October 01, 2009

Triumph TR7

A little history

To replace the beautiful TR6, its iconic roadster, Triumph unveiled the TR7 coupe in September 1974. Nonetheless the TR6 would remain available until 1976 on its home market, all of the new TR7s produced heading at first to the United States, where the high demand and the income it generated were much welcomed by the faltering British Leyland corporation. Alas, this would not last. Though the wedge-shaped design of the TR7 was appreciated, its limited performances, poor building quality and increasingly high price tag due to the problematic exchange rate of the sterling pound soon capped its sales.

Triumph did its best to boost its car’s sales, but its rally racing involvement, the addition of a convertible version and a TR8 variant powered by Rover’s 3.5 litre V8 didn’t help much. The last TR7 was produced in October 1981, and wasn’t replaced. Triumph itself was sadly agonizing. Within a few months, the old company was reduce to producing a rebadged Honda, the Acclaim, which wasn’t as well received as its name could have let hope. When the Acclaim was retired in mid-1984, its replacement would be the Rover 200: Triumph was gone.

About the model

Model: Triumph TR7 V8
Year: 1978
Event: 1978 Manx Rally, driven by Tony Pond, navigator Fred Gallagher (finished 1st overall, thanks to José António for the info)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.24 of its Voitures de Rallye de Collection press series
Acquired: second hand with stand but without box, in November 2007, from a fellow collector from Marseilles, France

Far from the Stratos and Escort, another late-Seventies rally car that is rather forgotten today. Correct, though not extraordinary. My rating is 12/20.

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

2 comments:

José António said...

Hi! Once again, great job you've doing with your blog...

I've got this model too.
The asked information: Tony Pond finished first in the 1978 Manx Rally.

lorenzo721 said...

Thanks a lot José António! I'll add your info.