Triumph TR5

The TR5 ran for barely thirteen months, from CP2 on 29 August 1967 to CP3101 on 19 September 1968, and only 2,947 were built. It takes the Triumph straight six — the Standard SC four with two cylinders added, as used in the Vanguard Six and Triumph 2000 — and strokes it from 76mm to 95mm for 2,498cc on an unchanged bore. On top goes Lucas Mk2 mechanical petrol injection: 150bhp gross, 142bhp net at 5,500rpm, 164lb ft, 9.5:1. Front discs are 10.9in with 9in rear drums, the gearbox is the all-synchromesh four-speed with optional Laycock A-type overdrive on second, third and fourth, and independent rear suspension is standard — the TR4A’s live axle option is gone.

The TR5 and the American TR250 are the same car apart from the fuel system. Same body, same chassis, same suspension, same brakes. The TR250 got twin Zenith-Stromberg carburettors instead, and a transverse bonnet stripe. So body, chassis, suspension and brake parts cross between the two freely, and fuel system parts do not cross at all. The injection is the thing that makes a TR5 a TR5, and it is also the thing that makes one hard to keep running — the system’s reputation comes largely from the electric fuel pump overheating. 96 TR5s left the factory as CKD kits, assembled in Belgium.