When released, in August 1967, the Triumph Motor Company claimed in the sales brochure that the Triumph TR5 was the “first British production sports car with petrol injection”. Despite that bold and very attractive claim, the TR5 was the shortest-lived of all the TRs, with production ending in September 1968. Somewhat ironically, the TR5 is also widely regarded by enthusiasts as the best of the full-width TR models.
Both the TR5 and TR4 were styled by prolific car designer Giovanni Michelotti. There was a very classic appearance to the sports car, although by the time the TR5 was released the design was starting to appear tired. In fact, the TR5 was only ever considered to be an interim model before Triumph could release the TR6.
In North America, strict emissions regulations meant that the revolutionary fuel injection system had to be replaced with twin carburettors. For this reason, Triumph named this US model the TR250 instead of TR5. Between July 1967 and September 1968, Triumph produced 2,947 TR5 and 8,484 TR250 cars.
Although visually very similar to the TR4, the TR5 featured a more powerful and much-admired 2.5-litre straight-6, fuel-injection engine producing 150 bhp. The TR5 could accelerate from 0-60 mph in 8.8 seconds and had a top speed of 117mph.
Motor enthusiasts cooed about the light steering and slick gears. Responsive brakes easily slowed the sports car down from high speeds, before then accelerating away powered by the straight-six engine.
As with many of the classic Triumph cars, SMITHS Instruments designed and supplied the instrumentation. The Triumph TR5 featured six SMITHS instruments. These were:
Many of these SMITHS classic gauges and modern digital variants are still manufactured at the Caerbont Automotive Instruments plant in South Wales. Our UK distributor for SMITHS Triumph car gauges is Rimmer Bros.
When released in 1968, the basic UK price of the TR5 was £1,260 (including taxes). In 2019, a TR5 in reasonable condition would cost around £27,000 (Hagerty Insurance October 2019).
Additional further information on SMITHS instrumentation is available on our website in the Triumph cars and motorcycles section, or to discuss a specific requirement please contact us on:
Via the contact form on our website
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44 (0) 1639 732200