Rides from the Readers: 1964 Triumph TR4
Hagerty readers and Hagerty Drivers Club members share their cherished collector and enthusiast vehicles with us via our contact email, tips@hagerty.com. We’re showcasing some of our favorite stories among these submissions. To have your car featured, send complete photography and your story of ownership to the above email address.
Today’s featured car is a 1964 Triumph TR4. Thanks to their slim figure and 105-hp, 2138-cc inline four, these petite roadsters offer capable handling and brisk performance. These characteristics solidified their popularity in period and have earned them a passionate following in the collector car community. The 1964 model year falls midway in the car’s 1961–67 run and represents the last year that the TR4 had a solid rear axles instead of an independent rear suspension.
This particular TR4 belongs to John Nicon, who’s affectionately nicknamed it “The Black Beauty.” The car comes in a long line of Triumphs owned and beloved by the Nicon family: a TR3, a 1965 TR4 (“The Lady in Red”), a TR250 (“The Blue Babe”), and a 1962 TR4 (“The Lady in Red II”). The Black Beauty boasts a Surrey top (reminiscent of a targa top) and a stunning black finish—and, to top it off, functioning overdrive! Nicon especially values the camaraderie of the Triumph community. From car shows to pleasure drives and road trips, The Black Beauty “is a worthy competitor,” he writes.
His succession of Triumphs—punctuated by Honda station wagons, a Fiat 500e, and a Smart Car—goes to show that, as he writes: “while you may take the Triumph away from the man, you can’t take the man away from the Triumph.”
Swipe through the gallery below for evidence of Nicon’s Triumph love affair.
