(first posted 1/30/2017) The arrival Triumph TR-7 was a very big deal. Great Britain had essentially created the whole 1950s-1960s sports car boom after the war with its MG TC/TD, Jaguar XK-120, and Triumph TR-2/3. These were the bedrock of a market sector that once was very hot, and enjoyed wide public interest and a very decided image and related prestige. But as is so well known, the classic British roadsters were built for way to long, and were all getting obsolete by the 1970s.
Meanwhile, the Japanese were on the attack, most of all with the Datsun 240Z, which turned the market on its head for its unbeatable price/performance ratio as well as for being a coupe. The Italians were also aggressive, with the Fiat 124 Spider and the spunky X 1/9, and Porsche re-entered the lower-mid end of the market with their mid-engined 914.
The TR-7 was BL’s last chance to save a significant share of the sports car market for Great Britain. It had many quite strong qualities, as well as some weaknesses. R&T takes a very close look at it here, and identifies what those are.
R&T notes that the old-style British roadsters currently didn’t handle and perform as well as many contemporary sedans. So what’s the point? The TR-7 was designed to address those shortcomings, due to a stiff new structure, relatively modern suspension and a decent-performing engine.
R7T notes that in size and engine output, the TR-7 is very similar to the original TR-2. Sadly, the TR-2 was faster, but in terms of other qualities, the TR-7 had it beat hands down, especially in terms of efficiency, brakes, comfort, safety, handling and steering.
Yes, a 11.3 second 0-60 time was not much to crow about, even in 1975. The Datsun 240Z was considerably faster.
The TR-7’s well-controlled solid rear axle was deemed superior to the TR-6s IRS, which was always a rather less than very sophisticated design. But the result is still a rear end not as well controlled as a good IRS.
Not surprisingly, visibility was criticized, a consequence of the questionably styling of the TR-7.
Yes, it was a controversial design, based on some pretty radical wedge concepts by Harris Mann. BL was obviously going for something of a Hail Mary pass with the TR-7’s design, and needless to say, it did not score.
The TR-7 has been a popular subject at CC:
1976 TR7 Fixed Head Coupe_ The Case For The Defence Roger Carr
1976 Triumph TR7: America Gets A Wedgie Jeff Nelson
1979 Triumph TR7 Drophead – Hot Stuff Joseph Dennis
Triumph TR7 — The Shape of Things to Come; Or Not Robert Kim
Although I was too young to drive at the time, I remember seeing these Triumph sports cars on American roads. I remember admiring its styling. Decades later, when I read about how British Leyland MC single-handedly destroyed the British motorcar industry, I can’t help but wonder “what the hell was Britain thinking in letting a company that had been the pride of England destroy itself from the inside out?”
I get the impression BL was in permanent panic mode for most of the seventies, like a juggler trying to keep up too many balls at once.
1979 Triumph TR7 Drophead-Hot Stuff
That links you to a nice article on the Avanti
Fixed now.
Having bought a new Fiat X1/9 in 1974, I’m somewhat biased. Basing my comments only on a fairly lengthy test drive, the TR7’s cockpit was roomier, it had more pep, but the engine wasn’t as much fun or willing to rev and the handling was comparatively sub-par. It was still a welcome addition to the sports car class, though.
“We expected the reliability of the TR-7 to be better than average.” — So which did R&T rate worse than this?
Weight distribution isn’t everything, but they evidently abandoned the 50/50 long hood for the sake of appearance (and maybe rigidity) which BTW, never looked to me as much like a wedge as advertising implied.
Throughout the ’80s, the TR7’s owner survey was sited for the worst reliability and quality of any car that Road & Track ever compiled stats on. One wonders why they expected its reliability to be better than average, considering the first cars reviewed were abysmal products of Speke, and it wasn’t as if BL had spent the previous eight years building dependable cars.
For everything that’s been written about the TR7 attacking its styling, its performance, its historically awful lack of quality, its slow to appear soft top, its pedestrian specifications relative to predecessors and competitors; the fact is that it sold like hotcakes initially. Had the workers at Speke been willing to produce it five days a week, BL would have sold so many in the first three years that there would have been money to address all of the other issues. It was the constant strikes that doomed it, not all of its well-known faults.
I heard the MG factory at Abingdon rarely had strikes. I suppose this didn’t impress BL mgmt. at all, so in usual Anglo-Saxon fashion, they shuttered that Edwardian relic in 1980.
P.S. I found an old BBC article online about BL at Speke; the workers complained about “stupid mgmt.” making logistical errors which halted production, & mentioned Abingdon as being twice as productive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dix7tzxE3ig
I once saw a newsreel shot in the plant around the time it closed. There were lots of people who thought they could do as much harm and as little work as they wanted while being guaranteed to keep their jobs. Management may well have stunk on ice. I walked away from a job because I felt that upper management didn’t understand what we did or how we made money. I even stuck around for a month and a half after giving notice so they’d have a chance at finding two people who could replace me. What I didn’t do was stop performing my job while taking their money out of some sense of entitlement.
A few years earlier the Rover 2000 had gotten the worst reliability in a Road & Track owner survey up to that point. The list of flaws was quite impressive, and not in a good way. I hate to think how bad the TR7 must have been to outdo it.
Hmmmn. I don’t think it ever really had much of a chance coming from BL during that era. An ex-Girlfriend of mine bought a new TR7 coupe in white “‘white goes with everything”). She loved it even to the point of making up ever more desperate justifications for its unreliability until, one night, not only did BOTH lights not pop up, but an electrical problem fried the battery. I next saw here in an X19 in green (they nearly all were). She had that for 3 years and it was the model of reliability compared to the TR7…and there you have the problem, even a Fiat of the period was more reliable….
Echos of the Triumph Stag……and I recall the well known actor in Australia who was provided with a Stag at no cost by a tobacco manufacturer, only to hand it in and buy a Mercedes 380 SL with is own money. He told me that when making one commercial featuring the Stag they had to push it onto the set.
I read the earlier TR7 article (linked above). Yes, ALL TR7/8 convertibles apparently leaked. I think all British soft tops did. I always ask how can this be considering how much it rains in England.
I don’t recall my MGB’s top leaking, but leaks are a part of Being British we Americans don’t understand.
Even Henry Ford couldn’t get his British factories to the same productivity levels of his Stateside ones, that’s another cultural difference. There’s a BBC show called Very British Problems.
The TR7 is not a bad design – I actually like the styling of it even in fixed head coupe form. The early cars let the whole line down – 4 speed gearboxes, weak rear axles, poor build quality. The 1980 and 1981 drop tops are actually very nice.
The TR8s are even better with a nice boost to power, engine noise and braking. Shame they made so few and are a bit unknown these days outside Triumph circles.
Always wanted one. Still do today. Ideally a TR8.
A Saab mechanic said a real combo would be a Saab 16 or Turbo engine in one of these.
He said it was basically the same block.
The TR-2/3 may have been faster and looked better, but the few I ever got to test-drive were quite unpleasent. I’d rather have an old Hillman.
The TR-7 looked much better as a rag-top. The dashboards were still ugly. A friend had one briefly in the early ’80s. Don’t remember if he had major problems before he got rid of it.
I got to drive another friend’s ’80 TR-8 roadster, with the ex-GM/Rover aluminum V8.
The PO of that one had swapped the original twin Stromberg carbs for a new intake and 4V Holley. That was actually a pretty nice driving car. But by ’80, British sportscars were pretty much finished over here.
Happy Motoring, Mark
1980 was a terrible year to sell luxury and sports cars in the US.
If you read the article, the TR7 was actually considerably faster than the TR2. The TR7 was nearly a second faster to 60 mph, two seconds faster to 80 mph and had a top speed five mph higher. The TR2 was more fuel efficient though, probably due to the hobbling emissions controls used in the ’70s.
The TR7 design – although not my cup of tea was a sales success. A big one in fact for BL. It outsold the TR6 by a wide margin if i remember. The problem esp early on was quality. BL had so many warranty things they had to pay dealers to fix. That and the fact ppl cought on that it had terrible reliability …. Multiply that with lots of news coverage on the labor strikes and product sabotage and…. Well… Would u buy one after a few years of this knowledge?… Regardless of how much u may have loved the design. Today for me its sort of an ugly car, but in 1975 it looked exotic. A teacher I had in grade 1 had on in 1976. I remember thinking it was some Ferrari or something. Yes I knew abt Ferraris even then. Lol
If the TR7 was – for a short time – a sales success, was that not in part because BL had wrecked the appearance and handling of the MG line with the rubber bumpers and messed up suspension. I suspect any success was self-cannibalisation.
its possible phillip… however sales of the mgb in 1975 were also not sluggish. BL was selling those like hotcakes too. the mgb was the worlds most mass produced sports car. over 513000 were built – till the miata took that record. tr7 115000 were built, but it only had a 5 year run. spitfire 312000.
value wise tr7 should be worth more than mgb’s…. but that styling is just so polarizing… which may keep the value down. the mgb is easier on the eyes to some.
The best thing about the TR7, in my opinion, were the TV commercials that came with it, making fun of the wedge profile.
I did see a few of them over the years and I can’t remember a car that was more poorly built. Parts fell off because they weren’t tightened, for example.
Victoria BC still had quite a few Brits around in the 1970’s, and there were quite a few TR7’s running around at one point. Then they all vanished. I saw a lot of them in the scrapyard.
Some commercials are more clever than the product.
A gearhead friend’s brother had a nice red TR-6. TR-7 was a bit of a letdown by comparison.
These came out shortly after we married and my wife wanted one badly. We had a friend that was a salesman at the local dealer and he told us these were terribly assembled. I don’t think he wanted anyone he knew socially to buy one as it would likely damage the friendship. Looking back I’m grateful for the wave-off.
“Speke? No! EVIL!”
ROFL!!!!
I almost bought one of these brand new, but I lost my job. Probably just as well.
Surprisingly positive review, considering how much they hated the looks. Once the quality issues became known I’d imagine they weren’t so positive.
The thing I remember most from first reading this article as a kid was that the CA emission version made do with a 1-bbl. carb and needed a catalytic converter. Horsepower went from 90 to 79. Everyone was pulling for the TR7 to do well but they sure made it hard to be a fan.
The TR8 (3.5L Rover/Buick alloy V8) variant was credible and made nice noises.
If only …. Why didn’t Triumph fit the 2ltr 16V engine from the Dolomite Sprint ??
127hp in UK spec – and one of the first ever mass produced multi-valve engines. Another missed opportunity, what a shame.
Biffer they actually did make a 16 valve TR7… Its rare and WS only in Europe… Possibly only the UK. Its also a very common swap in the UK.
Found this old 1954 TR2 road test by Tom McCahill. The one he tested topped out at 104 MPH and would do 0-60 in 11.7 seconds. http://blog.modernmechanix.com/mi-tests-the-triumph
Motorsport magazine also tested a TR2 in 1954. Top speed was 105 MPH but 0-60 took 12.6 seconds.
Off with its head!!!!!!!!!!
Those in the know- KNOW that the head won’t come off.
Some of the mechanics for these wandered off & went to fixing elevators, bicycles, air compressors. You know- things that don’t even try to be a car.
How, I miss the 70’s and 80’s.
Not for the disco, mediocre video games or funky clothing, but for the automotive choices, like personal luxury coupes and RWD sports cars.
When almost every foreign manufacturer, Japanese, British, Italian or German… Were scrambling to bring the next affordable or exciting, small RWD sports car to market.
That automotive segment is now non-existent…Exceptions, being the Mx-5 Miata, or Scion FRS/Subaru BRZ.
Fast forward to today…Where now every manufacturer is scrambling to bring the next SUV, crossover or minivan, to market. Sigh.
I kinda miss, when I would open my automotive magazines as a kid, and see something like THIS, as a comparison test. 🙁
Thank you for this article Paul. Your regular additional commentary critiquing R&T’s road test assessments is always appreciated.
Anybody remember the Victory Edition TR7?
Where’s the real victory?
I’m sure it wasn’t with the poor unsuspecting buyers, with Triumph’s dismal track record of reliability.
Those “Spoker” wheels somewhat cheapen its appearance. The TR7 meets the Jeep Honcho.
Free black vinyl roof! Good for 3 hp! Yikes.
A friends one never let him down. ….Well it was a Monogram 1/24 scale model. Rare n expensive now
In High School my friend Morgan had one of these. It ran ok, but had the usual electrical gremlins. Always had one headlight up, whether they were on or not. And a 5 pound can of bondo on the front fender. But it would always start, unlike our friend Russell’s MGB. Poor Russell. At the time Valvoline was running a commercial with a veterans day parade walking ( and choking) behind a smoking Cadillac when one of the old farts in the car said ” Russell? Russell? What kind of motor oil you using?”. Sooo, every time Russell was sitting at a red light trying to get his 74 MGB to restart, you can probably figure out what we would say. Which is ironic considering the SU carbs required oil to work properly.
I still clearly remember the (print and TV) advertising campaign slogan for these cars: “The shape of things to come.”
At one of the boy scout jamborees I attended sometime around 1980, the state patrol provided a wrecked one of these cars – the driver was doing triple-digit speeds, lost control and slammed into a fixed object along the road, instantly creating a fireball which consumed both the car and driver. The plastic speedometer needle was melted at either 120 or 130 mph. The driver’s charred jacket bits were still in the car, along with his Stanley stainless coffee thermos.
My brother also inherited one of these cars a few years ago, through the death of an in-law. It was a really clean, rust-free example that had been stored indoors. He didn’t have time to work on it so he sold it, with a fair amount of difficulty. Surprisingly, there is very little demand for this particular model, even today.
“The shape of things that break.”
My Uncle Mal bought one of these brand new. The first weekend, he brought it by our house to show it off. He was cycling the pop-up headlights when the wiring loom for the headlight switch melted onto his leg.
Pop gave him a ride home, and by the time I got home from school the next day, a wrecker came and took the TR7 back to the dealer. Uncle Mal got his money back and showed up the next weekend to show off his new Scirocco!
Legend has it that when the TR7 was first unveiled at Geneva, legendary car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro at first stood there quietly stunned, then rushed around the car and exclaimed, “Oh my God! They’ve done it to the other side as well.”
It may seem odd he would have expected any different, but design models are commonly prepared with alternative styling treatments on opposite sides, to evaluate varying proposals without having to fabricate an entire model for each.
Evidently the Maestro was incredulous that Triumph would commit to the TR7’s characteristic “swoop” in a final production model, wondering if it was meant to gauge crowd response vs. a more rational treatment on the other side, though whether he was more impressed or appalled at the daring design signature is left as an exercise for the reader.
The ” Wedge” style was all the rage back in 1975 ,see the Austin Princess and, in a way, the Jag Xj-S. Unlikev 1950s style older brother the TR6 the 7 had sedan type comfort ,space and a modern engine. The UK market was looking for a modern sports car and the car had little competition there. Datsun 240Z sales were restricted by import quotas and the X /19 suffered a small dealer network and, well, it was Fiat. Great designed ruined by bad build quality that really didn’t get sorted until it was to late…
I never understood why the TR7 didnt get IRS its not like Triumph didnt have a range of IRS rear axles to choose from, so it wasnt a cost saving idea, oh well it is what it is MGBs didnt feature that either but the TR7 could have gone faster and handled better just from a dive into the BL parts bin, Rover V8 IRS and roof delete would have helped in my humble opinion, its rare to see any today.
Cost… Remember the Rover S1 had non independent rear suspension unlike the P6 who’s inboard brake discs were a mechanics nightmare.
Twenty years ago I looked at a Tr7 convertable.Metalic red with fuel injection and A/c…It was one of the lastvUS spec models,from Chicago. Only 8500 miles and £1500 . I passed on it. Did I do my self a favor?. Seen the price hey are now?.
Thought these were soo cool! I liked the “blue color” best!
My brother’s father in law owned a new car dealership, and it came to the point where he cringed every time a TR7 was sold new or taken as a trade in.
Este automóvil fue el último diseño fascinante de la industria británica , una gran oportunidad perdida . Solamente si hubieran ofrecido la opción de 4 puertas con extended wheelbase stretching , conservando fielmente las proporciones de la silueta del coupé, podría haber sido todavía al día de hoy un gran turismo único en el mundo , tan respetable como un BMW o un Maserati . Los británicos no supieron valorar la última joya de la corona British Leyland , aunque nunca es tarde para relanzar una marca de automóviles basada en diseños clásicos brillantes como casi toda la historia de Triumph