Triumph TR6
By admin | August 6, 2008
In 1969 Triumph produced the successor to the TR-4-5-250 and dubbed it the Triumph TR-6. Fans had been anticipating a new revision to the venerable British sports car line for some time. And in October 1969 they got it. The Triumph TR6 was mechanically identical to the Triumph TR-5 and Triumph 250, except for the addition of wider wheels and a front anti-roll bar.
The most impressive change, and the one that makes the Triumph TR6 stand out as one of the finest looking British sports cars, was the hood and front end design. The decidedly masculine hood, grill and bumper come together to give the sports car an intimidating look. Intimidating enough to make all other European and American sports cars of the day look positively wimpy.
Under that manly hood, the Triumph TR-6 featured a 150 bhp, 2.5 liter 6-cylinder engine that was carbureted in the U.S. to meet emissions standards. In the mid 1960’s the U.S. began to regulate fuel emissions. For Triumph to import the TR6 under newly minted Federal regulations, they had to tone down the power from 150 bhp in the UK to 104 bhp in the U.S. Why Triumph kept a carbureted engine and did not move to the more efficient fuel injection is a point of speculation. Part of the speculation is that the car could be priced cheaper with a carburetor than with fuel injection, and that Lucas electrical was not up to the task of producing precise enough metering to allow the enhanced engine output to meet emission standards. the last thing Triumph wanted was to ship a batch of cars over to have them rejected at the port.
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 Triumph TR 6 TR 6 1974 Triumph TR6 TR 6 TR 6 Classic Convertible Car Save US $5,001.00 |
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As with the Triumph TR-4, TR-4a and TR-250, the TR-6 was configured with Lucas electrical components and wiring. This classic British Sports car could push 1/4 mile in 17.9 seconds, and could cruise comfortably at 109 mph. Even for such a large engine, and not much insulation, the Triumph TR-6 was surprisingly smooth, quiet and easy to control. The benefit of tight rack-and-pinion steering allowed for quick, responsive turning. At normal performance the TR-6 could comfortably cruise at 3370 rpm at 70 mph. In fact, drivers had to push the engine to 5200 rpm in order to redline it. with quick shifting the driver could easily quick shift to 4th gear, then slip it into overdrive for that extra kick.
Despite this setback, the Triumph TR6 had plenty of power, and was a surprisingly fast and nimble sports car. It swept down the road at 1/4 mile in 17.0 seconds from a standing start. Impressive as hell for the day. the engine would purr along at 3370 rpm at 70, but would pop into shifting excellence at 5200 rpm.
Triumph added a front anti-roll bar that provided extra stability over the TR4 and TR250.
One of the styling features of the Triumph TR6 were the prominent wheels. The red band and deep set wheel wells provided a distinctive look to this classic British Sports Car. The combination of the anti-roll bar and wider wheels gave the TR6 corning stability at high speeds and extra feeling of security even on bumpy roads. Stopping power was handled by a disc-drum combination that handled the weight of the TR-6 nicely.
The interior of the TR6 was designed to be masculine and sleek. The standard Triumph polished wood dash holds the instrumentation is easily visible accessible areas. The tach is tach directly in front of the driver and the rest of the dials not too far away to the right. The pedals are not situated well for heeling-and- toeing, the throttle being too high for that; headlight dimming is by a foot switch with a directional signal flasher lever on the left side of the steering column-a better arrangement than the GT6's two-stalk setup because of the possibility of an OD stalk on the right side of the column.
The bucket seats felt sporty, but did not lose any comfort. The required headrest actually added a nice cosmetic addition when the top was down. The padded steering sports the Triumph logo but could not be adjusted without a toolkit. The interior carpet held back excessive noise even though the door panels were painfully this and know to do little protection against wind rattle once the cars aged a bit.
The Triumph TR6 went through several mild changes before it expired in July of 1976. The loss of the Triumph TR6 was a mistake British Leyland never recovered from. When they left the classic male fantasy sports car for what they perceived as “The shape of things to come”, in the TR7 they made the wrong call and destroyed a great brand.
Today the TR6 is a class car renowned by car collectors world wide. Some 34 years after the TR6 was cancelled the car still holds up against the stylings of any of the modern two seater sports cars on the current market. Owner lucky enough to get their hands on one can attest to the mystique of this alluring man’s sports car.
Topics: All Triumph Categories, Triumph TR6 | No Comments »
Triumph GT6
By admin | August 5, 2008
The Triumph GT6 was based on the Spitfire 4 and first hit the road in 1966. More than just a hard-top Spitfire, the GT6 had well thought out design in the integration of the top to the body. By today’s standards it would be a bit thin and noisy, but for the cars at the time, it fit right in. The rest of the Spitfire chassis was unchanged except for the larger 2-liter, 6 cyl engine from the Triumph 2000 Sedan. The unequal-arm front, and swing-axle rear, suspension layouts are intact except for such details as spring rates. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: All Triumph Categories, Triumph GT6 | 1 Comment »
Triumph GT6 Mark 2
By admin | August 2, 2008
In 1969 Triumph updated the existing Triumph GT6 to the Triumph GT6 Mark IV. A number updates were made to refine the engine, suspension and interior of the new GT6 Mark 2. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: All Triumph Categories, Triumph GT6 | No Comments »
Triumph Spitfire 1500
By admin | June 26, 2008
In 1973 Triumph updated the Spitfire Mark IV to the Triumph Spitfire 1500. The new revision updated the engine from 1147cc in the Triumph Spitfire Mark IV to 1493 CCs in the Spitfire 1500. It was a marked improvement over the previous models with more torque in the low and mid RPM range. Even at up to 4000 RPM the engine felt like it had more in it to give. The drive train was much improved which handled the increase in torque smoothly.
Rear suspension was widened by roughly 2 inches which actually effected the handling with the “swing-spring”, which was held over from the improved suspension on the Spitfire Mark IV. the “Jacking” of previous models seemed to be finally fixed with the Spitfire 1500. The widened wheel span and wider tires allowed for much better handling and attracted many more buyers of the vehicle.
The car responded well to throttle and steering inputs in a very predictable fashion, and trailing throttle results in oversteer that comes on evenly and in controllable amounts.
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 Triumph Spitfire 1500 1976 Triumph Spitire 1500 US $1,750.00
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the interior was updated slightly with adjustable seats and head rests. The seats were comfortable except some taller drivers complained of right leg discomfort due to the lack of good thigh support. The dashboard was finished in polished wood and nicely presented the tach and speedometer in easily viewable fashion. the steering wheel was made a bit smaller in the Triumph 1500, which was actually a welcome change for drivers as it seemed to pick up more response from the rack and pinion steering. The ventilation and heater flow was improved to provide fast and better heat and air.
An optional hard top was offered with the Spitfire 1500, and are quite the collectors items these days. It rattled a bit over bumps, but added a welcome change for winter driving.
The Triumph Spitfire 1500 was a reasonably price, modern styled car. It sold well in the U.K. and the U.S. until 1976 when the project was killed at British Leyland due to strikes and other politically related issues.
Topics: All Triumph Categories, Triumph Spitfire 2 | No Comments »