For some reason I didn't take a ton of Triumph photos this time around, though they're the second-most common marque at the show. (Trailing the MGs, natch.) Maybe it's because so many of them had their hoods up for display and judging purposes. When I take car photos I usually try to capture the lines of the car. Having the hood up pretty much puts the kibosh on that. In any case here are a few that caught my eye, presented in more or less chronological order of their manufacture.
I liked this unrestored TR3. It looked as if it's been well enjoyed over the years.
TR4
TR250
Spitfires!
TR6s
Want to own your own British sports car without spending a lot of money? The MGB is usually your best option. (As they once said about Packards, "Ask the man who owns one.") But if you really want to own a Triumph, here's a pretty British racing green TR6 that was for sale for only $6,800. It was pretty worn in places, especially the dash. But at quick glance the body looked pretty solid. I suspect somebody's going to have a lot of inexpensive fun with this one.
Finally, the extremely wedgy TR7s and TR8s.
The aluminum block, eight-cylinder, 3.5L Rover V8 in a TR8.
British Leyland introduced the TR7 1974 with the expectation that it would eventually replace both the TR6 and the MGB. The TR7 line ran from 1974 to 1981. The V8-powered TR8 was introduced in 1979 as a more powerful option and also was manufactured until 1981. Since British Leyland put the development money to create a new car into the more upscale Triumph line instead of replacing the 11-year-old MGB, the MGB was updated with several much-less expensive design changes in 1974, including the much maligned rubber bumpers and smog equipment to handle changing US impact and air-pollution regulations. MGB production then continued until 1980, nearly outlasting the car that was supposed to replace it, a point of pride among MGB owners across the globe.
That's it for the Triumphs this year. There were lots and lots of other pretty Triumphs at the show, but I just didn't get many good pictures. Oh well. Next up? Jaguars.
P.S. Links to the other Battle of the Brits posts:
No comments:
Post a Comment