The TR-badged series of two-seaters produced throughout the 1950s and early 1960s by Standard-Triumph are probably the most fondly recalled sports cars ever built by the company. Popular on both sides of the Atlantic, these back-to-basics roadsters helped ignite a trail for the British built open-topped sports car that’s still blazing brightly today.
Although the TR3 proved a massive hit, automotive tastes were starting to mature by the late ’50s. Triumph needed a new model to replace the ageing TR3 but to do this economically, it was decided to retain as much of the outgoing model as possible. The resultant TR4 was essentially a TR3A’s rolling chassis topped off with a handsome Michelotti-designed body.
The TR4’s sharp new Italian-designed suit was not only wider and lower than the outgoing model, but the redesigned cabin now offered more space for passengers and their luggage. In place of the TR3’s trademark cut-down doors and fussy wet weather gear, the new sports car featured a pair of straight-topped doors with the luxury of wind-up windows – a first on a Triumph-badged TR.
As well as offering the TR4 as a soft top with a folding canvas hood, Triumph also produced a version with an optional hard top, comprising a removable metal centre section and a curved fixed rear screen. This set-up is often referred to as
