Buying Guide
The most refined of the four-pot TRs, or a budget TR5? Strong values reflect the TR4’s enduring attraction
Triumph TR4
‘The TR4 was one of the fastest sports cars available in the 1960s’
Michelotti’s sharp-suited new TR4 may have looked modern compared with the TR3A it replaced when it was unveiled at the London Motor Show in
1961, but it inherited much from its predecessor under the skin. Despite this, the TR4 and later TR4A were among the fastest and most affordable sports cars available in the 1960s. Cheap to buy and run, and while road manners may have left a little to be desired, this TR pretty much unbeatable for the price.
Apart from the new look, the TR4 gained rack-and-pinion steering, wider track front and rear and an
all-synchromesh gearbox. And while the TR4’s engine was essentially the same as the TR3’s, it was bored out to 2138cc to boost performance. The full-width styling also allowed a removable twopiece hard top, which remains a popular option today. The lift-out top panel allowed occupants to enjoy wind-inthe hair motoring, but the rear window could stay in place to reduce buffeting. The panel was too bulky to fit into the boot, so Triumph also offered a light framework and canvas assembly (called the Surrey top), which could be stowed in the boot and then deployed if you got caught out in a rain shower.
The TR4A arrived in 1965 with a redesigned chassis featuring independent rear suspension courtesy of coil springs and semitrailing wishbones, to give a more comfortable ride and improved grip. But the added sophistication pushed up costs, which is why for the car’s biggest market (north America) the original live-axle configuration remained available.
Having created an all-new body and sorted out the antiquated chassis, the only thing left to address was the engine; the four-cylinder motor was beginning to seem unrefined by the mid-1960s. The answer was to put the more modern 2.5-litre straight-six under the bonnet, which happened in October 1967 with the arrival of the TR5.