Triumph GT6 MK3 2000cc

A cracking little GT, far superior to the rival MGB GT (I hope my father in law does not read this). I've had mine since 1993 and used it daily for 7 years. Best suited to B and A roads, as motorways can become a bore - take a brisk drive out into the stick, park in front of some country pub, then sit back and feel smug as people stop to admire it. The 2 litre 6 is the car's strong point - huge torque and a fantastic sound if you fit a sports exhaust. More power is available with a trick cam and improved breathing, but make sure you fit tougher moving parts (eg hardened, balanced crank) before you slap a pair of Webers on it. I have found the Devil's Hatchback to be consistently reliable, with overheating in traffic the only real problem (see 2 below). Maintenance is simple - just bash it with a hammer and swear a lot. Tips for anyone considering buying one: 1. Buy the best example you can afford - unless you have the skill, time and kit to do the job yourself, a professional restoration will cost about twice the car's value; 2. You must fit an electric fan. Now, not next week. 3. Ignore the saloon bar sages who tell you the handling is lethal; it isn't.

I have been looking for a GT6 for many months, l have seen alot. Bad welding jobs, panel lines that don't line up.Bad played with car, a real shame. Then l found DXC494L a 1972 GT6 with two owners. The second family had her for 30 years. Always garaged, never welded & with only 88K on the clock. Drives well & sounds vell. Ok alot to do but who cares, this GT6 will live on & on for a very long time.

i've owned my Triumph GT6 for 6 years, loved every minute of it, drove to the south of france and through europe in it. A beautiful car and when its running right a great little car. Expect to have to work on it though, can be a bit of a money pit. Not the fastest compared to todays cars but such an eye catcher who cares!!

I had a Triumph GT6 MK3 2000cc in the 80s and again in 1998 and i still own it, get it cheap and your'll get what you pay for, it is one of the best looking cars of all time. But don't try using it for modern day racing, it's not fast enough

Nice little sports coupe that I owned in my teens with good fuel consumption from a lively straight 6. Couldn't fault it.

I loved my Mk3. Smart and stylish little performer. Well worth its money. The chrome rocker cover looked great with the bonnet up at car rallies.

I have owned a gt6 mkIII for a little over two months now and it is a joy to drive. So far I've only had issues with a carburettor float which was easy to sort.The driving experience is a lot of fun - you are so low to the ground an arm out the window can touch the tarmac. This gocartesque feel makes everything seem twice as fast. In reality though this is not a rocket car and the best acceleration you get is between 30 and 50mph. A little front heavy on the turns which makes it all the more fun/frightening.The car looks fantastic but it really is tiny. Parked against a modern hatchback it is dwarfed. I'm only 5'7" so doesn't bother me but I think its probably not wise if you're a tall man or woman.Front up bonnet release and plentiful parts new and reconditioned make the gt6 an easy and (relatively) cheap car to maintain. Just don't buy a total rustbucket.

A well sorted GT6 is a blast to drive. It is as charismatic as the XKE, but cheaper to own and operate.

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.

The Triumph GT6 MK3 2000cc is a much overlooked practical little classic sports car with real punch from a 6 cylinder 2ltr Engine. Part of the Triumph Sports Six family, which means cheap and plentiful spares as it shares parts with the Spitfire, Herald and Vitesse. It's a great looking little two seater coupe with a fantastic turning circle and on some models an optional rear seat was fitted although this is quite small. The rear luggage space is ample for most day to day things and the simplicity and ease of access to the engine keeps down the maintenance costs. If you're going to buy one get one with overdrive and preferably a later model as these have better interiors.