In 1953 Sir John Black commissioned the Triumph factory to use the Triumph TR2 to break the 2-litre engine speed record for production cars. The current record was set at 193 km/h by a Sunbeam Alpine. Ken Richardson, the technical man behind the Triumph TR2, thought he could break the record with just a few aerodynamic changes. On 20 May 1953 the time had finally come. In Jabbekke the Triumph TR2 started and reached a speed of 163km/h on the first run. After investigation it appeared that the engine only ran on 3 cylinders. After a spark plug was replaced a new attempt was made. The record was broken at around 201 km/h. After this record, interest in the Triumph TR2 was aroused among the public and the press, which later led to the enormous interest from the private and rally world. From the beginning the Triumph TR2 was very successful in rallies and races like the Mille Miglia, Le Mans and the Alpen rally.