58 ❘ August22, 2019 http://www.oldcarsweekly.comForeign Favorites WITH PATRICK R. FOSTE
R
ecently I fell in love again,
this time with an abso-
lutely stunning 1960 Tri-
umph TR3A. It had been
treated to a ground-up restoration some
years before and was still in outstand-
ing condition. With ivory paint and a
tan interior, it was simply breathtaking.
The price, though quite reasonable, was,
sadly, out of my reach. I felt exactly the
same way I felt when I fi nally realized I
was never going to get a date with San-
dra Bullock. Oh, well....
In any event, not being able to buy
a TR3 today doesn’t mean I’ll never be
able to. It’s usually a matter of having
the right amount of money at the right
time, and having free space in your ga-
rage. So, I may get lucky and someday
fi nd one available at the right time and at
the right price. These things have a way
of working out.
You’ve heard me praise “classic”British sports car styling in previous
columns and, in my opinion, the TR3A
may be the ultimate expression of that
hard-to-defi ne yet instantly recognizable
quality. Like the pricier Jaguar XK-E,
the TR3A is simply one of the best-
looking British sports cars of all time.
If I had to choose today between buying
an XK-E and a TR3A, I’m not sure what
I’d do. But I have to tell you, that white
TR3A bowled me over.
Triumph had its start in 1887 as the
Triumph Cycle Co. building bicycles
and, later, motorcycles. It introduced
three-wheel cars in 1903, but didn’t
move up to four-wheelers until 1923
probably because England has always
been a pretty good market for three-
wheelers due to wheel taxes, at least
until recently. The fi rst Triumph four-
wheeler had a 1.4-liter engine and four-
speed transmission. Although it sold
in moderate volumes, Triumph reallydidn’t have a hit automobile until it in-
troduced the Super Seven for 1928. A
tiny four-place tourer, it was designed to
compete with the popular Austin Seven.
In 1930, the company changed its name
to the Triumph Motor Co.
Due to fi nancial diffi culties, Triumph
became a subsidiary of the Standard
Motor Co. after World War II. From that
point on, Triumphs were mostly based
on Standard components. Like most
U.K. automakers, Standard-Triumph
found itself in the position of being
forced to “export or die” after the war.
Luckily, many American GIs had driven
Triumphs while stationed in England
during the war, so selling Triumphs in
the vast American market was an easy
decision to make. Plus, the U.S. was just
about the only economy in the world
that hadn’t been shattered by the war.
Americans were loaded with cash and
open to the idea of buying a British car.The instantly classic TR3A