[TR] A piece of Standard Triumph history?

[John Macartney]

I was browsing the 'net' today and came across an old friend that's currently
up for sale with TRBitz in the UK. 
Claimed as the second TR5 off the line
isn't perhaps exactly true. I'm inclined to think it was probably the second
one of what we used to call 'off tools'  - i.e. it was more likely pieced
together in the production hall rather than go down the line itself. If you
pulled it to pieces now, it's likely you'd find quite a few oddball features
that weren't on later cars - even the early ones.
For the purists, this car is
LHP 289 F and was one of three 'Press' cars that were sequentially numbered
LHP 288 F to LHP 290 F. This car is very much of an old friend as it was based
in London and I drove it many times as a customer 'demonstrator'. There is no
doubt (IMHO) that these three 5's were probably the fastest examples of any 5
ever made and I drove 288, 289 and 290 several times. They were
all outstandingly fast and far faster off the line than later production 5s
and certainly injected TR6s.
If you're of a mind to acquire a 5, TRBitz are
flogging this one for GBP50k which is about
US$78k. http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C384630# 
As for me, i've no option
but to remember - and with a lot of happy memories.

Jonmac