The Roadster, launched in 1946, had three front seats across the width of the car and a column gear change, while the boot-lid, when opened, provided dickey-seats for two extra passengers. The forward most part of the boot had two glass panels that would form a separate windscreen for the dickey-seat passengers. When the Roadster was discontinued in 1949, with 5,000 cars having been built, the last 2000 being built with a 2-litre engine, Triumph then concentrated its efforts into developing a new small saloon car, the Triumph Mayflower.

At the turn of the 1950’s Triumph were observing the strong success of the Jaguar XK120 and the MG TC, monitoring their success, particularly in the United States where they could see a market for a sports model. The Directors at Triumph authorised the development of a new sports roadster to exploit the gap between those other two cars, but the difficulty they faced was that there was very little money available with which to pay for parts and development. By borrowing the independent front suspension and rear axle from the Triumph Mayflower, the engine from the Standard Vanguard, and a chassis from the now discontinued Standard Flying Eight, they had the beginnings of the new car.

The bodywork had cut-away doors and a rear mounted spare wheel, and although it was displayed at the 1952 London Motor Show at Earls Court, the car was by no means ready for production. During testing it was found that the ride and handling were not up to expectations and there were other faults with it also. Known as the Triumph TS20 the car was not popular and hasty re-development by Ken Richardson and his team resulted in the production of the Triumph TR2 to replace it, and which made its first public appearance in August 1953.

This car was built on an entirely new and much stiffer chassis, and the body, built by Mulliners Ltd in Birmingham, was extended at the back to form the boot area that now also housed the spare wheel. The 1991cc engine was further developed to produce more power making the TR2 a genuine 94bhp 100mph sports car that was also very economical. To further promote the capabilities of the car, Ken Richardson took a TR2 to the Jabekke Highway in Belgium where he recorded an average speed of 124 mph, thought to be quite an achievement at that time for a car of that size.

This time Triumph had got it right and the popularity of the car steadily grew all around the world. Customers were offered options of a Laycock de Normanville overdrive unit, that operated on third and fourth gears, wire wheels and Michelin X radial tyres, which very much improved upon the road holding qualities of the car, and were something new in themselves. An initial difficulty that was discovered with the braking system was quickly cured by fitting larger rear brake drums.

In the autumn of 1954 the doors were shortened to give an even stiffer body and to make them easier to open without catching the kerb. Triumph became one of the first sports car manufacturers to offer a removable hard-top, which came in the form of a beautifully styled glass reinforced plastic item, and if a customer ordered this with the car it was supplied without the soft-top, making the roof more of an option than an extra, and if also required, one that attracted a higher price.

In 1954, a Triumph TR2 had some success in the RAC Rally. Following on from that the car enjoyed a series of successes in the Mille Miglia and Alpine rallies. One of the drivers was a Belgian by the name of Gatsonides, who later became famous for his development of the Gatso speed camera. Others were enjoying success with the in events such as LeMans and the Ulster Tourist Trophy with it.

It appears that the first two production cars were largely hand built. The first, serial number TS1, was left hand drive and was sent to Canada where it appeared at the 1953 Canadian Motor show and apparently it still survives in North America today having been fully restored.

The second car, serial number TS2, was built as a right hand drive model and was sent to Dublin, Ireland in September 1953, where it is believed to have been used as a demonstrator by Standard Triumph (Eire) limited, before being registered to a buyer in County Offaly in March 1954. Amazingly this car also survives today and has been fully restored. Triumph TR2’s, and the later TR3’s, were very popular and well respected by Irish rally drivers who used the cars to good effect in local, national and international events.

In August 1955, after 8,628 of them were sold all over the world, production of the TR2 was discontinued and the car replaced by the TR3 the following October.

Essentially it was the same as the TR2, but now had a front radiator grille, the headlights had been moved back from the front of the car and beneath the bonnet the engine power output was increased by a small amount to 95bhp, and then later to 100bhp. In September 1956, the Triumph TR3 became the first sports car in its class to be fitted with front disc brakes as standard, a modification that coincided with the fitting of a more robust rear axle from the Vanguard Mk3 saloon.

In 1957, an up and coming Italian car designer, Giovanni Michelotti, became involved with the Triumph Motor Company, which was the beginning of a relationship that lasted until 1975. Michelotti had been commissioned to design a new body style for the Triumph Roadster, a project that was code-named Zest, and later Zoom for the second phase. The car incorporated many of the design features of the TR3 and based upon the chassis of the 3A, which was modified for Zoom. Both projects were taken on by the competition motor sport department of the company and formed the basis of the 1960 Le Mans racing cars, known as the TRS. Although they were not successful in the race they did at least finish with a fastest lap time of 102mph. The following year all three cars won the team prize by coming in ninth overall.

In September 1957, after 13,377 TR3’s had been sold worldwide, the car was again updated, and although referred to as the TR3A, this was never an official title. Mechanically identical to the TR3, but now with a full-width radiator grille that incorporated the sidelights and external door and boot handles, this last modification was not overly popular with some of the Triumph TR enthusiasts, who seemed to think that a proper sports car did not have door handles! A larger 2.2 litre engine was offered as an option, but was not one that many buyers chose. There was an optional steel hardtop too, instead of the previously available GRP version. At the height of its production the Triumph factory were making 600 TR3’s per day, most of which were exported to the United States.

In 1959, for the 24-hour Le Mans endurance Race, special fibreglass versions of the TR3A were built on a modified chassis, with longer bodies and a twin camshaft engine under the bonnet. Unfortunately, due to mechanical difficulties, all three cars retired before the finish.

TR2/3/3A models were upholstered in Vynide cloth and the dashboard was covered in a matching material. Two large round instruments directly in front of the driver housed the speedometer and tachometer and in the centre of the fascia lived the switches, warning lights and four smaller gauges indicating fuel level, engine temperature, oil pressure and ammeter. A large glove box and a grab handle were provided for the passenger.

In the Autumn of 1961 production of the TR3 was terminated and the new Michelotti designed TR4 was introduced. However, the car was considerably more expensive to buy and initial sales, particularly in the US, were poor. Such was the state of panic this caused at the factory, Triumph horridly put the TR3 back into production from March to October 1962, but with the engine and gearbox they had used for the TR4, giving the car a 109mph top speed and with the designation of the TR3B. These cars were all left-hand drive and only exported to the United States.

Built on the same chassis as the TR3, the TR4 offered a completely new style of sports car to that of previous models and was based upon the earlier Zest and Zoom experiments. With a wider wheel-track, rack and pinion steering, full height doors, a heater that could be controlled from within the cockpit and a new all-synchromesh gearbox, the car incorporated many new features such as wind-up windows, through-flow ventilation and a radical design in hardtop. This new roof was a rigid structure that bolted to the body with a section between the windscreen and the rear window that was detachable for open-air motoring and was called the " Surrey top".

This made the car very quick for its day and gave it the type of performance Triumph needed to stay ahead of its competitors. However, the P.I. car did not make it to the US market, as it was not able to produce exhaust emissions that were at a level clean enough to be within US rules. Instead the American people were sold the Triumph 250, which was exactly the same car, except that it had twin Stromberg carburettors instead of fuel injection resulting in a reduction of power output to only 104bhp. The Blackpool company, TVR, did much the same thing with their TVR3000M, using the Triumph 2.5-litre straight six with carburettors for North America instead of the Ford 3-litre V6 unit used for home market. The US version was known as the 2500M, for obvious reasons.

Legend has it that Triumph never intended to make a TR5 by merely putting a six-cylinder engine into a TR4, and were only forced down this route due to the non availability of the new body, the development of which was running late, coupled with market pressures to produce a faster, beefier TR sports model. As the car was only manufactured for 9 months, and sold for a year, this theory does make sense, although cannot be substantiated at this time. During its 12-month sale period nearly 11,000 TR5’s were sold with only 2,497 cars reaching British roads.

The origins of the Triumph six-cylinder engine go back to the early fifties when a new four-cylinder unit was developed for the Standard Ten and Triumph Pennant saloons. It was then enlarged to six cylinders to power the Vanguard Six, after which it was used in the very successful Micholotti designed Triumph 2000 saloon. When used in these cars it had a cubic capacity of 2-litres and later found its way into the Herald based Triumph Vitesse and the GT6. The additional 500cc for the TR5 and the Triumph 2.5 PI saloon, were obtained by increasing length of the piston stroke, which had the added effect of also increasing the torque. In its four-cylinder form it remained in production until the Triumph Spitfire was discontinued in 1980.

The 1960’s were definitely the glory days for Triumph. They had a very strong and competitive model range and sales were flourishing. By the late sixties Triumph was working on a prestigious new project developing an entirely new car with a totally new Triumph engine, a project that would later result in the launch of the Triumph Stag.

In fact the Stag project consumed an incredible amount of development money and Triumph had to come with a successor to replace the now rather dated looking TR5, but on a very tight budget.

Being unable to again commission the services of Giovanni Michelotti, due to his commitment to the Stag project, Triumph turned to a car design company called Karmann, who were located in Osnabruck, Germany. Karmann had the ability and the means to design and develop the new car, and could also manufacture all the necessary tooling for its production. Upon taking on the project, Karmann decided to redesign the front and rear of Michelotti's original TR4 body, but not change the structure of the chassis or the cockpit-area. Their efforts resulted in the production of the Triumph TR6, which was launched in 1968 to some very enthusiastic applause making it an instant success. Apart from smoothing the lines of the body, the design changes also provided more boot space, a front anti-roll bar, and wider wheels, the last two making the good handling characteristics even better. Still with the same 2.5-litre petrol injected six-cylinder engine, developing 150bhp (home market – 104bhp US Market). Karmann had succeeded in creating a whole new, more aggressive, modern and exciting look for the Triumph roadster with the TR6, a car that was to become Triumph’s best selling car in the TR series ever.

When it was released in 1969, Autocar Magazine is quoted as saying,

“It is very much a masculine machine, calling for beefy muscles, bold decisions, and even ruthlessness on occasion. It could be dubbed the last real sports car……."

This was a fast car and one that was just begging to be driven fast and one that actually required a fair amount of skill to realise its full potential. However, many owners complained about the roughness of the engine at low-speed and in 1973 the TR6 became slightly de-tuned to smooth the engine, but at a cost to the power output that was now down to 125bhp. This also coincided with the changed in the US exhaust emission regulations, another fator that made it necessary to modify the engine in this way. Needless to say, the 150bhp model remains the most sort after version on the classic car market today. As options the car was offered with Overdrive on 3rd and 4th gears, wire wheels and a beautifully designed detachable hardtop, similar to that of the Triumph Stag, that had a much more square and flat-topped design, making the car look almost as attractive wearing this as it did without.

By the close of 1976, the point when it had reached the end of its production, 94,619 TR6’s had been built and it is perhaps no surprise that now, even 30 years later, the TR6 still has a tremendously enthusiastic following all over the world.

in the early 70’s the Japanese car manufactures were exporting heavily into the UK offering products that were cheaper, more reliable, better built and that came with innovative design features. Cars like the six-cylinder 150bhp Datsun 240z directly threatened the home-grown models like those offered by Triumph, MG, and Jaguar. By the mid-seventies the competition had become much tougher, and to make things worse there was strong rumour that on the opposite side of the Atlantic even more restrictive safety regulations were about to be brought in that would effectively see an end to open-top cars being permitted on US roads. Not only that but the exhaust emission regulations became even more difficult to cope with and the modifications required to get the engine of the TR6 clean enough severely damaged its performance. When added to the commercial affect of the already strong advantage gained by the Japanese, it was enough to send Triumph, and other sports cars manufacturers exporting to the US, into sudden retreat from producing open-top cars and frantically trying to find an alternative.

In 1975, Triumph made a valiant effort to stay ahead of the predicted new US safety measures (measures that never did actually come to fruition) by introducing their wedge-shaped hard-top sports coupe, the TR7. However, with only a 105 bhp, a four-cylinder carburetted Triumph engine, instead of a hairy and powerful six-cylinder petrol injection unit, and with a very cheap and tacky plastic trim in place of the traditional polished wood, all meant that the car was not well received. In fact many staunch TR purists will not even recognise it as a Triumph TR model at all, and feel that Triumph would have one far better by giving it a different name altogether! There is a story that when Giovanni Michelotti saw it for the first time at the Geneva motor show, he remarked that it looked just as awful from one side as it did the other.

Dwindling sales both at home and overseas needed swift and drastic action if the TR7 was to remain alive, and in 1980, for the export market only, the TR8 was introduced. This car was a TR7, in either convertible or hard-top form, but with the powerful Rover 3,500cc V8 under the bonnet, and which finally giving it the engine package it should have had, right from the start. Official records indicate that only six V8 cars were sold in the UK, the home version still being the four-cylinder TR7, but now with a convertible option sold along side the hard-top car. However, despite the best efforts of Triumph, it was a case of being too little too late, and after selling only around 2,500 TR8’s Triumph went into bankruptcy after which the factory gates were closed for the last time.

The story of Triumph as an organisation is not a happy one. In the 1980’s British Leyland was troubled by badly made products, bad quality control, bad management and a poorly motivated workforce that were frequently walking out on strike. New products like the Triumph TR7 suffered from lack of investment, underdevelopment and mediocre build quality. Production of the TR7/8, the last true Triumph car, ended in 1981 after which the Triumph arm of BLMC died.

The Triumph name did re-appear for one last time on a saloon car named the Acclaim, a car that was little more than a re-badged Honda Ballade, which in itself was based upon the Honda Civic platform. This was probably done with the idea that as the Japanese had now got such a hold on the British car market, it was better to join them rather than to be beaten by them. Nevertheless the car was not popular, the buying public preferring to buy the real Honda, and the Acclaim too fell by the wayside.

So many new innovations had come from Triumph over the years and the disappearance of the company, just like the many others over the years, has effectively ended British main-stream car manufacture. Only the more specialist car producers remain, such as TVR, Morgan, Marcos and Noble, to name a few.

After the demise of the Triumph company the name was retained by the Rover Group, who chose to use the MG badge for their sports car range. However, in April 2005, those names also fell by the wayside with the collapse of The Rover Group, and after going into receivership, and in July 2005, Rover was bought by a the Chinese company, Nanjing Automotive. Whether they now have the rights to the Triumph name is something that is not clear, but whoever does own the badge, it is doubtful if we shall ever see it on another car.