Triumph GT6 MK3 2000cc Review

Overall Rating

Great Looking Car, turns heads

Sounds fantastic especially with a sports exhaust

Torquey motor giving very useable performance

Parts still readily available and reasonably priced

Easy to work on

Can be prone to rust, areas to watch, floor pans, windscreen frame, wheel arches, suspension mountings, chassis, sills, front of roof.

Weak gearbox for the amount of power

A bit cramped for the larger Driver

The Triumph GT6 is a fairly rare car nowadays, I guess that there must only be a few hundred left on the road in the UK. It's a really good looker too so if you own one expect to turn a few heads.

First impression as you get into the car is how compact it is, it's a low car with low seat height and once inside it's a snug driving position with the padded transmission tunnel giving some additional lateral support. Start the car and the 6 cylinder engine sounds smooth and refined and has a lovely exhaust note. The exhaust sounds even better on a car fitted with a sports exhaust system, almost like a multi-cylinder motorbike and certainly not at all unpleasant a raspy. Acceleration is reasonable for an early 70's car but not blistering, however where the torquey Engine comes into it's own is for overtaking, there's not many small sports cars of this era that have such a responsive pick up from 30 - 40 mph. Overtaking is a real doddle too if you have the optional overdrive, cruise along in overdrive top, flick the switch on the gear knob to disengage the overdrive, keep the power on as you accelerate and slip back into overdrive.

Handling is best on the MKII and early MKIII model's which have the rear rotoflex suspension with lower wishbones. Having said that the shock absorber mount on these models is a bracket inside the wheelarch and is prone to rust although there are aftermarket brackets available to move this to the chassis, a worthwhile modification. Uprated springs and shock absorbers are also readily available but expect a firm ride. The car is a little front heavy under hard cornering and does need to be accelerated out of the bends to maintain balance, however this just adds to the driving enjoyment.

It's a great fast lane cruiser and is happy at 90mph in overdrive top at about 4,000 RPM. Best driving fun though is on fast A roads with smooth bends. Expect around 33 MPG on a run which is not too bad on a car of this era.

Nice original optional extras to look for are the overdrive, rear seat conversion, brake servo (standard on late MKIIIs), oil cooler and fold back Webasto sunroof. Early MKIIs have plastic seat trim of a superior quality, late MKIIs changed to a corduroy cloth trim. All models have the usual Triumph refinement of a real wood dashboard.

Nice aftermarket extras to have are K&N filters, electric fan, uprated suspension, spin on oil filter adaptor, alloy wheels, uprated suspension and a sports or semi sports stainless exhaust system. Also worthwhile are cars that have been fitted with an unleaded cylinder head conversion. One point to note is that the GT6 was designed to run on 5 star which is of course no longer available, even with the ignition timing retarded a few degrees pinking can be an issue although optimax 98 octane petrol helps to reduce this.

Apart from the inevitable rust on a 30 year old car, the most serious problems I've had have been with the gearbox, this is based on a development of the original the Triumph Herald box and is pretty weak to cope with the amount of power and is prone to layshaft failure. Uprated gearboxes are available from some specialist suppliers though. Normal wear and tear will necessitate the replacement of steering, suspension and brake parts but nothing out of the ordinary.

In terms of support, the Triumph Sports Six Club is the main owners club covering this model and there are lots of suppliers catering for both standard and aftermarket parts. Reasonably priced spares, Classic car Insurance and historic tax exemption can make running a GT6 a very affordable hobby.

Members' Comments oncook1e's Review

• djb1946 on 10th Aug 2007

  I agree with this review because...his comments are exactly in accord with my own experience. This really is a pleasant classic to drive around in even if you feel rather intimidated when 'in the company' of a large articulated truck. I now know what a fly must feel like before it gets swatted.

• soloandy1989 on 30th Jun 2009

  Rear seats are nice from a collectors point of view as they are fairly rare, but they aren't useful for much other than rucksacks etc