The first potential racing GT6 was the stillborn GT6R, of which only three photographs survive, see below. To quote from Works Triumphs In Detail by Graham Robson “After the 1965 Le Mans 24 Hours, technical chief Harry Webster realised that the works racing Spitfires had nothing else to prove. Race speeds had rocketed so far in just 2 years that it was unlikely that homologated Spitfires would ever be fast enough to qualify to start the 1966 race. If they were to be raced again, the existing layout would need to be improved by spending heavily on a larger, more powerful engine, different rear suspension and perhaps an unique body style. For a time, therefore, some thought was given to entering cars as GT6 prototypes, with the 2 litre 6 cylinder engine that the production GT6 was about to inherit.” A prototype was built up by Ray Henderson with Weber carburettors and put out around 170bhp, but following the debacle at the 1966 Monte Carlo Rally where the winning Mini’s were disqualified on a technicality, Donald Stokes halted the racing program and the prototype was broken up. Or was it? A bodyshell did survive and was discovered in Cheshire in 1981. To find out more click here.
According to Fabrizio Comi “the starting point for the GT6R project was the ADU5B in a Tour de France setup with a steel bodyshell, panel doors made of aluminium, the Le Mans bonnet with the central panel in aluminium, the front wings in fibreglass and without the bulge in the middle that would later characterise the bonnet of the standard GT6″.
Fabrizio Comi has built a replica of the GT6R. “A thing of beauty and a tribute to a man’s passion!” according to Dave Pearson on his Canley Classics website, too see click here.
Triumph in Italy
