BUYING ATRIUMPH TR7

When I first started working on car magazines, the TR7 was frowned upon by many traditionalists… but things have changed. I’d argue that the TR7 is the best-driving of all the TRs, its four-cylinder engine giving a handling balance that the nose-heavy six-cylinder cars can’t match. I’ve taken some stick from TR6 owners in the past for that comment but there’s no arguing that the TR7’s underpinnings are quite literally from a different era, with its MacPherson strut front end and four-linked rear axle.

Codenamed Project Bullet, the TR7 was originally to have been part of a wider range, including 2+2 coupes and convertibles, though both were killed off during development. A similar fate befell the TR7 16v Sprint, with fewer than 60 being assembled before it was dropped. The TR7 that made it into production therefore comprised the regular 2.0-litre four-cylinder, using an