My list of favorite cars may have no end, but it has to start somewhere. So here it starts…

The Triumph TR-4 is so brutally honest as to deserve a top spot on my list of great sports cars.

When I look at the collection of parts in my garage that is posing as a ‘65 E-type and think that if I had just bought a running TR-4 twenty years ago instead of the Jag I could have been driving a classic. Instead, I’ve had only the pleasure of looking a never ending pile of work for the last two decades.

I could have been happy with a TR-4.

The TR-4 is tough, masculine and unashamedly British. It is also a good car. It handles well and has plenty of power. It will drop its top when the sun is out, and assuming you’ve done the maintenance (Lucas elimination), it won’t let you down. Drive it, own it, and enjoy it while never having to worry about getting a door dent. Heck, a door ding may improve the image. You won’t look like you are trying to be cool, while effortlessly being so. A TR-4 says you have great taste but nothing to prove. Style without stigma. Pleasure without plastic. Perhaps no one will envy you (except me) but no one is going to think you are compensating.

IMHO upgrades should include a roll bar, Panasports, leather interior, a built motor and a canvas top. I’d go BRG insead of Red.