Manufacturer Triumph Motor Company Assembly Coventry, England Class Sports car | Production 1967–1968 Designer Giovanni Michelotti Body style Roadster | |
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The Triumph TR5 is a roadster sports car that was built by the Triumph Motor Company in Coventry, England, between August 1967 and September 1968.
Contents
Visually identical to the Michelotti styled TR4, the TR5 hid the main differences under the body. The most significant change from the TR4 was the 2.5-litre straight-6 fuel-injected engine, developing around 145 hp (145 bhp), and which was carried forward to the TR6. A carburetted version of the TR5 named Triumph TR250 was manufactured during the same period, to be sold in place of the fuel injected car on the North American market.
At the time, fuel injection (or PI petrol injection, as it was sometimes then called) was uncommon in road cars. Triumph claimed in their sales brochure that it was the "First British production sports car with petrol injection".
In 1968 the basic price of the TR5 in the UK was £1,260 including taxes, with wire wheels being another £38, overdrive £60 and a tonneau cover another £13.
Triumph TR250
The Triumph TR250, built during the same period for the North American market, was nearly identical to the TR5. But, because of price pressures and tighter emission regulations the TR250 was fitted with twin Zenith-Stromberg carburettors rather than the Lucas fuel injection system. The TR250's straight-six engine delivered 111 bhp (81 kW), 39 bhp less than the TR5; 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) acceleration took 10.6 seconds.
In 1968, the TR250 sold in North America for approximately $3,395, with wire wheels being another $118, overdrive $175 and air conditioning another $395.
Specifications
Standard equipment included front disc brakes, independent rear suspension, rack and pinion steering and a four speed gearbox. Optional extras included overdrive and wire wheels. Both the TR5 and the TR250 were available with the "Surrey Top" hard top system: a weather protection system with rigid rear section including the rear window and removable fabric section over the driver and passenger's heads.
TR5
A curious feature of the TR5/Lucas petrol injection system was the very frequent occurrence of an intermittent power failure when the fuel tank was no more than a quarter full. In order to provide fresh fuel at the distributor, free from overheating/soak, unused fuel was returned to the tank where it entered very close to the high pressure fuel pump. When the fuel level fell below critical (about 3 gallons), sloshing would cause the pump to pick up a slightly aerated mixture which was sent to the fuel distributor. Unused fuel (still aerated) then passed back to the tank and was discharged close to the pump, a proportion of it being picked up and recycled to the distributor. As this cycle was repeated, gradually the volume of air in the pumped fuel reached a level where it began to affect the running of the engine. Adding as little as one gallon to the tank seemed to cure the problem. The similarly engined contemporary saloon overcame this problem with a petrol tank specially designed for the fuel injected model. This incorporated an anti-slosh cup to ensure that the fuel outlet remained covered with fuel when the tank level was low.
Taken from the UK sales brochure.
TR250
Engine: 2,498 cc, inline-six cylinder, 74.7 mm (2.9 in) bore, 95 mm (3.7 in) stroke, 8.5:1 compression ratio, 111 bhp (83 kW; 113 PS) at 4,500 rpm
Turning circle: 10.1 m (33 ft)
Capacities:
Fuel tank: 61 L (13.5 imp gal) Engine sump: 5.4 L (9.64 imp pt) Gearbox: 1.13 L (2 imp pt)Performance:
0 to 60 mph (97 km/h): 10.6 seconds 0 to 100 mph (160 km/h): 39 seconds Fuel consumption: 23.5 miles per US gallon (10.0 L/100 km; 28.2 mpg‑imp)Performance
The fuel-injected engine could propel the TR5 from 0–50 mph (80 km/h) in just 6.5 seconds, and on to a top speed of 125 mph (201 km/h). Road tests at the time reported slightly different performance figures:
Production
The TR5 was produced in small numbers when compared with the later TR6, with just 2,947 units produced; the first car was assembled on 29 August 1967 and the last on 19 September 1968. Of these, 1,161 were destined for the UK market, the remainder being LHD TR5s and going to France, Belgium and Germany amongst others. In a similar period 8,484 TR250s were built for the U.S market. In the first quarter of 2011 there were approximately 410 licensed and 74 SORN TR5s registered with the DVLA.
The TR250 was built in 8,480 units, all of which were for the American market. Approximately 600 remain worldwide today, and many can now be found outside the United States, primarily in Europe.