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Triumph GT6 - more than the poor man's E-Type

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Created on June 5, 2014

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

49

Archiv

21

Bruno von Rotz

49

Archiv

21

Triumph GT 6 (1971) - long hood, short rear - this is what sports car dreams look like

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - Flaps open - with practical tailgate

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - looks like a roadster with an attached coupé roof

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - less than 1.5 meters wide

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - looks as if it has been cast from a single mold

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the car largely resembles the Spitfire up to the windshield

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - you have to hear the sound, you can't see it

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the design was created by Giovanni Michelotti

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the GT 6 requires hardly any more road space than some modern small cars

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the turning circle is less than 8 meters

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the third series impresses with a smoothed design

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - only the Series 3 had this modernized rear end

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - Giovanni Michelotti had a lucky hand in designing this car

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - just over 40,000 of all three series were built

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the small windows behind the doors can be folded out

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - Open the flaps - the entire front can be opened up

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - from the front almost only distinguishable from the Spitfire by the hump

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - sportiness of the early seventies

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - sporty atmosphere in a Triumph

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - beautiful instruments

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - non-slip leather steering wheel

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the ignition lock must be felt just above the knee

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the rear seats are more likely to be seen as luggage racks

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - easy-grip leather steering wheel

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - Driver and passenger are clearly separated

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - optimistic speedometer, no one ran over 180 km/h off the shelf

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - orange range from 5500 rpm - no rotary organ

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - crisp short gearshift with overdrive switch on the gear knob

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - Inner door lining

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the carburetor side of the six-cylinder engine

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the longitudinally mounted in-line six-cylinder engine

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the two-liter engine delivers just over 100 hp

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - Nameplate

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the hump on the hood was necessary because of the six-cylinder engine

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - Michelotti had not foreseen the hump for the six-cylinder engine

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the rear-view mirrors were probably retrofitted to the car

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - Unlocking the hood on both sides

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - filigree door locks

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - steel rims

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the air vent was available from MK II onwards

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - large rear window

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - Not a lot of space

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - Ventilation for the interior

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - the lights of the third version, built from 1970 onwards

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - dual exhaust

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - also clearly marked at the rear

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - Fuel filler flap left rear

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - nobody is left in the dark about the manufacturer

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Triumph GT 6 (1966) - the tailgate gives access to the luggage compartment

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Triumph GT 6 (1966) - at speed around the Goodwood circuit during test drives

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Triumph GT 6 (1967) - with practical tailgate

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Triumph GT 6 Mark II (1968) - Front suspension

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Triumph GT 6 (1966) - Rear with practical tailgate

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Triumph GT 6 (1966) - with classic in-line six-cylinder engine

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Triumph GT 6 (1967) - on a test drive

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Triumph GT 6 (1967) - the car had the large trunk opening right from the start

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Triumph GT 6 (1966) - pretty coupé with classic proportions

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Triumph GT 6 (1966) - during test drives on the Goodwood circuit

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Triumph GT 6 (1966) - the entire front half of the body can be folded up

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Triumph GT 6 Mark II (1968) - rear view

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Triumph GT 6 Mark II (1968) - with higher and more massive bumpers

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Triumph GT 6 Mark II (1969) - the technology of the GT 6 - illustrated in a sales brochure

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Triumph GT 6 Mark III (1971) - a right-hand drive version at a car show

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Triumph GT 6 Mark III (1972) - clear visual differences to the predecessor Mark II

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Triumph GT 6 Mark III (1973) - the Mk 3 looks more elegant than its predecessor, the Mk 2

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Triumph GT 6 Mark III (1972) - probably a lucrative but uncomfortable job for the lady

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Triumph GT 6 Mark III (1973) - in hunting fever

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Triumph GT 6 Mark III (1973) - for the adventurous woman

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Triumph GT 6 Mark III (1973) - the box frame

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Triumph GT 6 (1971) - wirkt optisch wie ein Roadster mit aufgesetztem Coupé-Dach

Triumph GT 6 (1971) - weniger als 1,5 Meter breit

Triumph GT 6 (1971) - wirkt wie aus einem Guss

Triumph GT 6 (1971) - bis zur Frontscheibe gleicht der Wagen weitgehend dem Spitfire

Triumph GT 6 (1971) - den Ton muss man hören, sehen kann man ihn nicht

Triumph GT 6 (1971) - das Design stammt von Giovanni Michelotti

Summary

From 1966 to 1973, Triumph built the GT 6, a compact coupé that many saw as an affordable alternative to the Jaguar E Type. Thanks to its modular construction and elegant Michelotti design, the GT 6 is now an interesting and surprisingly rare classic car. This driving report tells the story of the English coupé and shows it in historical and current photographs, supplemented by sales brochures and a sound sample.

This article contains the following chapters

Italian design
Modular system
Small dimensions
Too many compromises?
Even more sophisticated and beautiful than the Mk 3
Fits like the proverbial sneaker
The perfect classic car?
The three series at a glance
Further information

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

It actually had everything that a successful sports car should have. It was pretty to look at, offered good performance, came from a company with a long tradition and cost comparatively little. Despite this, the Triumph GT 6 was not the success that its English builders had hoped for. Actually incomprehensible, isn't it? The strategists at Triumph recognized the signs of the times early on. The great era of rustic roadsters seemed to be coming to an end in the 1960s, and customers were looking for more comfort and elegance. So Giovanni Michelotti was commissioned to come up with some ideas for a coupé based on the Spitfire. The result was a beautiful fastback coupé, which the Triumph racing department used as the basis for a 1965 Le Mans entry.

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Images of this article

Triumph GT 6 (1971) - wirkt optisch wie ein Roadster mit aufgesetztem Coupé-Dach

Triumph GT 6 (1971) - weniger als 1,5 Meter breit

Triumph GT 6 (1971) - wirkt wie aus einem Guss

Triumph GT 6 (1971) - bis zur Frontscheibe gleicht der Wagen weitgehend dem Spitfire

Triumph GT 6 (1971) - den Ton muss man hören, sehen kann man ihn nicht

Triumph GT 6 (1971) - das Design stammt von Giovanni Michelotti

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