Triumph

The Triumph TR2 launched the TR sports-car line in 1953 and made its name on a single claim, that it was the cheapest production car of its day able to top 100 mph. A rugged, basic, separate-chassis roadster with a torquey Standard four, it is now the rarest and most vintage-feeling of the side-screen TRs. A guide to the long-door and short-door cars, owning one, and values.

The Triumph TR3 was the rugged side-screen sports car that made Triumph's name in America, and in 1956 it became the first British series-production car fitted with front disc brakes. A guide to telling the TR3, TR3A and TR3B apart, what they are like to own, what to check when buying, and what they are worth.

The Triumph TR5 was built for barely a year and only 2,947 were made, which makes it the rarest of the mainstream TRs and one of the most valuable. It was the first six-cylinder TR, with 150 bhp from a Lucas fuel-injected 2.5-litre straight-six wrapped in the familiar TR4 body. A guide to the TR5 versus the American TR250, what to look for, and what they are worth.

The classic Triumph TR roadsters run from the side-screen TR2 of 1953 to the muscular TR6 of the 1970s, and they are very different cars to live with. A plain-English guide to the differences between the TR2, TR3, TR4, TR4A, TR5 and TR6, what each is like to own, what they cost, and how to choose the right one.

The Triumph Dolomite Sprint was British Leyland's answer to the BMW 2002, a compact sporting saloon whose clever single-cam 16-valve engine reached the mass market a decade ahead of the rest, and the first British car with alloy wheels as standard. A guide to the engineering, the racing success, what to look for when buying, and what they are worth.

The Triumph GT6 was a handsome six-cylinder fastback coupe on the Spitfire platform, nicknamed the baby E-Type, whose tricky swing-axle handling was famously cured by the Rotoflex rear suspension of the Mk2. A guide to the three marks, the handling saga, what to look for when buying, and why it remains one of the most undervalued classic British GTs.

The Triumph Herald was the charming, infinitely fixable small car whose separate bolt-together chassis, born of a body-supply crisis, saved Standard-Triumph and spawned the Spitfire, Vitesse and GT6. A guide to the 948, 1200, 12/50 and 13/60, the famous turning circle and tilt-forward bonnet, what to look for, and what they are worth.

One of the best reasons to own a classic Triumph is how well it is supported. A practical guide to Triumph parts availability by model, the kinds of specialists and club spares schemes that serve the marque, what restoration involves for the separate-chassis cars and the trickier engines, and how the cars are insured.

The Triumph Spitfire was the affordable open sports car that put a real roadster within reach of ordinary buyers, an MG Midget rival with a forward-tilting bonnet and a tight turning circle. A guide to the five marks, the swing-axle handling and its fix, what to look for, and why it is still one of the cheapest ways into classic British sports-car ownership.

The Triumph Stag was a glamorous Michelotti-styled 2+2 convertible with a bespoke 3.0-litre V8, conceived to rival the Mercedes SL but undone by a notorious cooling problem. A guide to the engine saga and why it overheated, what a properly sorted car is like, what to look for when buying, and what they are worth now the reputation has been rehabilitated.

The Triumph TR4 brought modern Michelotti styling, rack-and-pinion steering and the clever Surrey-top removable roof to the rugged TR sports-car line, and the TR4A added independent rear suspension. A guide to the two cars, their place in the TR story, what to look for when buying, and what they are worth.

The Triumph TR6 was the best-selling TR and the last of the traditional separate-chassis British sports cars, a muscular Karmann-restyled roadster with a 2.5-litre straight-six and, on home-market cars, Lucas fuel injection. A guide to the PI-versus-carburettor cars, the CP and CR distinction, what to look for, and what they are worth.

Triumph put sports-car motoring within reach of ordinary British drivers, from the cheap-and-cheerful Spitfire and Herald to the muscular TR sports cars, the V8 Stag and the clever Dolomite Sprint. A guide to the classic Triumphs worth knowing, the marque's Coventry-to-British-Leyland story, and why a good one is one of the friendliest ways into classic ownership.

Dutton was reckoned the most prolific kit-car maker in the world, building cheap glass-fibre sports cars and estates on Triumph and then Ford Escort running gear, and once beat Ford in the High Court for the right to keep calling one of its cars the Sierra. A guide to the models, the famous lawsuit, what to look for when buying, and what they are worth.