E-shop
Úvod »Automobily osobní a dodávky»Imperial » Triumph GT6 1966-1974
If things had gone according to plan at Triumph, there would have been a fastback coupé version of the Spitfire sports car as early and 1964. Unfortunately, the prototype proved to be too heavy, with the result that performance was simply not good enough. So the fastback Spitfire was shelved, but so attractive did the car look that triumph decided to give it their 2-litre six-cylinder engine and to launch it under a different name. The car which resulted was the GT6. The first GT6s took to the roads in 1966 and offered very acceptable performance in a straight line but rather worrying cornering characteristics. It took two years to get a modified and much better rear suspension into production for the Mk.2 models which also had additional power and a revised inter-ior. This was much more like it, and the Mk. 2 GT6 was modified only cosmetically (in line with the Mk. IV Spitfire) to make the Mk. 3 version in 1970. In this form, the car survived until 1973, although for its last few months of production it had yet another type of rear suspension which was not quite as good as the Mk.2 type, and there were also various cosmetic differences. Like many other interesting cars in the early 1970's, the GT6 was a casualty of British Leyland's aspirations and failures in the US market. Emissions control equipment sapped its engine power until performance could barely be called sporting any longer, and although a more powerful engine was under development, BL refused to sanction production of a further revised GT6 to protect sales of their forthcoming TR7 sports car. So the last GT6 was built in November 1973. Nearly 41,000 cars had been built, of which nearly 80 percent had gone for export; the biggest market was the USA. Looking back through the articles in this book, it is not difficult to see what the GT6's attraction was - and still is. Like all Triumph sporting models, it couples an enduring appeal with a cheapness and simplicity which make it a viable and enjoyable everyday classic more that 20 years after production ended. Models covered: GT6, Mk. II, Mk. III & GT6. 172 pages, over 300 illus.