History
The Triumph Italia 2000 was a limited production coupé built between 1959 and 1962, during which time 330 cars were produced. Designed by Giovanni Michelotti, the TR3A or TR3B chassis and mechanical components were supplied by the Triumph Motor Company in the United Kingdom and built in Italy by Carrozzeria Vignale of Turin under contract to Ruffino S.p.A. Industria Construzione Automobile of Naples.
Adrian Sinnott, with the asistance of Jörg von Appen, has written a very comprehensive account of the history, design, construction and restoration of the Triumph Italia. All this information can be found at Italia 2000 so it will not be repeated here.
Opinions vary over the total number of car built because no Vignale production records
seem to exist, but there is a strong consensus for 330 cars being built, including 2
prototypes. Chassis complete with engines were drawn as ordered from the Standard-Triumph,
Canley production line, generally in groups of five, although not necessarily sequential
chassis numbers.
After a long search through the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust archives, 325
chassis were identified as being shipped to Italy for Italia production. A 326th has
since been identified, and it's expected a return to the archive will yield the four
chassis numbers still unknown.127 Triumph Italia vehicles are known to have survived at
least to the 1980s. Of these, just 23 are in the USA.
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