Three-quarters Front View of a Silver, 1959 Triumph 2000 Italia, on display on the TR Register Stand of the 2020 London Classic Car Show
The Triumph Italia 2000 Coupé was built between 1959 and 1962, during which time 329 cars were produced. Designed by Giovanni Michelotti, the TR3 chassis and mechanical components were supplied by the Triumph Motor Company in the United Kingdom, and built by Alfredo Vignale in Turin, Italy. By most accounts, only 329 of these hand-crafted bodies on TR3 chassis were ever built – known as the Triumph "Italia 2000 Coupé." Designed by Giovanni Michelotti and built by Alfredo Vignale in Turin, under contract to Ruffino Industria Construzione Automobile of Naples – it was thought that these cars would appeal to people willing to spend more for the dependability and ease of obtaining stock mechanical parts of a Triumph, but who wanted a better looking car than the standard Triumph - "Italian bodywork at its best, British tradition in sports car engineering at its finest.” At the time, Salvatore Ruffino was the owner of CESAC, the Italian company that distributed Standard-Triumph in Italy. He approached Standard-Triumph to supply chassis and mechanical components to build 1,000 cars. Ruffino approached a number of carrozzeria, including Zagato. He had not found a design that was to his liking and was later introduced to the young, Giovanni Michelotti. It was this introduction that was to lead to the Triumph Italia. The resulting two door coupé, now referred to as the "slope-nosed prototype," was well received at the 1958 Turin Motor Show – "Italian artistry and British craftsmanship have come together and produced this new, superlative Italia 2000 Coupé." A second prototype was built with a revised nose and rear roof line. The change was necessary after road tests with the first prototype highlighted some handling issues. This second prototype was much closer to the final "look" of the Italia. The first prototype was converted into another car, quite possibly the second prototype. This second car still survives. The 1959 Turin show featured another early car.
Size: 5440px × 3576px
Location: Olympia Exhibition Centre, West Kensington, London, W14 United Kingdom
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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