On The Road |
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Triumph's brisk GT6 | ||
ALTHOUGH the
faithful MGB presents an excellent value-for-money buy for potential
sports car motorists, the Triumph GT6 offers a great deal for a somewhat
smaller outlay. With a basic tax-paid price of f:1373, the GT6 gives a
great deal of performance combined with attractive looks. We haven't been
able to try a new model, but the Chequered Flag at Chiswick loaned us a
really pristine 1971 (K-registration) model to give us an idea of
relatively inexpensive GT driving. Despite a modest tally of around 14,000 miles in its one year and a bit life, the bright red GT6 really was in superb condition. The paintwork was unblemished and obviously the car had been the property of an enthusiast. Powered by the six-cylinder 2- litre motor which used to propel the Vitesse, the GT6 was fitted with overdrive, very much a worthwhile option.
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While
hardly stunning in appearance, the GT6, with its ancestry in the Spitfire
range, certainly is a pretty car. Everywhere we went people admired it,
and certainly the flowing rear roofline is a distinct improvement over the
Spitfire series. Inside the Triumph is tastefully fitted out and every-
thing falls to hand pretty readily, although it does feel rather narrow. Being
Triumph, the
steering is excellent and precise, and the car has a fabulous lock. The
gearbox is light to use, as is the clutch, while the overdrive, combined
with the 2-litre power, gives plenty of opportunity for fairly quick
driving. From a standing start, for example, 60mph comes up in just over
10 secs, and in overdrive top 110 mph can be reached, although we would
put the true long-distance cruising speed more in the 95mph bracket. But
these figures are very much to the credit of the GT6, certainly compared
to the more expensive MGB GT, which takes almost
2secs longer to 60mph.
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For
its size, the two litres under the bonnet make the
Triumph a good proposition, unlike some of the smaller range lie Midget
and Spitfire) sports cars where the performance potential is being used
all the time. Fuel consumption works out at around 30mpg average, which
puts this very much above most comparable saloons in this respect. The
combination of the light and responsive steering and a compact car make
the GT6 pretty easy to handle, although the brakes on the test car left
something to be desired. With good instrumentation and comfortable seating for two, and a brisk performance, the GT6 has more than looks on its side. We look forward to testing it fully later this year, and in the. meantime the Chequered Flag always have one or two in stock.
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Just to illustrate how motor racing does improve the breed, this picture shows how the production Triumph GT6 got its shape. The car shown is the works-entered Triumph Spitfire coupe one of three which contested Le Man, in 1964. This car, driven by David Hobbs and Rob Slotemaker, finished 21st overall and fourth in the 3-litre sports prototype category. The other Spitfires (Mike Rothschild, Bob Tullius and Jean-Francois Piotldean-Louis Marnat) both retired | ||
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© Competition Car, April 1973