rather than disc rear brake, the absence of a tachometer, a merged exhaust system, painted rather than polished alloy and economy Dunlop Gold Seal tyres. Moreover, whereas Triumph's 750cc range had electronic ignition, the TR65 was fitted with contact breaker points. Respecting its lineage, the model retained the Turner-designed 'paper dart' logo on its side panels but with a different, updated 'Thunderbird' script. The TR65 was priced upon introduction at £1,829.82. The economy finish was upgraded for 1982 'export' models although the contact breaker points and drum rear brake remained. A trail version of the TR65, the TR65T, was also introduced in 1981 but, likely as it was priced the same as the 750 cc version, suffered poor sales and was dropped from the range in late 1982. Planned for 1984, a custom-styled and further sleeved-down TR60 600 cc Thunderbird was exhibited but not produced, the co-operative closing down towards the end of 1983. The scheduled price for this model was £2,181. The prototype Thunderbird 600 was converted by the factory into a conventional TR65 to fulfil a Ministry Of Defence order. From the Meriden Triumph factory production records held by the Vintage Motor Cycle Club, that TR65, made on 1 June 1983, was the last 650 cc motorcycle and the second last motorcycle made at Meriden before the factory's closure that August. Norton-Villiers-Triumph (NVT): T180 Thunderbird III In 1975, an NVT prototype 870 cc triple, the T180 Triumph Thunderbird III, was developed. This was an enlarged capacity version of the Triumph T160, but the T180 did not reach production. NVT passed on the prototype to the Meriden co-operative which also chose not to proceed to production despite experimenting with installing the engine in their oil-bearing frame. Triumph Hinckley: T309RT Thunderbird (triple) The new Triumph company based at Hinckley introduced the Triumph Thunderbird 900 in late 1994. Coded T309RT, the new Thunderbird was instrumental in Triumph's successful re-entry into the US market. The 'Thunderbird' name and retro styling recalls the original Triumph company's golden years of the 1960s. It was the first "classic" Triumph to be produced by the resurgent company. The engine, redesigned to give a period look and de-tuned for more torque at lower rpm, was a variant of the 885 cc triple engine. Peak power was down to from . Several variants of the Thunderbird were produced, Triumph T309TT Legend, Triumph T309RC Adventurer, and the Triumph T309RD