﹒Owner for the last 11 years is a mechanic

﹒Impressive paperwork binder

﹒Previous body-off restoration

﹒Historic vehicle status, VED and MOT exempt

The TR6 arrived in 1968, as the last of a line of TRs that dated back to almost two decades earlier.

Triumph, then Standard-Triumph, created the first TR in 1950. The TR-X, a motor show prototype, was more of a luxury car than a sporting model - and would have proven too costly to build. Instead Triumph turned its attention to sports cars, and two years later showed off the 20TS prototype - sometimes retroactively referred to as the TR1.

While never produced, the TR1 was the genesis of the TR range to follow. Triumph enlisted BRM’s Ken Richardson to develop the car into a production vehicle, and that resulted in the TR2 in 1953. That car essentially formed the basis of every TR to follow, culminating in the TR6.

Triumph refined the TR2 over the intervening years. First came the TR3 in 1955, with more power and - in a first for British production sports cars - disc brakes. The TR4 followed, with a redesigned body from Michelotti, and a larger, 2.2-litre version of the Standard straight four engine - and the TR4A which introduced independent rear suspension.

In 1967 Triumph introduced the TR5, which brought the Triumph 2.5-litre straight six for the first time - bumping power up from 104hp to 150hp. The line eventually resulted in the TR6, with a new Karmann-designed body.

Triumph produced the TR6 through to 1976, with the TR7 replacing it and ending the body-on-frame era of TR models.

This TR6 reached the UK’s roads back in March 1970, so it’s only recently passed its 50th birthday. That, naturally, also puts it well over the DVLA’s threshold for Historic Vehicles, meaning it’s eligible for zero-rate VED and no longer requires annual MOT testing - though the current owner has meticulously kept up with its MOT schedules, with the most recent in April 2020.

While we don’t have much history up to 1984, there’s a stack of documentation from that point on which covers the period up to the present day, and accounting for the car’s 87,000 miles. As you’d expect, few of those miles have come in recent years, but then it doesn’t appear to have racked up many across its 12 owners. An MOT certificate from 1984 shows just 28,000 miles on the clock and it hadn’t reached 83,000 miles when the current owner picked it up. That’s a fairly consistent 2,000 miles a year up until 2009, and barely 4,000 miles since.

At some point before 2008, when the car moved up to its first owner in Northallerton, a previous owner spent around £4,000 on a full body-off restoration. This included the paintwork and interior, though we don’t know precisely when this took place.

Although it’s had 12 owners, the longevity of the car means that each has, on average, kept it for just over three years - up until the current owner bought it in 2009. After 11 years in his custody, it’s time to move on.

The TR6 comes with a pretty hefty ring binder full of documentation, and it appears to cover almost the entire history of the car - at least from the early 1980s and on.

Within you’ll find an impressive array of paperwork. There’s receipts for all sorts of parts over the last 40 years, along with several items of documented work - including an engine overhaul in 1985. One item references a body-off restoration, including full paint and interior refresh, but this is undated; all we know is that it was prior to 2009 - and likely to be at least a decade earlier given the font and position in the folder.

There’s also just about every MOT certificate since 1984 in the folder too and, unusually, this also includes instances where the car has failed. The failure documents have tick marks on them, suggesting that the owner has ensured each item was remedied before the subsequent re-test - and pass. One certificate erroneously adds 750,000 miles to the TR6’s odometer reading (impressive, in the course of one day), but the next returns to the correct figure.

As a two-seat convertible, the TR6’s interior is a pretty compact environment. There’s two leather seats, a dashboard, and that’s about it.

The seats are in fair condition, but you will notice a couple of rips and splits. There’s some tears on the base of both seats, and a further split on the side bolster of the driver’s seat. Other than these, which could both be repaired, the leather isn’t showing too much wear.

Also on the driver’s side, the door card has a rip in it - coming in at about four inches long - to the substrate below. The passenger side item isn’t similarly affected.

Ahead of the seats is an impressive wood dash which seems to have stood the test of time. The vinyl and plastic trim around it exhibits pretty typical 1970s British Leyland fit, but it’s in original condition. You’ll find a set of Smiths gauges which seem to have some small areas of excess paint around the bezels. This TR6 also sports an aftermarket, 14-inch Moto Lita steering wheel, with leather rim.

The carpets are all in good condition, with some fraying around the edges - around the gear gaiter and where they peek out from under trim pieces - but nothing to concern in the main body of the upholstery.

In addition, the TR6 sports a good sized boot, and this is in good condition on this car.

While the car has had a body-off restoration at some point in its past, there are some signs that the paint is showing its age again. It’s in generally good condition, and for the most part there’s nothing for any immediate concern, there’s areas that might require attention in the coming years.

This applies particularly around the very edges. Poking around the wheel wells you’ll find some areas of surface rust. It’s also evident in small patches along the sills and doors, around the lower edge of the doors and the seals. Around the front end there’s a few more areas with spots of surface rust too.

The most noticeable area of rust is just behind the driver’s side door. There’s a patch of under-paint bubbling there a few inches across, with a smaller one on the passenger side too.

Under the bonnet there’s a much more obvious region, where the paint appears to be coming away in sections. The metal beneath is clean, and of course you won’t notice it with the bonnet shut, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

Beneath the car itself is pretty clean. There’s some areas of surface rusting on exposed and older components, but no more extensive corrosion we could spot and nothing structural. The steel wheels are like new, and the car also has a set of wire wheels available.

Lastly there’s the TR6’s convertible roof. While this is mostly in good condition, and the plastic screens are clear and not yellowing as they can often do, it won’t escape attention that there’s holes in the vinyl on each side. This simply seems to be where the material has rubbed on the frame beneath over the years, but it means you’ll either need to use it as a fair weather car or sort a replacement.

The TR6 retained much of the TR5’s technology, and that means a 2.5-litre, straight six Triumph engine - with Lucas fuel injection for these European cars. This was good for 150hp which, in this 1.1-tonne car, is plenty.

On this TR6, everything seems to be in full working order. The engine starts up right away without hesitation, and both idles and changes engine speed without any obvious complaints. Driving with a gentle pull it’s smooth and shows no signs of unease.

The four-speed gearbox also operates without any bother, including in reverse. We couldn’t pick up any grumbles from the suspension or brakes either.

If you want a classic British sports car, there’s nothing quite like a TR6. The Karmann-styled body matches with that fruity straight six to create a rather special piece of the UK’s motoring heritage. Take the roof off and you’ve got a car that’s a sense of occasion all by itself.