Page 54 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics

TOP: Although the external dimensions remained fundamentally the same as previous models, the TR6 bore a masculine stance that appeared lower and wider than the Michelotti TRs. The plastic chin spoiler first appeared in late 1972, while the higher bumper position was a response to strict American safety rules.
ABOVE: In order to comply with new 5 mph impact requirements, Triumph introduced massive rubber overriders with the 1974 models.
A Dying Breed
In 1974, new bumper impact requirements mandated installation of rubber overriders, which were less obtrusive than could otherwise have been the case. The following year, the front bumper was raised to a position right underneath the headlights, which required new turn signal and marker lights to be hung from below the bumper.
52Wayne CariniAffordable Classics
There’s a priceless 30-second TV commercial for the TR6 in the era that still entertains today. With 5-mph impact bumpers required on every vehicle sold in the United States, domestic manufacturers produced countless advertisements showing their cars hitting objects at slow speed and emerging unscathed. However, in classic understated mocking contempt, Triumph’s ad shows the TR6 approaching a wall as the narrator intones, “And now we’d like to demonstrate what we British feel is the best way to use the TR6’s new 5-mph safety bumpers.” Then as we view the TR6 drive around – and not into – the wall, the narrator concludes, “In England, we strive to miss the wall.”
After years of solid demand, however, declining international financial conditions forced Triumph to stop selling the TR6 in rest of the world markets in 1975, although production continued until July 15, 1976 for the North American market, accounting for 6,083 units, with the last new examples selling throughout early 1977. This meant that the TR6 was sold alongside its replacement, the TR7, for almost 18 months, in the same fashion that the TR3B remained available after the TR4’s introduction. With 91,850 examples sold, the TR6 outsold every previous TR model. Although the TR7 proved even more popular with customers, modern collectors consider it unworthy of the TR name, something that the TR6 will never have to worry about.
THE DRIVE
A properly tuned and maintained TR6 is a treasure, representing the glorious end of the traditional British sports car. Unlike the MGB and Midget, which were festooned with comical rubber bumpers and strangled with emissions equipment, the TR6 managed to retain much of its potency and handsome appearance until it was finally withdrawn in 1976. The perfect car for the sports car enthusiast who wants something more masculine than