Collector Car/Cars We Remember; Remembering the popular Triumph sports cars

By Greg Zyla —

Q: Greg, I enjoy your columns in Auto Roundup Magazine and in all the newspapers that I see and read it in. I am a big Triumph enthusiast and enjoy reading about their many cars, can you give me a little background on the company and then, if you can, dig up an article from your past?

Being that I’m incarcerated and have lots of time on my hands, I remember long ago you wrote about a gentleman who was rebuilding a former Triumph, I recall either a 1973 or 1974 and it was a GT6 and not a TR model. It was loaded with info on the GT, which is my favorite Triumph of all of them.  If you could find that article and reprint it, I would be incredibly happy.

Thank you very much. Tom (real name withheld), incarcerated in the state of Minnesota at Stillwater.   

A: Tom (not real name), I finally found the column you speak of, and I had to go back 15 years to track it down in my archives. However, before we get to that letter, let me give you a bit of history as requested on the Triumph.

Triumph Motor Cars has a fascinating history. Founded in 1902 by Siegfried Bettmann and Moritz Schulte in Coventry, England, Triumph began as a bicycle manufacturer before transitioning to cars in 1923.

They quickly became known for their sports cars, particularly the TR series, which included models like the TR2, TR3, and TR4.

All of the Triumph designs were highly respected and sold well, becoming one of the popular vehicles that competed in road racing events. With pricing that allowed middle class enthusiasts a chance to own a rear sports car, the car’s stylish designs and enough power under the hood became legendary.

The last Triumph car was produced in 1984 in both TR7 and TR8 model designations before the Triumph was retired by British Leyland.

The company went through various ownerships, including Leyland Motors and British Leyland before being acquired by BMW in 1994 through its Rover Group purchase. However, no new Triumph cars have been produced since the 1984 year as BMW concentrated more on the Mini Cooper, which also went along with the Rover Group purchase.

Now to the letter you seek. Here it is in its entirety, and I must admit it does help fill in the blanks.

Dear Greg, I would appreciate it if you could help me find information on my 1973 Triumph GT6 MK3. The only thing I know is it used to be a racecar, and I have been working on it for several years to bring it back to its original showroom condition. I am at the point where it is almost ready for car shows. Can you give me some history on the car and its approximate value when I’m finished? I have enclosed the VIN numbers for you, and it has a gold race emblem on the dashboard. Peter K., Senecaville, Ohio.

A: Peter, thanks for the kind words and I’d be happy to help. First, your 1973 Triumph GT6 MK3 is the last year British Leyland produced this model, a corporation of Triumph motorcars. It was conceived from the Spitfire convertible model in 1966 and received a redesign when the Triumph GT6 arrived at dealers in 1970. Since 1970, it has been called the GT6 MK3. Your car came with an inline 6-cylinder 1998cc engine that puts out 95 horsepower with a curb weight of 1936 lbs.

Although your car was a racecar, no doubt in the Sports car Club of America (SCCA) class competition, it was built for general and sports car purposes, although many did see race action. Along with Triumph’s most popular model, the TR6, Spitfire and GT6 were built to compete head on with two other foreign models, namely Austin Healey Bugeye Sprites and 3000s, and the MG lineup of MGA, MGB and MG Midget.

In 1973, your car’s seats were changed from vinyl to cloth and offered some nice options. Your MK3 can run a top speed of 113 mph and go from 0-60 in 10-seconds. To the chagrin of Triumph enthusiasts, however, the last U.S. models were hampered by government intervention, where low compression engines thanks to the mandatory use of lower octane unleaded gasoline became the norm. Of course, all car manufacturers experienced the same fate, as the years 1973 through 1980 weren’t known as “performance years” by any means.

Today, your GT6 is a popular sports car, and, to your advantage, didn’t sell in big numbers as only 13,072 GT6’s were built from 1970 to 1973, with a total run on only 41,253 since 1966.  By 1974, the GT6 was dropped by Triumph, although Triumph still sold many TR6 and TR7 models, and its rare V8 powered TR8 through 1981. The V8 TR8, powered by a Buick/Rover design 3.5-V8, had a production run of only 2,750 cars, of which perhaps 750 remain.

Your GT6 MK3 will be worth in the $10,000 range when finished, perhaps more, maybe less depending on circumstances. Today, all Triumph cars have a strong following and many clubs exist. I recommend the Vintage Triumph Register, P.O. Box 655, Howell, MI 48844.  Write to them, and I hope all this helps. (Today’s 2024 value is $20,649 for a regular GT6 according to classics.com and from $25,000 to $30,000 for a GT6 MK3 like yours.)

The Vintage Triumph Register still exists and charges $35 a year for membership. You can learn more by visiting their online presence at vintagetriumphregister.org. The 2024 Vintage Triumph Register convention was held Sept. 8 to 12 in Nashville, Indiana (Not Tennessee). I checked the homepage, and it is loaded with info on all Triumphs ever built. It also produces a genuinely nice magazine, which is included with the membership fee.

Hope all this helps Tom. Thanks for your letter.

(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader questions and comments at greg@gregzyla.com or snail mail to Greg Zyla, Roosevelt Street, Sayre, Pa. 18840.)