Back in the late 1950’s, an Italian gentleman by the name of Ruffino decided that while the Triumph TR3 had a terrific power plant and suspension, its looks left something to be desired. Perhaps he was inspired by the Bertone-bodied MGTDs, the Arnolt-Bristol or other Anglo-Italian hybrids. The story is too long to tell here, but he got Giovanni Michelotti to design the body and the coach builder Vignale to build it. If it looks a little like a Maserati 3500 Spyder or a Lancia Appia, there’s a good reason as both were made at about the same time by the same folks. Italias received serial numbers through 329, but no one knows exactly how many were built. This particular car has been refurbished to a very high standard (although not perfectly to original specs) and is on offer here on eBay. Thanks to Jim S. for this find, which isn’t a barn find by any means, but is unusual enough for us to feature. Besides, I own an Italia that I’ve had since 1987, and it’s literally my favorite car of all time, so I’m a little biased!

I fell in love with these lines when I was 14. I had just purchased a Triumph TR4A to refurbish by the time I got my driver’s licence and bought my first Triumph book. As soon as I saw the picture of the Italia (to this day, the book falls open to that page) I was hooked. After a 9-year search I finally found mine. This particular Italia was the subject of a restoration blog while it was being restored, and is now being sold by the restoration shop since the owner doesn’t use it enough. The pretty blue car pictured here is the second this shop has refurbished, and while they deviated from standard on several things (like using a TR4 frame that is 4″ wider than the TR3 frame the car came with), the work certainly seems to have been done to a very high standard.

I’ve stripped my Italia to bare metal before, and trust me, this is definitely a hand-made body, with many small panels welded together and then leaded; it’s not an easy body to work on, and mine actually differs significantly from side to side despite never having been in an accident. Hats off to the body craftsmen at this shop; this car really looks beautiful and actually finished second at the prestigious 2013 Concorso Italiano. Sadly, it has only covered 500 miles since restoration (I have driven my Italia over 60,000 miles) so the owner is passing it on in the hopes someone will use it more.

Needless to say, the interior looks very nice as well, although again some details are not perfectly original. According to the shop’s website where the car is also listed for sale, over $70,000 was spent on the restoration. I’m awfully glad I bought mine when I did, because I sure couldn’t afford one now. And no, mine will not be sold while I’m around. I absolutely love the combination of the relatively simple Triumph mechanical components with the beautiful Italian design, and I can tell you that the seats are extremely comfortable on long trips; I’ve driven mine from North Carolina to San Antonio.

The 1991 cc wet-liner four-cylinder power plant coupled with the improved aerodynamics raised the top speed of an Italia over that of a TR3. Trust me when I tell you, though, we are not talking rocket ship here. But that’s not the point of a true GT like this; what is the point is style with relatively decent performance and the knowledge that you will almost never see another one on the road. If that fits what you want, an Italia is a great car for you! If you’ve read this far, thanks for indulging my writing about my all-time favorite car and let me know what you think!