Allan Parisien has been a big fan of British sports cars for many years and can recall the moment when he became a Triumph devotee: his sister’s future husband owned a Triumph TR3, and the car left a huge impression on a then-young Allan.
He owned a Spitfire during his high school years but has always “liked TR models”, in Allan’s words.
His friends were also fans of Triumph models, particularly the TR4 versions, and one of them found a 1968 Triumph TR250 but sold it to Allan because it wasn’t quite right for him.
Consequently, Allan became the proud owner of the ’68 TR250 about 35 years ago and began a long relationship with the car.
A little automotive history is needed to flesh out the background of a 1968 Triumph TR250: it only sold for one model year and was essentially a tweener car because it had the body of a TR4A and the powertrain of a TR6.
In fact, the Euro version of the TR250 was called the TR5 but was not allowed into the North American car market because the TR5 did not meet emission standards since it had a livelier fuel-injected six-cylinder while the TR250 had a lower compression carbureted six-banger.
The net result was a one-year-only sports car on both sides of the Atlantic because 1969 marked the debut of the Triumph TR6, a fact that ended production of the Triumph TR250 in 1968.
Allan enjoyed many road adventures over many thousands of miles with his late wife in the TR250, so it has always been a part of his adult life.
A Triumph TR250 might be the perfect blend of old school TR4 style with new school TR6 power and performance because of its two extra cylinders and independent rear suspension. The TR250 also has electric overdrive in its manual transmission’s second, third and fourth gears to make life easier on its six-banger engine at higher speeds.
It was difficult not to notice the racing decals on the car because the ’68 Triumph TR250 was adorned with several of them. Allan told MyStarCollectorCar he put the decals on his car as a tribute to the Group 44 Racing team because they used a 1968 Triumph 250 in their race program that year.
The car won several races and became a part of the advertising campaign for the Triumph team in 1968. Allan also added aftermarket mag wheels that resemble the ones used on the Group 44 race car because he wanted to stick with an authentic look on his tribute Triumph.
Restoring a rare British sports car is not an easy task, given its rarity, but Allan told MyStarCollectorCar his ’68 TR250 was “completely done on a serious budget over 35 years” in his words. Allan had enough patience to bide his time and do things right over the passage of time.
The net result is a classic British sports car that carries plenty of pleasant memories every time Allan gets behind the wheel and hits the road in it.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
- CLICK HERE to Sign Up for the Newsletter
- CLICK HERE to Like us on Facebook
- CLICK HERE to Follow us on Twitter
- CLICK HERE to Follow us on Pinterest