TriumphTR6

Triumph TR6 Versions

One body with two fuel systems and four series: the injected TR6 PI, CP and then CR, and the carburetted US TR6, CC and then CF. The change of series in late 1972 divides the early cars from the late ones; the TR Register calls the carburetted car the TR6 Carb.

Three Triumph TR6s in a row, maroon, white and dark red, parked on a kart-track paddock.
Three early TR6s in a row, with chrome bumpers and no spoilers, on a kart-track paddock in June 2019.Andrew Bone, CC BY 2.0

Triumph built the TR6 from 1968 to 1976 with one body and two fuel systems. Injection made the TR6 PI, sold in Britain and in most countries beyond North America; two carburettors made the US TR6, which went to the United States, Canada and, in the TR Register's words, other export markets it does not name. Each form came in two series, known by the first two letters of the commission number, and the line-up shows how many of each form were built.⁠1​2​3

The series

Triumph never gave the TR6 Marks. Its own division, which the clubs and the parts catalogues follow, was by series:

SeriesFormFirst builtLast built
CPTR6 PICP25156, 28 November 1968CP77718, 21 September 1972
CRTR6 PICR169, 15 November 1972, after kits from CR1CR6701, 7 February 1975
CCUS TR6CC25003L, 19 September 1968CC85737U, 5 October 1972, or August 1972 by the TR Register
CFUS TR6CF1U, 11 September 1972CF58328U, 15 July 1976

The dates are those of Rimmer's catalogue, which lists the first and last car of every year from the factory's build data. The CR cars differ from the CP cars in their engine, given a milder camshaft, and in the changes that came with the new series; the CF cars took the same body changes as the CR, and then a run of American changes, one model year at a time. The letter at the end of a number tells more: L for left-hand drive, which the American cars carried up to CC78520, U on later American cars, and O for overdrive. The figures for each series are side by side in the specifications, and identification explains the numbers in full.

A yellow Triumph TR6 with its front-hinged bonnet raised to show the engine, on wire wheels before a stone building.
A TR6 PI of the CP years, its bonnet (hood) raised on its front hinges, at the East Lancashire Railway in September 2014.Thomas's Pics, CC BY 2.0
A dark blue right-hand-drive Triumph TR6 seen from behind on the grass of a car park, a church and village houses beyond.
A right-hand-drive TR6 of the CP years, without the rear side-marker lamps of American cars; its photographer records it as a 1972 TR6 PI.Andrew Bone, CC BY 2.0
A dark green Triumph TR6 with black rubber bumper guards and red-band tyres, parked on a paved drive under palm trees.
The last of the four series: a CF-series car for America, of the 1975 or 1976 model year by its raised front bumper and big rubber overriders (bumper guards); its owner dates it 1976.Transpoecon, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Early and late

Owners divide the TR6 at the change of series, late in 1972, into early cars (CP and CC) and late ones (CR and CF):

Early carsLate cars
Commission prefixesCP and CCCR and CF
FrontA chrome bumper aloneA spoiler under the bumper and chrome strips at the grille's edges
InstrumentsThe first dials, with an ammeterSmaller dials, with a battery-condition meter
OverdriveLaycock A-type, at first on second, third and topLaycock J-type, on third and top
Injected engineThe first camshaftA milder camshaft and revised metering
American bumpersChromeRubber overriders from the 1974 model year; a raised front bumper from the 1975 model year

Which is better is a matter of taste, and the Vintage Triumph Register's buyer's guide put both sides:

Some people prefer the earlier car with the higher compression engine and "clean" bumpers. Others prefer the later car with the better intake manifold, dual exhaust, bumper guards (necessary for any regularly used car), front spoiler, comfier seats, and Union Jack flags.

Vintage Triumph Register, TR6 buyer's guide
A yellow Triumph TR6 with its hood folded, parked on a gravel drive in front of a red timber fence.
The early face: a TR6 with a plain chrome front bumper, no spoiler beneath it and no rubber overriders, as the CP and CC cars were built.Calreyn88, CC BY-SA 4.0
Two Triumph TR6s on a gravel drive among trees: a dark blue one with a plain chrome bumper and a green one with black rubber bumper guards.
A plain chrome bumper beside rubber overriders: the photographer's title calls these a 1973 TR6 and a 1974 TR6 (July 2020).Funkadlik3, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Production

No source says fully how its total was counted: only the TR Register's leaflet says that its figure includes the cars assembled in Belgium, and none says whether prototypes, or cars built in 1976 and sold in 1977, are in it. The TR Register gives a total, and a split between injected and carburetted cars that adds up to it; its leaflet prints the same total and gives a split a few cars smaller. The Vintage Triumph Register prints that total on one page and a higher one on another, the figure that Motor Trend printed in 1980 and that Ate Up With Motor and Classic & Sports Car use. The line-up shows both.

The TR Register also splits the injected cars between the home market and export, and its home-market figure is the one that the Vintage Triumph Register gives as the number sold in Britain. The TR6 PI's production readings give both. No source read gives the factory's output year by year.⁠1​3​6​11​12​13​4​2​14

Three Triumph TR6s parked side by side, seen from behind, showing their flat tails and black rear panels.
The same three cars from behind, at the same meeting, each with the black rear panel of the type.Andrew Bone, CC BY 2.0

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Markets

British cars were all injected, with right-hand drive, and ran on Dunlop SP Sport radials until Triumph changed to Michelin XAS tyres in 1973, for the time being, Motor Sport reported. They were sold as soft-top and hardtop models; the TR Register puts standard overdrive from CR5000, and by the end of 1974 Motor Sport found the tonneau cover standard too.

Continental Europe had the TR6 PI with left-hand drive, some of it assembled in Belgium. On CP cars for Germany the commission plate was fixed to the right-hand wheel arch under the bonnet, the TR Register notes, and German papers gave the injected engines' power to the DIN standard; according to TR-Register Deutschland, carburetted cars were delivered there too from 1976. In Italy, British Leyland's own brochure for the TR6 PI is dated February 1974.

The carburetted car was the North American one, and Canada had it as well as the United States; AROnline writes that in Canada the TR6 and the TR7 appear to have been sold side by side for only one year. Of Australia no source read gives more than a letter to the importer's newsletter: in February 1971 a correspondent there wrote that "A TR-6 costs $4,500 by the time it is on the road", and that imported racing parts paid duty of 37½% and sales tax of 15% on top. No source read describes the TR6 in Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, South Africa or New Zealand.⁠3​15​5​16​17​4​18​19​20​1

A red Triumph TR6 with its black hood up and a black front spoiler, parked alone in an empty car park.
A late TR6 in Germany, on historic plates, in May 2012: the front spoiler shows a car built from late 1972, and whether it is injected cannot be seen.JoachimKohler-HB, CC BY-SA 4.0
A dark blue Triumph TR6 with the hood folded in a paddock car park, in low evening sun.
An early TR6 in the paddock of the Nationaal Oldtimer Festival at Zandvoort, the Netherlands, in September 2009; its alloy wheels are not original.AlfvanBeem, CC0

Contents

Versions

  1. TR6 PI

    1968–1975

  2. US TR6

    1969–1976

Pictures, top to bottom: Andrew Bone from Weymouth, England, CC BY 2.0; Transpoecon, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Sources

Sources are given as plain text; their addresses are on the sources page.

  • Primarymade at the time, by the maker or by people who were there
  • Referenceserious later work: clubs, specialists, magazines, books
  • Uncheckedencyclopaedias and enthusiast sites: cited beside a good source, named in the sentence, or marked Unchecked
  1. TR Register, "Triumph TR6 Buyers Guide" (facts sheet), summary: TR6 PI and TR6 Carb; the markets; Engine details: Lucas injection and twin Strombergs "for US and other export markets"; Facts & figures: the total, PI (home and export) and carburetted; Engine details: "US and other export markets". Reference
  2. Graham Robson (foreword), Triumph TR6 1969–1976 Parts & Accessories Catalogue, Rimmer Bros, edn 2.2 (source code TR600313), p. 5, Vehicle identification: the four series; p. 5, Vehicle identification: the first and last car of each series, with build dates; p. 5, the commission-number ranges. Reference
  3. TR Register, "Buyer Beware: TR6" (2 pp. PDF leaflet), p. 1, the series by model year; p. 1, the last CC (August 1972); the suffixes; the series and markets; p. 1, the late cars; the 1974 overriders; p. 1, the total "includes cars assembled in Belgium"; its own split; p. 1, right-hand drive; overdrive from CR5000; the German plate position; the Belgian cars. Reference
  4. Bruno Dwinger, "Geschichte, Typenkunde und Kaufberatung: British Leyland Triumph TR 6PI und TR 6 (Vergaser) – Die Karmann Autos", TR-Register Deutschland, c. 2010, 13 pp. (PDF), pp. 1–2, the PI and carburetted markets; p. 1, skipped numbers and cars taken for experiments; p. 2, DIN ratings; carburetted cars delivered from 1976. Reference
  5. Clive Richardson, "The Tale of a TR6", Motor Sport, Nov 1973, p. 54, p. 54, the CR's camshaft and the 1973 changes; p. 54, the list of 1973 changes; the overdrive; p. 54, Michelin XAS; Malines. Primary
  6. Vintage Triumph Register, "TR6" (history, year-by-year changes, US production table, buyer's guide), Spotter's Guide: the US model years; change list, '73 to '75; TR6 Buyer's Guide, "Some people prefer the earlier car …"; production page and history text: the two totals. Reference
  7. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, January 1973, Jan 1973 (vol. 19 no. 1), p. 2, the 1973 model year. Primary
  8. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, December 1973, Dec 1973, p. 2, the 1974 bumper guards. Primary
  9. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, December 1974, Dec 1974, the 1975 model year. Primary
  10. Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph TR6", 2026, "the only factory-recognised change". Unchecked
  11. Aaron Severson, "Grandfather's Ax: The Many Evolutions of the Triumph TR4, Part 2: TR5, TR250, and TR6", Ate Up With Motor, 7 Nov 2012, TR in twilight: the higher total. Reference
  12. Charlie Calderwood, "Datsun 240Z vs Triumph TR6: the battle for America", Classic & Sports Car, 1 Feb 2023, factfile: the higher total. Reference
  13. Fred M. H. Gregory, "TR8 V-8: A mighty Triumph" (road test), with the sidebar "A String of Triumphs", Motor Trend, Jun 1980, sidebar "A String of Triumphs": the higher total, 1980. Primary
  14. Wikipedia (DE), "Triumph TR6", 2026, Roger Williams's figures, 2014. Unchecked
  15. Bill Boddy, "Rumblings" (TR6 PI and 2.5 PI Mk II), Motor Sport, Mar 1971, p. 34, p. 34, Dunlop SP Sport tyres. Primary
  16. Clive Richardson, "The continuing tale of a TR6", Motor Sport, Dec 1974, p. 53, p. 53, final paragraph: hardtop model; overdrive and tonneau standard. Primary
  17. Standard-Triumph, Triumph TR6 P.I. (sales brochure), UK, Dec 1970, publication 426/1270/ENG, the soft-top and hardtop models; the steering lock. Primary
  18. British Leyland, Triumph TR6 PI (sales brochure), Italy, 2/1974, "Un 'trionfo'": the Italian brochure, February 1974. Primary
  19. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, February 1971, Feb 1971 (vol. 17 no. 2), p. 4, a correspondent in Australia. Primary
  20. Chris Cowin, "History: Exporting British cars to Canada – Part Two: The British Leyland Years", AROnline, 19 Aug 2025, Canadian TR6s; the one-year overlap with the TR7. Reference

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