Prior to the second world war Triumph built a range of attractive sporting cars. In the late thirties they were particularly notable for their adventurous transatlantic styling. Towards the end of the war Triumph was taken over by the Standard Motor Company, although each company still operated under its own title.

Triumph’s first post war cars were an attractive razor-edge saloon, the Renown, and a rounded roadster. The roadster was interesting in that it seated three abreast in the front seat, aided by a column mounted gear change, while the huge luggage locker opened up to provide a dickey seat for two additional passengers. The forward part of the luggage opening had two glass panels which, when opened, formed a separate windscreen for the passengers in the dickey seat. This roadster was phased out in 1949 while the company concentrated on developing their new small Mayflower saloon which also featured razor edge styling.

New sports model : Noting the success of the Jaguar XK 120 and MG TC on the North American market, the directors decided to develop a new sports roadster to fill the gap between the large Jaguar and the tiny MG. Borrowing from the company parts bin the new roadster used the Mayflower’s independent front suspension and live rear axle, the Standard Vanguard’s engine and a chassis frame previously used by the Standard Flying Eight.

It had a sporty body, with cut-away doors and a rear mounted spare wheel on a petite curved tail. Although it was announced at the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show, hasty development meant that it was not ready for production. Ride and handling were not up to expectations, so a development team led by Ken Richardson quickly got to work sorting the problems and in March of 1953 the revised model, known as the Triumph TR2 made its public debut