Red Triumph TR6.
Thanks to Ivan, who sent in these photographs of his new TR6 in the early 1970s, and who agreed to them being shared in the photos section of the site. He purchased the TR new, and kept it for approximately 3 years.
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1971 Triumph TR6 registration ETN 111K.
Ivan adds: "I think it was about 1973 that the detuned 125 bhp engine was introduced to meet the California emission controls which steadily became stricter hence the carburettor version of the engine. BL introduced the detuned engine in quite an underhand way with very little publicity the change in spec being hidden away in the small print. I had the misfortune to end up with one of these cars. Other mods which the BL accountants introduced included deleting the scuttle fresh air in take flap which was operated by a lever under the dash and replacing it with a fixed aperture. The rim of the steering wheel changed from leather to rubbery plastic. Overdrive on second gear was deleted - no great loss. What use to irritate whenever ever I drove the car was the change to the rev counter & speedo. Although the large diameter glasses were retained the instruments behind them were replaced with smaller items surrounded by blanking plates."
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"Overall I enjoyed the 150bhp car. It made all the right noises but it was more of a tourer than a sports car. The semi trailing link IRS was much too soft. Hard acceleration from rest could turn the car into a speed boat!"
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"Whilst overdrive on top gear was useful I found it a bit of a waste of time on 2nd & 3rd. It was operated by a stalk switch on the steering column (not like my father's A99 Westminster but more of that another time). I once managed to accelerate away using all 7 ratios seamless power but a masterpiece of co-ordination! change into 2nd accelerate select overdrive change into 3rd immediately deselect overdrive accelerate & so on."
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A look at the DVLA site confirms that this car not only still exists, but is taxed and on the road. Does anyone know who owns the TR6 now? I'm sure Ivan would be interested to see photos of it, some 38+ years later, and it'd be interesting to put some current pics on this page.
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The TR6 was the latest of a line of sporting TR Triumphs that stretched back to the TR2 of the early 1950s, and for many years was viewed as the last proper Triumph TR by many. The TR6 was launched in 1969, and was an evolution of the popular TR5, sharing much of the outgoing car's structure, and of course the potent 2.5 litre fuel-injected engine. All bar the US market cars had the Lucas PI system, whereas stateside-bound cars were fitted with carburettors (just as had the TR250, the US market's version of the TR5). The styling was revised, with the biggest revision of the TR5 design being at the back, where a chopped-off Kamm tail was fitted, replacing the previous car's look that had first been seen on the TR4.
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The early British TR6s had the full-strength 150bhp engine (assuming that the injection system was playing ball of course), although this would slip to 125bhp later in the car's life. US-market cars produced a relatively miserable 104bhp by comparison. No wonder firms such as SAH-Triumphtune did well, supplying tuning parts to make the later TR6s go as well as they looked. Standard transmission was a four speed unit, although a useful overdrive option was offered. The steel hardtop, as shown on Ivan's red TR6, was also an optional extra. Despite looking fresh and new, TR6s still featured a separate chassis, quite archaic when compared to rival MGs and their monocoque construction, but similar to contemporary Spitfires and GT6s that sold alongside the TRs.
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The TR7 of 1976 would replace the TR6, but by and large was seen as the poor relation. Gone was the torquey straight six engine, replaced by a Dolomite four banger. The eight cylinder TR8, and introduction of a convertible TR7/8 helped, but by then it was perhaps too little, too late. Perhaps if they'd fitted a fully-sorted 16v Sprint engine to the TR7 from the outset, or the Stag's 3 litre V8, the 7 would have had a brighter future, but by the late 1970s much of the British motor industry was on it's knees, churning out poorly developed cars with very indifferent build quality in most cases, BL being as guilty as the rest.
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Thanks again to Ivan for these great photographs, and if anyone can shed light on the car's current whereabouts, please get in touch. Further photos of the car are shown below - note the British Leyland sticker in the hardtop's side window, and also a sticker for Selmar Car Alarms.
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Return to Old Vehicle Photos Page 8.
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Fans of the Triumph TR6 may find the Triumph TR2-TR6 screensaver and the TR6 classifieds pages of interest.
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