After the events of the 1955 ‘24 Heures du Mans’ , the French government moved to prohibit sports car rallying in that country, rallies then little more than long distance road races. In response, Triumph competition manager Ken Richardson had steel hard tops bolted to 100 TR3's, homologating the new sports car as a "grand touring" coupe, the GT class still permitted to race on French public roadways. A ‘grand touring kit’ was made available to customers as an optional extra (part No. 554313).