1954 Triumph TR 2 Long Door

 

The “birth certificate” extract from the production records gives a build date of Friday 30th October 1953.  TS 65 ‘O’ (optional overdrive fitted) had a body colour of pearl white with grey leather interior and has engine number TS 69E.

With a focus on the export drive of the post WWII period, the design brief for the new Standard-Triumph sports car at the beginning of the 1950’s was to produce a sports car for £500 capable of 100m.p.h. A production TR2 with optional streamlining attained a speed of over 124 mph on the closed Jabbeke motorway in Belgium in May 1953. The following March, TR2s took 1st, 2nd, and 5th places in the prestigious RAC Rally. This performance put the TR2 on par with the more expensive (and glamorous) Austin-Healey 100.

Offered for sale is TS65, one of the earliest TR2s still in existence. According to the Vintage Triumph Register (www.vtr.org) TR2 “survivors list” of March 2020, only twenty-one earlier commission number cars remain – all in North America or the UK/Europe. The “birth certificate” extract from the production records gives a build date of Friday 30th October 1953.  TS 65 ‘O’ (optional overdrive fitted) had a body colour of pearl white (retained) with grey leather interior (replaced with black prior to the current owner’s restoration) and has engine number TS 69E.

It is unknown if TS65 was shipped CDK via South Africa or arrived fully built up from Australia, but it was first registered in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1954. The current owner purchased TS65 in December 1982, relocating the car to Sydney, NSW and later Perth, Western Australia in 1987 where it underwent extensive restoration to return TS65 to as near original as possible. TS65 was restored accurately by Prestige Restoration, later known as Newlans Coachbuilders in Perth W.A. The car comes complete with a restoration album and large file of invoices.

BAINS CLASSIC MOTOR HOUSE is a low volume boutique classic car broker. Viewing of vehicles is by appointment only in our North Canterbury located Motor House.