Today’s Post by Joe Farace
Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car.—E. B. White
I recently received a review copy of Triumph Cars: 100 Years by Ross Alkureishi, author of The Complete Book of Classic MG Cars, that celebrates the launch of the first Triumph automobile—model 10/20—in April 1923 and takes a long look at this innovative company. Look for a review of this fascinating book in an upcoming Joe’s Book Club post.
Even though I have never owned a Triumph automobile, I’ve always had a deep and abiding affection for these distinctive cars that have, to my mind, epitomized the true fun of British sports cars. My cousin Mike owned a Triumph Spitfire, my good friend Ron owned a TR-250, my former neighbor owned a Spitfire Mark IV. My pal Bill in Baltimore drove a GT-6 and my sister’s old boyfriend had a red TR-3! But there’s more to my fascination with this marque than that. Although it’s been my experience that almost all car enthusiasts are friendly, my personal experience is that Triumph owners seem to be the friendliest. Here’s a few stories:
When attending a British car show I seem to always gravitate toward two special sports car models and they are both coupes: At one car show, Mary and I were admiring a beautifully restored MG-B GT and the owner came over and we had a pleasant chat together. At the same show we also saw a lovely Triumph GT6 a 6-cylinder sports coupé and is pictured below. We spoke with the owner who was not just friendly but acted as if we were old friends—we’d never met him before— inviting Mary and I to sit in the car, flipping open the hood to show us the engine. His hospitality and experiencing his car was the highlight of the show for us.
Once when Mary and I were participating in a 160-mile rally from Denver to Glenwood Springs. before we headed back to Denver on the following day there was a car show featuring some of the rally’s participants. We were admiring all of the cars when it started to rain; no it started to pour, and we were getting soaked. And then we heard some people hollering for us to take refuge under a tent-like shelter that was keeping all of them dry! We happily joined them and even though Mary was driving her VW Cabriolet, they treated us like we were long lost members of their club—the Rocky Mountain Triumph Club.
And so it was with great anticipation that I started reading Triumph Cars: 100 Years and while just barely into it’s pages I’m enjoying it so far. Look for a detailed review of the book in an upcoming Joe’s Book Club real soon now.