Description
The last of the traditional sports cars - Haynes Great Car Series, Author: Bill Piggott, Hardbound, 159 Pages, ISBN: 9781859609972, Printed - 2003
- yet another tribute to a much loved British sports car !
From the fast and relatively primitive TR2 to the even faster and almost luxurious TR6, Triumph TRs are cars for the enthusiast: cars to be enjoyed and driven hard; cars in which to travel far and fast; cars capable of major competition success. All the TR models offered a unique combination of speed, durability, economy, practicality and sheer good value for money, virtues which enabled more than a quarter of a million examples to find buyers in the 1953-1976 period. This legendary ruggedness has ensured that a large percentage of the TRs built survive today, to delight both long-term owners and a new generation of drivers.
The Triumph company had an excellent sporting heritage, stretching back to the early 1930s when Donald Healey drove Triumphs in international rallies, and culminating in the production of the fabulous straight-eight Dolomite two-seater. The 1953 TR2 took up this sporting mantle, almost its first act being to achieve 125mph on a Belgian motorway, an amazing speed for a 2-litre production car 50 years ago. Competition success rapidly ensued for the new sports car worthy of the name and the TR series never looked back.
Triumphs always had a reputation for innovation; the TR3 of 1956 was the first series production car with disc brakes; the TR4 of 1961 introduced what was later called the `Targa top', and the TR5 of 1967 was the first British production car with fuel injection. This book leads the reader yearby-year through the whole history of the TR series up to the final North American specification TR6s of 1976.Also covered are the several TR derivatives such as the Doretti and the Peerless, together with a full account of the TR's competition history. Contemporary press comment is included, as are detailed specifications, production and performance figures.
The text is illustrated with a sumptuous collection of nearly 300 mainly colour photographs and drawings, both specially commissioned and from the archives.Although a lawyer by profession, Bill Piggott has been writing on Triumph-related subjects for many years. He has owned almost all models of TR over the past 30 years, and has acted as principal Registrar
