1954 TRIUMPH TR2 ROADSTER

Established in 1885 to import bicycles to England, the Triumph Cycle Company became the largest motorcycle factory in England by 1918. The following year, the first Triumph 10/20 automobile designed by Lea-Francis was manufactured. Renamed the Triumph Motor Company in 1934, the company began to manufacture its own engines in 1937. In 1940, the factory was completely destroyed in a wartime bombing raid. The brand name Triumph was purchased by Standard Motor Company in 1945, and the Standard-Triumph company was established under the management of Sir John Black. In 1946, the first Roadster 1800, using the same engine as the sedan Renown 1800, was introduced. The first TR Triumph was a TR-X luxury automobile with aluminum body panels, exhibited at the 1950 Paris Motor Show. With only 3 units manufactured, the TR-X was replaced by the cheap 20TS, competing with Morgan, introduced in late 1952. Later named TR1, the 20TS was drived by the racer Ken Richardson in the BRM Grand Prix. Assessing the 20TS as “a terrible car”, Richardson helped to improve all the features of the car, giving birth to the TR2.

The TR2 was launched in 1953 on the Standard Flying Nine chassis stocked in the factory. It was equipped with the 4-cylinder, 90 bhp 121.5 cu.in. engine used in the Vanguard sedan and Ferguson farm tractors. It featured the Triumph Mayflower sedan’s suspension. To improve appearance, the doors were shortened by 6-inch in 1954. Overdrive transmission was offered as an option. 8,628 TR2s were manufactured in its two-year production run. Although it was not considered as competition for the MG TD, it was considered an equal of the MG in the United States and sold 5,521 numbers overseas. The minor issues with the car were addressed with the launch of the relatively problem-free TR3 in 1955.