RALLY TR2 RESURFACES AFTER 37-YEAR LAY-UP
WORKS TRIUMPH TR2 We were looking for a classic that re-emerged in 2018 with a great story behind it – and this historic TR2 completely won us over
Regular readers will know that we love a good ‘barn find’ at CCW, so a Triumph TR2 that’s spent nearly four decades stashed away in a garage is already the sort of car that’s going to get our patina fetishists squawking with excitement. But this matching-numbers 1955 example, which appeared on the TR Register’s stand at the RIAC Classic Car Show in Dublin back in March, isn’t just any old TR2; this was the very car campaigned by Standard-Triumph as a works contender in numerous rallies in period on both side of the Irish Sea – including 1956’s RAC Rally of Great Britain, campaigned by Raymond Laird and Keith Collie. IT 3714, assembled by StandardTriumph at its Percy Place facility in Dublin, was one of two TR2s officially campaigned by the manufacturer; a chance email to the Register in 2017 revealed that it had spent 37 years in a Dublin garage. The TR Register described it as a ‘once in a decade’ find, and made it the star of its stand at the two-day event in the Irish capital. Its outing this year was definitely a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it affair; like the Jensen ‘White Lady’ that came a close runner-up in this category following its appearance at the NEC last month, the TR2’s outing in Dublin was its sole show appearance ahead of its restoration. The car’s owner, Laura Copeland, is now part way through what the TR Register says is a ‘minimal makeover’; the aim is to get it back on the road while preserving as much of its originality as possible. Ireland branch spokesman, Patrick MacMahon, says: ‘The TR2 was definitely one of the stars of this year’s show – it brought a lot of people over to our stand who were interested to find out more about its history.’