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:
“There is a history in all men’s lives,
Figuring the natures of the times deceased,
The which observed, a man may prophesy,
With a near aim, of the main chance of things
As yet not come to life.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“It would be naive to think that peace and justice can be achieved easily. No set of rules or study of history will automatically resolve the problems.... However, with faith and perseverance,... complex problems in the past have been resolved in our search for justice and peace. They can be resolved in the future, provided, of course, that we can think of five new ways to measure the height of a tall building by using a barometer.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“Social history might be defined negatively as the history of a people with the politics left out.”
—G.M. (George Macaulay)