Miguel Sánchez
Anyone with a devotion to English sports cars knows Triumph well. Models like the TR4 or Spitfire aren't the most powerful in the class, but they don't need to be to ensure fun on mousetrap roads either. You already know the formula: lightness, short wheelbase, good center of gravity and a lively engine in turns. Small convertibles with which to enjoy the most nervous driving by operating pedals, lever and steering wheel at a frantic pace.
All of this has made Triumph classics popular with sports car enthusiasts. But it also weighed in that the brand did not go further in the races. How could this paradox occur? Well, for a very simple reason: size. And it is that, the same size that makes Triumphs extremely fun cars on curvy roads… Makes them easy prey for big, powerful GTs on straights like the Hunaudières.
Still, Triumph didn't easily throw in the towel when it came to achieving results in endurance races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In fact, today we present you the proof of it: this Triumph TRS from 1960 with double participation in the mythical French race. A derivation of the famous TR3, which was manufactured in Coventry from 1955 to 1962 to the delight of not a few amateur pilots from all over Europe. Of course, surely with the TRS they would have been even happier.
1959: TRIUMPH RETURNS TO LE MANS
By the mid-50s a new era in racing was approaching: the golden age of the great GTs. A time that would reach its climax somewhat later, possibly with the dominance of the Ferrari 250 GTO in endurance racing. How did this affect Triumph? Well, very seriously, since it was really impossible for the brand to develop engines capable of looking face to face with those of Ferrari, Jaguar or Aston Martin.
After all, although the TR3s turned out to be very efficient sports cars, their natural terrain was not the big straights found on endurance circuits. It is because of that Triumph withdrew from the 24 Hours of Le Mans for a few years, taking 1959 as the date when he should return with a new arsenal. That arsenal were the three TR3S with which they went to the test.
Based on the standard TR3, these Le Mans-ready units extended their wheelbase by 15 centimeters, as well as improved bodywork and brakes. However, the truth is that none of the TR3S finished the race, retiring for reasons related to engine cooling and broken radiator. A failure that, even so, was not entirely sterile, since it served as a test bed for the main novelty of these TR3S: its Sabrina engine.
SECOND ASSAULT: FROM TRIUMPH TR3S TO TRS 1960 AND 1961
Far from using the typical TR3 inline four, Triumph created a new engine for its return to Le Mans. It was the Sabrina, a double chamber engine capable of reaching 150CV. A substantial increase compared to the around 98 given by the series TR3. Thought as a possible engine to be manufactured in series, Triumph engineers conceived it powerful but, above all, reliable. So it was a good choice for Le Mans.
In fact, it was so good that for the 1960 edition the TR3S were replaced by four - three for racing and one for testing - TRS like the one you are seeing, equipping them with this same engine. Otherwise The TRS were a kind of missing link between the TR3 and TR4, since they advanced elements of the newer model but starting from a fairly modified TR3 chassis. All dressed in the body of the Zoom, a prototype designed for Triumph by Giovanni Michelotti.
Its premiere was not particularly brilliant, although in the 1961 edition they did manage to finish all three. A success rounded off by the good positions achieved: ninth, eleventh and fifteenth. Enough for Triumph to win the manufacturers' award. Undoubtedly one of the golden pages of the Coventry brand, which ended up dispersing the four TRS units through its dealer network in the United States.
Photographs: pendine, Historic Cars for Road and Track.
PS: At this point, you are probably thinking about the reason for Sabrina's name. Well, although it may sound politically incorrect today, the truth is that Triumph engineers saw a similarity between the engine's double chamber and the generous breasts of the Ann Syker “Sabrina” model, which swept through the magazines of fashion of its time thanks to multiple and visible attractions.
