History
See also: Triumph TR1 / 20TSThe TR2 was designed to challenge MG in the sports car export market to North America. It was also built because Sir John Black, the boss of the Standard Motor Company, made a bid for the Morgan Motor Company and failed. Triumph already made the Triumph Roadster, but it was out-dated and under-powered. Sir John Black wanted an affordable sports car, so he initiated a prototype to be built. The chassis was a shortened version of the Standard Eight's and the engine was the Standard Vanguard 2-litre, around which a two-seater body was created. Named the 20TS, it was revealed at the 1952 London Motor Show.
Black asked BRM development engineer and test driver Ken Richardson to assess the 20TS, and after he declared it to be a "death trap" a project was undertaken to improve on the design. A year later the TR2 was revealed. It had better looks; a simple ladder-type chassis; a longer body; and a bigger boot. It was loved by American buyers, and became the best earner for Triumph. In 1955 the TR3 came out with more power; a re-designed grille; and a GT package that included a factory hard-top.
Read more about this topic: Triumph TR2
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Revolutions are the periods of history when individuals count most.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“When the history of this period is written, [William Jennings] Bryan will stand out as one of the most remarkable men of his generation and one of the biggest political men of our country.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“Only the history of free peoples is worth our attention; the history of men under a despotism is merely a collection of anecdotes.”
—Sébastien-Roch Nicolas De Chamfort (1741–1794)