1969-76 Triumph TR-6

by Michael Duffey

Later TR-6s have rubber bumper guards.

The loss of the Healey 3000 Mk III at the end of 1967 left a void in the six-cylinder sports car line-up. Sure, there was the Jaguar Series II XKE ($5,500 in 1969) and soon a new upstart from Japan, the Datsun 240Z, would show the world how much GT car $3,500 would buy. Still, a torquey, easy-to-repair pushrod six like the Healey was needed to fill the gap between cars below 2 liters (such as the MGB) and the 4.2-liter E Type. Though not as curvaceous as a Big Healey, the Triumph’s lines were modern, handsome and at the same time traditionally British with its wooden dashboard fascia. The solid underpinnings, with front disc brakes and independent suspension front and rear, make the TR-6 a predictable, user-friendly performer with mild understeer and good (but fairly high effort) brakes. Mechanically, the car changed very little during its production run, aside from more stringent emissions controls with each successive year. Overdrive was available...