VotW – Top Gear Looks Back at the Triumph TR7

May 13, 2015 Staff Comments Off

Often maligned, but seriously undervalued these days, the subject of our Video of the Week this week is the Triumph TR7. What we have here is a look back at the TR7 via an early episode of Top Gear. So while this is a contemporary view of the wedge, it is not a strictly historical one either. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSJpaKQW5Jo The Triumph TR7 is a sports car manufactured from September 1974 to October 1981 by the Triumph Motor Company (which was part of British Leyland) in the United Kingdom. It was initially produced at the Speke, Liverpool factory, but production moved to Canley, Coventry in 1978 and then finally to the Rover Solihull plant in 1980. The car was launched in the United States in January 1975, with its UK home market debut in May 1976. The UK launch was delayed at […]

VotW – Standard Triumph Factory in the Sixties

March 25, 2015 Staff Comments Off

For the video this week we are going to turn back the clock a bit. Well, a lot. Heck, we are actually having to throw the entire calendar into the way-back machine. We might even have to throw in a bit of Doctor Who‘s timey-wimey travel. Our video this week is of the Standard Triumph factory at Canley in Coventry back in 1965. Think of the Triumph Herald and the Spitfire. For an interesting aerial overview of the Canley factory, take a look at the Canley Triumph Works page over at the Triumph Herald Archive.

First Triumph Spitfire Up For Sale

October 31, 2013 Staff Comments Off

A milestone in the UK’s illustrious sports car history is being sold by a Sussex classic cars specialist. The fully restored Triumph Spitfire was the first to come off the production line at its factory in Coventry. Lewes-based Sussex Sports Cars is marketing it online on behalf of its owner, a Swiss financial consultant. The firm’s Gerry Wadman said the owner, who restored the vehicle using Triumph parts, is asking £45,000 for the hand-built two-seater. The car was assembled at the Standard-Triumph Canley plant in Coventry in 1962 – the very first in a marque that was to help transform the ailing firm’s fortunes. Boasting chassis number FC1, it generated interest at that year’s Motor Show in Earls Court, as a rival to the Austin Healy Sprite and MG Midget. Its original retail price of £641 meant that unusually, it was a quality […]