Story by Peter Brock • Photography as Credited
Back in the golden era of SCCA “amateur” racing, before the rise and demise of the club’s money-laden Can-Am and Trans-Am series, there was little professional road racing in America. In spite of the fact that club events were supposed to be about sport and not money, there was in fact some real …
I remember when this car was built and appeared on the track.
At the time, Triumph had become a bit of a joke having lost about 40 bhp over the home market edition and the car in stock form also had certain handling quirks that had to be addressed before considering competition (this situation would become even more glaring when the first 240Z showed up in 1969).
This car did brilliantly on the track, but even if it had finished and won the class, it would probably have been nothing more than an embarrassment to the factory who were stuck producing lacklustre models that were about to be eclipsed by the Japanese.
On the track, the Japanese invasion was spearheaded by...Pete Brock! Who created many Japanese race cars including the beautiful Toyota 2000 GT, the Hino Samurai, and more mundane cars like the Datsun 2000.
Pete Brock is looking at this from the wrong end of a telescope. As usual.
The British economy was in the tank when Kas Kasner was trying to get Triumph to spend money it didn't have on new car designs.
The Conservative government had artificially kept the Pound Sterling value high while trying to get a better conversion ratio against the European currencies as it was negotiating entry into the EU (nee EEC). This had killed the export markets for British goods, especially to the USA. The export of British sports cars suffered so Triumph was in dire straits financially. The lack of sales resulted in massive employee layoffs followed by serial strikes and a general election won by the Socialist Labour Party.
The US had no interest in Britain joining the EU and was manipulating bank rates to reduce the value of the Pound by dumping Sterling in the finacial market. Additionally it was not in favor of supporting a Socialist government in Britain and had the CIA playing dirty tricks against Harold Wilson, the Prime Minister, to the point he resigned after being undermined by their accusations that he was a Russian asset. The US also ensured that the IMF and World Bank refused loans requested by Britain to reinvigorate the British economy. So Triumph was just struggling to survive.
If Pete and Kas had paid any attention to events outside their very narrow perspective they would have understood and not bothered to build the TR250.
The design of the TR7/8 had nothing to do with the style of the TR250, pretty though it may be. The late arrival of the TR8, the British sports car that would have best replaced the TR6 as early as 1976, was delayed because of US regulations that implied that convertibles would not be saleable in America for safety reasons plus the advent of ever more restrictive emissions regulations just added more costs at a time when British car companies could not afford the investment.
The TR7's reputation was almost completely ruined by British government interference, forcing manufacturers to locate new expensive factories in areas with little or no manufacturing skills. Then, just to make things worse, the high pound, low dollar ratio meant exports were impossible.
The British government, aided by the CIA and MI5, planted people in the British unions to create problems so many strikes ensued, which was what the by then Conservative government wanted. The fields around the factories were full of (20,000) unsold cars that could not be sold overseas due to their poor price competitiveness. The overnment didn't need more car production. The British worker strikes took the blame for the effects of UK and US government policies in their mutually exclusive plots for the UK to enter the EU and the US to keep the UK out of the EU.
I love reading how the US is whining about foreign intervention in domestic politics when they have been doing that all around the world since WWII. Yea reap what yea sow. Eat it.
I saw this car sitting in a small room beside the large hanger that Shelby was using at Sebring For the 12 hours. It made enough of a impression on me that I still remember it after all these years.I worked for a British Leyland dealer in South Florida when the TR7 came out,it was poorly assembled and very unreliable. Not nearly good enough or soon enough to save Triumph.
Pete,
Great story. I really appreciate it.
All the best! Happy 2021,
- Tom Austin
In reply to bkwanab :
I'm not here to pile on Peter Brock; but your comments are helpful in understanding that there were other things afoot in the late '60s that contributed to the demise of the British auto industry. Just my $0.02.
In reply to bkwanab :
Thanks for the historical political insight. Were you on the grassy noel as well......
bkwanab said:Pete Brock is looking at this from the wrong end of a telescope. As usual.
The British economy was in the tank when Kas Kasner was trying to get Triumph to spend money it didn't have on new car designs.
The Conservative government had artificially kept the Pound Sterling value high while trying to get a better conversion ratio against the European currencies as it was negotiating entry into the EU (nee EEC). This had killed the export markets for British goods, especially to the USA. The export of British sports cars suffered so Triumph was in dire straits financially. The lack of sales resulted in massive employee layoffs followed by serial strikes and a general election won by the Socialist Labour Party.
The US had no interest in Britain joining the EU and was manipulating bank rates to reduce the value of the Pound by dumping Sterling in the finacial market. Additionally it was not in favor of supporting a Socialist government in Britain and had the CIA playing dirty tricks against Harold Wilson, the Prime Minister, to the point he resigned after being undermined by their accusations that he was a Russian asset. The US also ensured that the IMF and World Bank refused loans requested by Britain to reinvigorate the British economy. So Triumph was just struggling to survive.
If Pete and Kas had paid any attention to events outside their very narrow perspective they would have understood and not bothered to build the TR250.
The design of the TR7/8 had nothing to do with the style of the TR250, pretty though it may be. The late arrival of the TR8, the British sports car that would have best replaced the TR6 as early as 1976, was delayed because of US regulations that implied that convertibles would not be saleable in America for safety reasons plus the advent of ever more restrictive emissions regulations just added more costs at a time when British car companies could not afford the investment.
The TR7's reputation was almost completely ruined by British government interference, forcing manufacturers to locate new expensive factories in areas with little or no manufacturing skills. Then, just to make things worse, the high pound, low dollar ratio meant exports were impossible.
The British government, aided by the CIA and MI5, planted people in the British unions to create problems so many strikes ensued, which was what the by then Conservative government wanted. The fields around the factories were full of (20,000) unsold cars that could not be sold overseas due to their poor price competitiveness. The overnment didn't need more car production. The British worker strikes took the blame for the effects of UK and US government policies in their mutually exclusive plots for the UK to enter the EU and the US to keep the UK out of the EU.
I love reading how the US is whining about foreign intervention in domestic politics when they have been doing that all around the world since WWII. Yea reap what yea sow. Eat it.
Thank you. I wasn't aware of any of that. But if you put two and two together you can't arrive at any other conclusion.
So England was willing to trade her auto industry for better terms in joining the EU? Then decades later willing to trade her banking industry to get out of the EU?
the most condescending crud i've ever read was a letter from some creep at b/l who i think was an american about how impossible it would be to build this magnificently beautiful automobile as a production car. it was in autoweek. now now boys and girls! daddy will have to show you how utterly impossible it would be to have your little wish! i never wanted to slap anyone as much as i did this guy...i wonder who he was. there has never been a better car design--ever. there might be 25 cars of equal loveliness, but none better
The car is currently being used in historic racing events.
I made a film with Peter and Kas about the TR250K a few years ago...
It's not surprising that Triumph declined to productionise it. In 67-68 their engineers were busy getting the TR6 into production, facelifting the 2500 saloon, converting the fwd 1300 to the rwd Toledo & Dolomite, developing the Stag, and developing new V8 and slant-4 engines.
The parent company was also in the process of merging with BMC to create British Leyland, resulting in a huge range of internal competitors from Austin Healey, MG and Jaguar.
If you would like to see this very interesting (if apparently polarizing) car in action, on track, you're in luck! The TR250K will be at Road America July 14-17 for the annual Kastner Cup. It is one heck of a pretty shape, but the sound at full chat is worth the price of admission!
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