Last updated on October 19, 2023
Today’s car is a 1959 Triumph TR3A owned and built by Laurent Guiot. I photographed this car at The Zimmerman Automobile Driving Museum located in El Segundo, CA.. The car is finished in metallic blue with a McLaren orange strip in a Gulf Livery look. The Porsche seats are finished in a black and gray with blue stitching and the rest of the interior picks up the blue and orange accents of the car. It is powered by a 95 hp, 2 liter, 4 cylinder inline engine, with twin Weber carburetors and mated to a 4-speed manual transmission with 3.70:1 rear axle. Slowing this beauty down are disc brakes in all 4-corners. The front and rear suspension have been lowered 2″. It has independent front suspension with double A-arms, coil springs and tube shocks and an anti-roll bar. The rear suspension is a solid axle with Semi-elliptic leaf springs.
Laurent had a vision and created it. He started by hand shaping hard foam into models until he achieve the wide body look and spoiler he was after. He then had molds made to create the fiberglass pieces as you see them on the car. I like the aggressive look the 3-4″ rear flairs add to the car. The 16″ Konig wheels and the tires are a perfect match. Wow! Lets go racing.
In 1957 the Triumph TR3A replaced the TR3 that featured an improved design and mechanics. The TR3A proved its reliability in the 1960 Le Man’s, where three cars were entered and finished in 9th, 11th, and 15th place.
TR3As were produced between 1957 – 1962 with a total of more than 58,000 units produced of which 22,922 were produced in 1959. The MSRP was $2,685-$2,825. It had a published top speed of 102 mph with a 0-60 mph time of 12.55 seconds. This is a beautiful example of a modified Triumph. I was drawn to it as soon as it pulled in. I like the race ready aggressive look and stance. It is sure to be a hit at any car show, Cars and Coffee events and a great car to take on those weekend cruises or just going through the S’s in the canyons here in Southern California. Thank you for riding along. Frank
