Triumph TR3 Speciale

The roots of what was to become the ‘Michelotti TR’ go back to 1957, when Alick Dick hired Giovanni Michelotti as a consultant/designer to help with the product line at Triumph. His first attempt was the TR Dream Car, built by Vignale and heavy with American influences including a full width chrome grille, (rumored to have influenced the grille of the TR3A as well) pronounced tail fins, and ‘eyebrows’ over the headlights. Although this car was only a styling exercise, several of the styling cues would carry over to the new TR. His next project for Triumph was to design the Herald sedan, which was a great success for the company, and later lead to the Spitfire/GT6 line of sports cars as well.