PINE-TREE TRIUMPH; 1970 Triumph 2000 Mk 2.(Escape Roads)

Byline: JAN TEGLER

This Triumph 2000 Mk 2's original owner, a U.S. State Department worker, purchased it in the Bahamas. By the late 1970s, the 2000 was in Boston. But the left-hand-drive car's career came to an abrupt halt when the owner hit a pine tree. It sat for years until Stephen Oertwig heard about it.

"Someone told me about a Triumph buried under a pine tree,'' says the Fredericksburg, Virginia, resident. "I found it sitting where it hit the tree years before.''

That was in 1988, 11 years after the 2000 Mk 2 and its variants ceased production, ending the maker's foray into "executive sedans.''

Triumph had dabbled in sedans since it reemerged after World War II under the ownership of Standard Motor Co., producing cars such as the Standard-Triumph Renown, Vanguard and Mayflower sedans alongside its TR2/3 and Herald. When Leyland Motors purchased Standard-Triumph in 1960, it asked Giovanni Michelotti to craft an even larger sedan. He produced a four-door, the 2000 Mk 1, first shown in 1963. With a 90-hp, 1998-cc six-cylinder, the Mk 1 had unit-body construction, independent suspension, front disc brakes and a well-appointed interior. The sedan had enough upmarket appeal to compete with British contemporaries such as the Rover P6 2000.

But the car struggled in Triumph's most important market. Underpowered and overpriced compared with midsize American sedans, the cars piled up on dealer lots. Triumph commissioned an update for 1969, the Mk 2.

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