Wedge-shape Brit
Triumph is one of a tragically long list of British marques that have disappeared over the years, though the name continues to thrive with the now Hinckley-based motorcycle company.
In its heyday, the firm was producing good volume as witnessed by the Harris Mann-designed wedge-shaped TR7. This extreme styling treatment was emblematic of the period and turned into an art form among some supercar makers.
For those whose budget didn’t stretch to the likes of Aston Martin, Ferrari and so on, the TR7 provided a two-seater sports car with an element of glam and respectable performance form the 2.0lt overhead cam engine. It was essentially what you would find in the front end of a Dolomite, but with extra capacity and larger twin carburetors. Power was a claimed 105 horses.
It started out with a four-speed manual transmission, later upgraded to five-speed.
Triumph sold an impressive 130,000 of these cars, plus another 2500 of the V8-powered TR8, which employed the same body.
This example located in Gippsland in Victoria is a five-speed and claims to be in good roadworthy shape. It’s on the market at $15,000.