Sebring. 1966. A place where these three cars could share a corner and not look odd.
Categories
Mixed Lot
Tag: Triumph
Humming tires. Snarling engine. Whistling wind. Triumph GT-6.
This is it. The new one. The hot one. That fastback sports car that offers more than just a sloping rear. This is the 6-cylinder Triumph GT-6.
From its sleek-bodied Grand Prix racing prototype, we retained the proven performance of four forward synchromesh gears. Rack-and-pinion steering. 4-wheel independent suspension. Disc brakes. Radial ply tires. (Performance/safety features that helped the GT-6 prototypes finish 1-2 in their class at Le Mans.)
Next we added certain luxury refinements. To name just a few: fully-instrumented walnut dash. Pile carpeting. Roomy bucket seats. Padded leather-covered steering wheel. Easy entry to luggage compartment through large rear door. Wire wheels. Back-up lights.
So, you see, the new Triumph GT-6 is not just a fastback. It’s the fastback.
Triumph GT-6
Standard equipment: heater/defroster, windshield washers, wire wheels. Suggested retail price $2995 East Coast POE plus optional extras, state and/or local taxes. See Yellow Pages for nearest dealer. Available in Canada and also for overseas delivery. Standard-Triumph Motor Company, Inc., 111 Galway Place, Teaneck, New Jersey 07666
I suspect that photo opportunity that the entrance provided was not the key decision factor for the Triumph Works team when they chose the Hotel de France as their accommodations for LeMans in 1963 and 1964, but it may as well have been. I often prattle on about the lack of pit access and being able to wander amongst the teams and cars before or after the races, but this… this is something else.
Whether the factory cars were just pulled out in front of the hotel for a quick photo and then tucked back into transporters or garages and out of prying eyes, or whether they just sat out front, I don’t know. I like to think it’s the latter. The idea of the team cars just sitting out for a night before one last shakedown run on the hour drive to La Sarthe is too wonderful a notion to not daydream about.
Incidentally, Hotel de France’s Facebook page seems to demonstrate their continuing close relationship with vintage motoring and frequently hosts classic car tours.
Photos via Hotel de France. Thanks for sending these in, Willem!
Categories
Triumph at the 24
Let’s ride along with team Triumph at the 1961 LeMans 24 Hours race, shall we? I don’t know why every TR4 owner doesn’t have their car painted in this livery. That huge gumball on the rear decklid is such a bold graphic statement that it makes other early-60s racing graphics immediately look so stodgy by comparison.
You know that I love seeing this track action, but the first segment of the film in the pits almost does more to place me in the era. After all, we’ll be able to attend events and see many of these very cars race again, but will be ever be able to wander the pits like this? Just another reason why I hope Goodwood’s ethos of embracing the entire era catches on with more vintage racing events.
Thanks for sending this one in, Mandy!
Categories
TR3 Ragtime
Something tells me that Steve Belfer has had the engine in and out of his dad’s old vintage racing prepped Triumph TR3 a time or two.
Thanks for sending this in, Steve!
As always, please share your restorations, videos, photos, or other vintage racing stuff with us: harlo@thechicane.com.
An eye for the better things in life
Triumph
For BETTER Performance
For BETTER Economy of Operation
For BETTER Handling and Braking
For BETTER Value and Service
For BETTER Times and More Fun
YOU had BETTER see your nearest TRIUMPH Dealer Today!
Cal Sales, Inc.
Western U.S. Distributors
1957 @. 144th Street
Gardena, California
I have a Triumph GT6 sitting in my garage that I keep coming this close to selling, but when I see these technicians from the Triumph Experimental Division in their neckties and shopcoats lovingly laboring over these crisp white frames it makes me want to abandon my plans to sell and instead suit up and get her properly prepped.
