At the dawn of the 1960s, Triumph set its sights on the venerable 24 Hours Of Le Mans, leading to the famed British marque developing a factory works racer based on the road-going TR3 production model. Known as the TRS, the Hinckley firm’s racer first entered the iconic endurance event in 1960, though it wouldn’t be until the following year that the TRS would really hit its stride, managing to achieve a number of solid finishes and ultimately earning Triumph the coveted Manufacturer’s Team title.
Despite being based on the TR3, the S-spec shared few components with the 100hp push-rod production model. At the heart of the TRS was Triumph’s 20X mill — a 150hp DOHC 2L purpose-built endurance racing engine affectionately known as the “Sabrina,” named after a popular British glamour model whose bust bore a striking resemblance to the voluptuously-shaped cam cover’s spherical domes. Wrapped around the 20X was a modified and reinforced TR3 chassis adorned in fiberglass bodywork that drew ample inspiration from earlier Triumph concepts from legendary car designer and former Ferrari and Maserati designer Giovanni Michelotti. Half-a-century after competing at Le Mans in June of ’61, this rare 1960 Triumph was treated to a two-year ground-up restoration, returning the car to its original 1961 Le Mans factory specs using recovered vintage photos and documents from the factory. This TRS is now for sale for the first time since 2008 via Pendine, who can be contacted for additional information.
