranged in such a way that the user can place their hand ...

cover. On the left rear deck below the boot cover was another identifying badge with the Dové logo. The side window glasses were specially shaped, with a flat top edge to fit the new roof line. Some were fitted with a fully balanced motor built by either

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Brabham won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , and , ...

Motors or Laystall Engineering in London, which was offered as an option in the sales catalogue. Each Dové was an individual order, with some variations between each car. The cars were priced at an expensive £1250. Although most Dovés were based on the TR4 model, some brochures include pictures of a TR4A-based version. The aerodynamics of the Dové gave it good acceleration from in comparison with the TR4 drophead coupé. One example was exported for sale through Australian Motor Industries in Melbourne, Australia. A road test of one of these cars was reported in '' Autocar'' magazine dated 7 June 1963, and in ''

Autosport ''Autosport'' is a global motorsport publishing brand headquartered based in Richmond, London, England. It was established in 1950 at the same time as the origins of the Formula One, Formula One World Championship. Autosport began life as a we ...

magazine on 12 July 1963. Up to a dozen of the cars are known to still exist.

References

External links

Informational website dedicated to the Triumph TR4
{{Triumph Motor Company timeline TR4 Sports cars Cars introduced in 1961 1960s cars Convertibles Rear-wheel-drive vehicles 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars