Like many British car companies, Triumph began with bicycle manufacturing, followed by motorcycle production

Siegfried Bettmann began making his bicycles in 1885, moving to motorcycles in 1902. His motorcycles were so successful that it wasn’t until 1921 that a new factory manager, Claude Holbrook, persuaded him to move into cars. The first light car was built in 1923, with an engine designed by Arthur Alderson of Lea-Francis, to whom Triumph had to pay royalties.

In 1924, Triumph became the first British firm to fit four-wheel hydraulic brakes, although its car manufacturing only took off when it introduced the Super Seven. Stanley Edge designed this car, and had also infl uenced the Austin 7.

Early Troubles

The Depression brought considerable change to Triumph. After large losses, Holbrook took over from Bettman as managing director, and decided to move the company’s products up-market with a new generation of sporting saloons. ‘The Smartest Cars in the Land’ were ready for the 1934 season, powered by four and six-cylinder Coventry-Climax engines, gracefully styled in-house by Walter Belgrove and Frank Warner. But sales didn’t meet expectations and with that, combined with the costs of factory expansion, Triumph was again in trouble. In 1936 the motorcycle business was sold, with Bettman as its chairman.

Triumph replaced the Coventry-Climax engines with its own ohv fours and sixes that Donald Healey had designed. Healey had joined Triumph in 1933, and in 1934 he was responsible for the eight-cylinder 2.0-litre Dolomite sports car, with an engine closely modelled on the 8C Alfa Romeo.

The 1937 range offered the Gloria and Vitesse, with the most expensive Dolomite saloons, roadsters and coupes aimed at the SS Jaguars. Dolomite styling incorporated flowing traditional lines, with a Terraplane influenced ‘waterfall’ grille. Sales improved and another lower priced model was  added, but this didn’t prevent the firm from falling into receivership in 1939. In 1944, Standard’s John Black bought the remains of the bombed factory and the rights to the name, effectively opening a new chapter in Triumph’s history. The Triumph Motor Car Co (1945) Ltd was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard.

The Affordable Sports Cars

From its introduction in July 1953 to the last built in 1981, the Triumph TRs epitomised the British sports car.

The full story of Triumph’s post war years is too lengthy to tell here, with changing policies and a proliferation of models.

We’ll concentrate on the TR story — it was Triumph’s single biggest post war success, and among the world’s most successful series of sports cars.

In a world short of cars, Britain became the world’s leading car exporter by 1949 — and the US was regarded as a great potential market for sports cars, keeping both Donald Healey busy working on the Austin- Healey, and MG developing its replacement for the T Series.

Black wanted some of the action too, and after his attempt to procure the Morgan company failed, he decided to launch a sports car under the Triumph banner. A prototype designated 20TS was unveiled at the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show.

Based on a pre-war Standard chassis with modern suspension and a tuned Vanguard engine, it was underdeveloped. After driving it, Standard’s newly-appointed development engineer, Ken Richardson, was quick to advise Black that, “It’s a death trap and ought to be scrapped.”

Richardson was assigned the task of solving the problems and readying the car for production. The revised car was designated the TR2, making its appearance at Geneva in March 1953. Shortly afterwards, on May 20, Richardson gained immense publicity when he took the wheel of a streamlined prototype at Jabbeke Highway in Belgium, reaching 124.09mph (199.7kph) and setting a new record for production sports cars under 2.0 litres. With its 1991cc engine tuned to 67kW (90bhp), and a strong chassis, the TR2 made no pretensions to luxury but delivered plenty of performance.

Under technical chief Harry Webster, Triumph entered a team of almost standard TR2s in the 1955 Le Mans, fi nishing well in 14th, 15th and 19th places. Managing director Alick Dick authorised the development of a twin overhead camshaft engine, which he envisaged would not only serve Triumph in competition but could also be used for a higher-powered road version.

No Triumphs finished in its 1959 return to Le Mans, but in 1960 all three entries finished, although speeds were down. In 1961, the three entries fi nished ninth, 11th and 15th, and won the sought-after Team Prize. Unfortunately, a number of factors combined to lead Triumph into financial difficulties, until Leyland Motors took over in 1961. The Standard name was dropped, and shortly afterwards the competition department was closed.

Building on Success

The TR3 and its direct derivatives, the TR3A and TR3B, were substantially similar to the TR2. Introduced in late 1955, the TR3 was identifi ed by its ‘egg-crate’ grille and offered an optional, very occasional rear seat.

Larger carburettors and better breathing increased power from 67 to 71kW (90 to 95bhp). Front disc brakes were fitted from September 1956, along with a stronger rear axle assembly.

The TR3 was revised in September 1958, with a full-width grille and numerous small improvements. Commonly referred to now as the TR3A, it was never officially designated as such. The TR3B was sold on the American market concurrently with the TR4, after distributors reported buyer resistance to the restyled car.

Standard-Triumph approached the Italian stylise Michelotti to design the TR on a modifi ed TR3 chassis, resulting in a signifi cant revision. Michelotti had been building a smart-looking Italia coupe on the TR3 chassis at the same time; his TR4 design had very similar side and rear end treatment.

The TR4’s track was widened, 103mm at the front and 77 at the rear, and the chassis was altered to accept rack and pinion steering. The engine was enlarged to 2138cc, and with increased compression ratio it delivered 78kW (105bhp), while the gearbox was fully synchronised. The deep cutaway doors were gone, and the TR4 had wind-up windows and more luggage space.

In 1965, in line with Triumph’s approach of gradual evolution, the TR4A arrived with independent rear suspension. Semi-trailing arms and coil springs delivered a much improved ride, although lever arm actuated shock absorbers weren’t strong enough to tie the tail down on rough surfaces. Just as some US buyers had resisted the TR4, dealers reported resistance to the new suspension, and about a third of the US-delivered TR4As were fi tted with the live rear axle.

Engine Upgrade

By then, the four-cylinder engine was showing its age. Experiments with enlarging the engine to 2.5 litres hadn’t been satisfactory, so the 2000 saloon’s six-cylinder engine was used for the TR5, introduced in 1967.

Without the resources to develop a brand-new engine, Triumph’s solution was to lengthen the stroke to 95mm, resulting in a capacity of 2498cc and going against the ’60s trend to square engines. It delivered more torque, but not a great deal more power. However, a timely decision to use the newly-developed Lucas petrol injection system solved Triumph’s dilemma. With PI the power increase was substantial, the six delivering 112kW (150bhp) at 5500rpm.

Torque output was generous, with a peak of 222Nm at 3500rpm. Harry Webster described it as “the answer to all our prayers for the TR.”

Initially, Triumph engineers thought the Lucas PI system would help the cars satisfy the anticipated, more stringent US pollution regulations. As it transpired this wasn’t the case, so the US export cars were fitted with dual Stromberg carburettors and designated the TR250. Power output was only 78kW (104bhp) — almost identical to the TR4 it replaced.

Final Evolution

For the TR5’s replacement, Triumph went to Karmann in Germany. Karmann altered the front and rear styling, successfully modernising the car’s appearance. Released in 1968, the TR6 was the ultimate development of the TR series, the fastest and most powerful of the range. It became biggest selling ‘traditional’ TR, and nearly 92,000 were built. In the days before political correctness, Australian Sports Car World road tested the TR6 in January 1970, headlining its article For Men Only, and describing it as a “man’s car all the way down the line.” Top speed couldn’t be tested as there wasn’t suffi cient road to allow it, but the magazine agreed with Triumph’s estimate of 125 mph (201kph) in overdrive top. Acceleration was brisk for the day, reaching 0-60mph in 8.5 seconds.

Handling was improved over the TR5, with a stiffer front anti-roll bar and wider tyres — “no vices, no problems,” they wrote, summing up the TR6 as “providing tradition as well as modern refi nements, for enjoyable motoring.”

Difficulties in maintaining tune along with a need to improve emissions resulted in the PI engine being detuned with an altered camshaft in late 1972. The ‘CR’ series cars produced 92kW (124bhp). The Lucas PI system brought the earlier TR’s reputation for reliability into question, but those problems have been rectifi ed.

Last of the TRs

Traditional sports car enthusiasts were just a little surprised when the all-new TR7 arrived in 1975, because it was only available as coupe. But it was a time when more US safety regulations were expected to result in open cars becoming almost extinct. The coupe design allowed Triumph to build a monocoque body, lighter and stiffer, delivering better handling than the earlier TRs. The TR7 took its share of flak.

Powered by the sohc four-cylinder 64kW (86bhp) Dolomite engine, it started off badly with reliability problems and poor assembly.

Improvements were made, including replacing the Leyland Marina gearbox with the heavier-duty five-speed Rover SD1 unit, and it became the best selling TR of all with 112,000 built.

Its credibility moved up a notch with the convertible’s eventual release in 1979, and while the Rover V8-engined TR8 offered much, only 2815 were made before Triumph sports car production ceased in 1981. Triumph almost certainly missed an opportunity by not offering the Dolomite Sprint’s 16-valve 95kW (127bhp) in the TR7.

BL sold the Speke factory where TRs had been made, and in one of the many sad cases of badge engineering in the British industry, continued using the Triumph name on British-assembled Hondas until 1984.

Words and Photos: Ross McGown