Danville Street Sighting - 1972 Triumph GT6 Mk 3

There's something wonderful about a well kept vintage European sports car. The Continent produced so many classic and beautiful shapes from the postwar years leading up to the early '70s. They seemed to lose the plot a bit around that time, brought on by American laws for lights and bumpers. I've always liked the Triumph Spitfire roadster, but it's easy to forget that a fastback coupe version exists.

Danville Street Sighting - 1968 Triumph TR 250 Roadster

My theme of features for late November was red British roadsters. So here we are halfway through December on the cusp of the winter solstice, and I've been remiss. Here's a 1968 Triumph TR 250.

Danville Street Sighting - 1973 Triumph TR6 Roadster

It's autumn and the weather is getting cooler. A lot of my readers from back east are seeing early snows and even sunny California is getting rainy weather. So for all of you in colder climes, how about we look at some convertibles? Not just any convertibles, but classic red British roadsters.
First up is this Carmine Red Triumph TR6.

Danville Street Sighting - 1962 Triumph TR3B

I've never really known what to make of most older Triumph sports cars. The 1950s and 1960s TR2 and TR3 roadsters have a certain bug-eyed look to them. The TR4 was starting to evolve into a modern sports car and eventually turned into the pretty TR6. Then everything went to hell with the wedge-shaped TR7 and Rover V8 powered TR8 in the late 1970s. (I'd love to feature a TR7 or TR8 someday, but they're hard to find.)

Pleasanton Street Sighting - 1967 Triumph 1200 Sports

This feature was several years in coming. I first saw this 1967 Triumph 1200 Sports roadster in March 2008, parked on the street near the Alameda County Fairgrounds during a Goodguys Rod and Custom Association car show. Back then it was wearing a set of vintage silver turbine wheels. The next time I saw it, in 2010 in Livermore, the Triumph was sitting on English-made Cosmic Mk1 road wheels painted white. I photographed the car that day but it was in angled street parking and I couldn't get a good profile. That, and the owner showed up during my shoot and needed to leave. I finally got lucky in summer 2015 when I was returning to my car after another Goodguys show and the Triumph was sitting near a railroad crossing a few blocks from the fairgrounds.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1974 Triumph TR6 Roadster

What color do you associate with an English sports roadster? British Racing Green, for sure. Red, perhaps. White or black, maybe. But how about purple?
For two years, 1973 and '74, the good folks at Triumph offered the TR6 sports car in this color, called "Magenta", in addition to a range of blues, greens and earth tones worthy of any mid-seventies home refrigerator.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1963 Triumph TR4 roadster

I don't know if it's because they're cheap, or British, or just because it's the big city, but it seems as though most British roadsters in the city are in some stage of disrepair. They often have worn, weather-beaten paint and some degree of rust sullying their bodies. The upholstery is cracked, convertible tops are often bandaged with tape, bumpers bent and pitted and wooden steering wheels worn smooth with many miles and many years of experience. Some people call such a car a beater. Others call it "cheap and cheerful". And nobody does cheap and cheerful like a drop-top sports roadster.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1963 Triumph TR4

Fifth in my collection of San Francisco cars photographed and featured by both myself and by my friend Colin Stacy of The Automotive Way, is this early 1960s Triumph TR4 roadster.

Best of the Rest: The Brits

1967 Rolls-Royce Phantom V James Young PV23 Limousine, La Jolla

1969 Austin America, San Francisco

1969 MG MGB GT, San Francisco

1969-70 Jensen Interceptor Mk II, San Francisco

1974 Triumph TR6, San Francisco