Engineering excess. The Bismarck had it, the Flying Scotsman had it and the Triumph TR5 definitely has it. To understand what I mean, compare the TR with my previous car, the Mazda MX5. Both cars weigh roughly the same, both have around 150bhp from front mounted engines, which drive the rear wheels via a manual gearbox.
The two cars differ, however, in execution. Whereas the Mazda develops its power high up the rev-range from a lovely sounding in-line four cylinder, the Triumph’s power is gained low down thanks to a frankly excessive 2.5 litre straight six. The brakes are big, the diff even bigger. It even has 7 gears (well, sort of).

The TR5 is a car I developed a bit of a ‘thing’ for in my youth. Countless times I stayed up listening to my father’s tales about driving to Le Sarthe, overtaking coach loads of Gendarmes, bending the steering wheel whilst braking hard for Arnage corner and so on. As such, every time I heard it fire up (usually on anything less than all six cylinders), I was in the garage like a flash annoying my dad.

Then things changed. Dad lost interest and the car stood idle for over 2 years, not even turning the engine, let alone a wheel. After much persuasion, he relented, the car was prepared, the insurance was confirmed and on a bright (and more importantly, dry) Saturday I found myself behind the wheel with a dash of petrol and splash of lead additive. Naivety let me believe that running an MX5 was the perfect starting point for any rear-wheel drive sports car…sitting in the vinyl covered cockpit with the engine’s motions shaking the whole car from side-to-side, I wasn’t so sure.

As soon as I went to move off, reality set in. The clutch is shockingly heavy and the steering has 3.5 turns lock to lock. It’s a pain to start when cold and it often refuses to start first time when hot. It’s difficult to get into reverse without crunching the gears and almost everything chassis-wise rattles or squeaks. And this is a ‘good one’.

Oulton Park beckoned as my brothers were taking our Canadian cousins out for an afternoon of culture, conversation and some light drifting. I set off and immediately felt better about the car and my ability to use it in the way its maker intended. The steering lightened up, the brakes began working as they should and the car was warm enough for me to give it a bit. Out of overdrive and down into third. With the throttle wiiiiiiide open I began to appreciate that realising your dream can be as good as you imagined. I was smitten.

Admittedly, the noise had a considerable amount to do with this renewed love affair. Ever since I knew what a piston was, I knew six of them in a line would always do it for me in ways that a V8 never could. After discovering YouTube, I’d search for hours whilst I was supposed to be working, looking for any sound clip of a straight six I could find. But, here was my very own and I could press ‘play’ whenever the mood took me.

On the way to Oulton, there are some stunning roads with twists, turns, dips and rises, all set in the most wonderful scenery and, I had the car that set the classic background off perfectly.

Ok, so here we find out what it can really do:
The major problem is that in every quantifiable way, dynamically, an MX5 would murder it on such roads. Every time I hit a bump, the back of the car leapt sideways and sent a big thud through whole structure and made the chassis squeak some more. It feels faster than it is and the gearbox felt old fashioned and notchy in the 60s. When I reached Oulton, I felt every one of the twenty-five miles I had done. But, and here’s the thing, I loved it. I actually felt like I had driven and not simply had a journey. Everyone else loved it too and sat in the paddock area, it looked stunning.

It’s difficult to say what the car is like to live with, because not having had it long, it’s more like having a ‘bit on the side’. We meet, make lots of noise, I leave with a smile on my face and the car goes back all hot and bothered.

So, the Triumph TR5 – excessive or not, it’s a great way of having fun.

In my next journal entry, I discover the perils of leaving a car standing for two years without use…