TRIUMPH TR7 (1975-1981)
Full of potential, maligned by politics, the TR7 was indeed a product of British Leyland. An MGB successor of sorts (an MG-badged version known as ‘Boxer’ failed to see the light of day), it brought the British sports car as up-to-date as its main patrons – the United States – wanted it to be. That meant a simple four-cylinder up front (the Dolomite 1850’s slant-four, taken out to 2.0 litres), rear-wheel drive, and a four-link live axle at the rear. But it was Harris Mann’s styling that truly modernised the TR line for the ’70s – and while it was eventually embraced, not everyone viewed it kindly.
Industrial action sadly put paid to the promising TR7 Sprint, which as the name implied, used the Dolomite Sprint’s single-cam, 16-valve engine. TR7 production moved twice – first in 1978 from its
