The definitive published survey of the Triumph 2000/2.5/2500 range is undoubtedly Graham Robson’s Triumph 2000 and 2.5PI: The Complete Story (Crowood, 1995), which recounts in detail the story from the first ‘Zebu’ prototypes through to the final 2500S models. For readers seeking a more comprehensive overview of Triumph’s activities in the 1960s and 1970s and the importance of the 2000 range to them, Richard Langworth and Graham Robson’s Triumph Cars – The Complete Story (MRP, 1979) can be strongly recommended.
A most readable overview of the 2000’s brief career in the United States may be found in Michael Cook’s Triumph Cars in America (MBI Publishing, 2001), whilst some interesting perspectives on the conception and construction of the popular Triumph estates are contained in Carbodies: The Complete Story by Bill Munro (Crowood, 1998). Readers wishing to know more about the development and production life of the related Stag would be well-advised to read Triumph Stag by James Taylor and Dave Jell (Windrow & Greene, 1993), whilst reference to the abortive ‘Puma’ project and Triumph’s subsequent contribution to the design and engineering of the Rover SD1 may be found in Langworth and Robson’s corporate Triumph history, in The Rover Story by Graham Robson (Patrick Stephens, 1977) and in Rover SD1: The Complete Story by Karen Pender (Crowood, 1998).
At a wider – but no less relevant – level, Graham Turner’s The Leyland Papers (Eyre & Spottiswood, 1971) and Jonathan Wood’s Wheels of Misfortune (Sidgewick & Jackson, 1988) provide comprehensive analysis of how Triumph and so many of its erstwhile competitors came to be absorbed into the ill-fated British Leyland venture. Similarly, whilst chiefly concerned with a totally different species of Triumph, David Knowles’ masterful Triumph TR7 – The Untold Story (Crowood, 2007) provides significant insight into just how and why so many of Triumph’s late-1960s plans for the following decade were so rudely and completely overturned.
As far as coverage of the big Triumphs’ participation in top-level international motorsport is concerned, the two key texts have to be Graham Robson’s The Works Triumphs – 50 Years in Motorsport (Haynes, 1993) and The BMC/BL Competitions Department by Bill Price (Haynes, 1989). Further interesting insights into the 2.5PI’s rallying career under the aegis of British Leyland may be found in Brian Moylan’s Works Rally Mechanic (Veloce, 1998), in BMC Competitions Department Secrets by Marcus Chambers, Stuart Turner and Peter Browning (Veloce, 2005), and in Graham Robson’s The Daily Mirror 1970 World Cup Rally 40: The World’s Toughest Rally in Retrospect (Veloce, 2010).
Magazine features and road test reports give an invaluable picture of how the various Triumph 2000 family models were felt to measure up against their contemporary rivals, and in this regard past issues of Autocar, Autosport, Car, Classic Cars, Classic & Sportscar, Motor, Road & Track, Triumph World and What Car?, as well as of the Triumph 2000/2500/2.5 Register’s own SIXappeal, contain a wealth of background material.
In cyberspace, the website of Triumph specialist Canley Classics (http://www.canleyclassics.com) offers some interesting profiles of a variety of prototype and other historic Triumphs, including the factory-built Stag-engined saloons and ‘Mk3’ prototypes. The excellent AROnline website (http://www.aronline.co.uk) is also well worthy of reference by those seeking an authoritative source of background information on British Leyland, its cars and the related personalities.
This article © Jonathan Lewis 2010Webmaster’s note: The Triumph 2000 2500 2.5 Register would like to thank Keith Adams of aronline who allowed us to reuse pictures from his site.