Yes I know the TR-4 is a Michelloti design, I own one! However, if you have
ever seen an Italia you see I think where the TR-4 came from. You also see
the lines of the Spit bonnet in the hood of the Italia. Somehow the 4 was
changed around and you get the Italian message coming through in a weird
British sort of way. I like the TR's as there isn't anything quite like
them. They were built to be a true sports car. However the lines and the
looks of the TR4 aren't beautiful like the TR3. The TR3 has lines that
flow, and the car is pretty from almost any angle. The TR4 is pretty weird
looking. It took me quite a while of looking at it to admit to what almost
everyone else says about the car. The slab sides, and the Checker Cab trunk
just don't give much to the car. I like the TR6 in racing trim. The
group44 cars are very cool looking, but the TR6 suffers from the same
problem as the TR4 on the sides. The front and back look just sawed off.
If you don't put design into the nose or tail, and the sides don't have much
it doesn't leave a whole lot of body to get anything else in. The market
speaks for itself with the TR7 and 8. The 7 was the first TR that I was
ever around much. A friend had one and it was a very neat car. However I
still wonder what Triumph was thinking.
JohnK
----- Original Message -----
From: Joseph R. Schneider <joe-schneider@northwestern.edu>
To: John & Tracy Knox <jknox@erie.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2001 10:48 PM
Subject: Re: Is Triumph coming Back???
> At 10:19 PM 1/11/01 -0500, you wrote:
>
> >Since this all a list of opinions...
> >(snip) The 4-8 series were not
> >attractive. The Italia is undiluted Michelotti <sp?>, and as such is a
> >beautiful car. The Spitfire was allowed to keep the delicate lines that
I
> >think were hallmarks of Michelotti's work. The others were pretty
heavily
> >bastardized in there own right for economy sake.
> (snip)
> point(s) of clarification, TR4 was Michelotti as well and, as I recall,
the
> TR3 (agreeably a beautiful car) was not- Personally, I love the TR4-250
> look (but my Triumph IS a Spitfire)
> as Greg Petrolati once told me when describing his TR4 "It screams 60s
> sports car", for their era all the TRs were great lookers (yes, I include
> the TR7-8, we'd all love to have one galvanized with a modern
> electronically fuel injected 2.5-3 liter engine, wouldn't we?)
> the most important thin about Triumph in my view is that no Triumph was a
> copy of anything else
> Joe
>
> Joseph R. Schneider, MD, PhD
> Associate Professor, Vascular Surgery
> Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL, USA
> joe-schneider@northwestern.edu
> http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~jschneid/JRS.HTML
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