TRIUMPH

TR 4

A total of 40,253 TRIUMPH TR4 have been produced on earth in United Kingdom between 1961 and 1965. The Triumph TR4 is the car that dragged the TR line out of the 1950s. Launched in 1961 under the development code 'Zest', the Triumph TR4 kept the ladder chassis, the 2,138 cc wet-liner four-cylinder engine and the rugged mechanicals of the TR3A, but wrapped them in a body drawn by Giovanni Michelotti that changed everything: full-width, flat-sided, with a wide grille, wind-up windows in place of sidescreens, and a genuine face-level ventilation system — luxuries the earlier TRs had never offered. Michelotti also gave the Triumph TR4 the 'Surrey Top', a removable hard roof panel with a separate rear window that predated the Porsche Targa by four years and is one of the first true targa roofs on a production car. Rack-and-pinion steering and a wider track made the TR4 far more civilised to drive than the TR3A, while the engine's 100 bhp and the option of overdrive on the top three gears kept it competitive on the track and in rallying, where works TR4s took a class win on the 1962 Alpine Rally. A total of 40,253 Triumph TR4 were built between 1961 and 1965 at Coventry, the great majority exported to the United States. In 1965 the Triumph TR4A replaced it with independent rear suspension, and the line continued through the TR5 and TR6. The TR4 is the sweet spot of the range: the last of the truly simple TRs, cheap to run, easy to restore, and still one of the best-value British roadsters on the market. Upgrades & evolutions during the Triumph TR4 production: TRIUMPH - TR4 (2.1 four, 100 bhp, Michelotti body) : 1961 - 1965 TRIUMPH - TR4 Surrey Top (removable hardtop) : 1961 - 1965 TRIUMPH - TR4A IRS (independent rear suspension) : 1965 - 1967 Average quotation for the Triumph TR4: cheapest US$750, average US$30,000, most expensive US$82,500 (listings and auction results, 2021-2026). CLASSIC.COM: lowest recorded sale US$750 (1965 car, 25 Jun 2025), highest US$82,500 for a 1962 TR4 Roadster (13 Jan 2022). TR4A IRS cars trade a little below, topping out at US$53,000 (23 Jun 2026).