Description

1968 Triumph TR5 PI

Very smart example with extensive history file; Surrey top and soft top; featured in 'Original TR'; Ziebarted from new

Built for one year only from 1967-68, the TR5 is the rarest and most sought-after of the Michelotti/Karmann-styled Triumph TR roadsters.


Virtually identical to the TR4, the TR5’s trump card lay under the bonnet which boasted a 2.5-litre straight-six fuel-injected engine developing around 150bhp. Triumph claimed in their sales brochure that it was the first British production sports car to feature petrol injection. This unit could propel the car from 0 to 60mph in just 6.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 125mph.
Standard equipment included front disc brakes, all-independent suspension, rack and pinion steering and a four-speed gearbox. Optional extras included overdrive, wire wheels and a Surrey Top with detachable roof panel. Only 1,161 were built for the British market, against almost 8,500 left-hand drive TR250s for America which were more or less identical but with carburettors in place of fuel injection. Only 535 TR5 models are still UK registered today and all are highly sought after.
Dating from September 1968, this TR5 has had just three owners in the last 28 years and appears to be in remarkably good and original condition throughout, having been Ziebart-protected from new (hence the discolouration you can see in some of the detail pictures on the website). It was bought by the current owner at Brightwells in 2015, showing some 79,350 miles on the clock which may well be genuine and is partially backed up by the large history file which extends back to the 1980s. Having only covered another 350 miles since, it has obviously only been used sparingly in the last six years so it may need some fine tuning before being taken out on a regular basis. As further testament to the correctness of the car, it is also extensively featured in Bill Piggott’s book ‘Original Triumph TR’.
Looking lovely in white with a black vinyl interior and painted wire wheels, it is equipped with a good soft top and also a desirable Surrey Top which allows not only wind-in-the-hair summer fun but also snug year-round motoring. Other features include a stainless steel sports exhaust (which sounds wonderful), electronic ignition, spin-off oil filter conversion, oil cooler, Mota-Lita woodrim steering wheel and a stainless steel luggage rack.
Clearly a cherished machine, it comes with many invoices to show regular upkeep including a full repaint in 1988 which is starting to show a few signs of age in several places; reconditioned diff in 1989; new front shock absorbers in 2001; reconditioned gearbox, new clutch kit, Bosch fuel pump conversion and new radiator in 2002; new suspension bushes in 2009; new clutch master cylinder in 2012 plus numerous other items. With so few miles since 2015 it could do with a check-over, but it has been sensibly stored and very much runs and drives.
Please note that the V5C incorrectly records the engine number as 308A28 whereas it should be CP2928HE.

Further information - toby.service@brightwells.com