TRIUMPH TR3
Year of manufacture 1957 Recorded mileage 78,606
Asking price £210,000 Vendor Pendine Historic Cars, Bicester Heritage, Oxfordshire; 01869 357126; www.pendine.com
WHEN IT WAS NEW
Price £1021 7s (1957) Max power 100bhp Max torque 117lb ft 0-60mph 12.5 secs Top speed 105mph Mpg 32
Social media can be a pretty miserable place at times, but it also has its perks. While most people use Instagram to get closer to celebrities and famous faces, I lose myself in cars, following everything from Simon Kidston’s fabulous Mercedes-benz 300SL to old pal and EX-C&SC man Martin Port’s Trans-africa Land-rover Series II. One car that I have always lusted over and never cease to linger on when it flashes across my phone screen is this ex-works 1957 Triumph TR3, which recently caught me off-guard when I spotted that it had been listed with Bicester-based Pendine.
Its current owner uses the Triumph exactly as its maker intended, touring Europe and taking part in fantastic events, culminating in a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Italy to take on the Mille Miglia in 2021. Beautifully restored and suitably set up for historic rallies and endurance events, the car boasts all the tweaks needed for long days in the saddle, including purposeful bucket seats and harnesses, but the changes go deeper still.
TRW 736 is one of a trio of road cars that was pulled from the production line in 1957 to be readied for competition in the upcoming season, during which it contested the Tulip Rallye, finishing first in class ahead of Paddy Hopkirk in sister car TRW 737, before going on to come third overall in the gruelling Liège-rome-liège Rally – a high point for the works TRS.
Like so many of Canley’s factory competition cars, TRW 736 was sold on when its work was done. It wasn’t until the 1980s that its famous past was uncovered. The car eventually got the restoration it deserved and was returned to works specification by TR Enterprises, finished in its original shade of Apple Green. As well as getting a modern Safety Devices rollcage, the TR was fully rebuilt mechanically, benefiting from an engine overhaul with a steel bottom end, a Piper camshaft and a competition exhaust manifold. The rear axle was then fitted with a plate-type limited-slip differential and the gearbox was uprated to a four-synchro A-type with overdrive and a beefier propshaft.
When it comes to TR3S, TRW 736 has got it all: incredible period history, a magnificent restoration, plus all the mechanical upgrades to make it truly usable. The best bit? It comes with all the papers needed for its next owner to carry on its sporting tradition. Or, as Pendine puts it: ‘A golden ticket to all the top road and race events around the world.’