End Of The Line-

The demise of the TR7, in 1981, also saw the end of the British sports car - until the revival of the MG (with the MGF) in the mid 1990's. And so it looks as if the Triumph/MG debate has come full-circle. In the early 1970's many meetings/discussions at British Leyland revolved around whether the 'bullet' would emerge under the badge of MG or that of Triumph. It appeared as a Triumph and MG lived on in the rather sad form of 'performance' Maestro's, Montego's and Metro's!! (Be thankful Triumph only had to endure the Acclaim!).

Leaving aside workforce and quality issues perhaps, instead of poking fun at the 'wedge' and critising British Leyland for not producing a 'true TR', we should congratulate the designers for daring to produce something different. The TR7 was an innovation, it broke from tradition, trod new ground and dared to be different.

Whatever journalists may say the TR7 was not the death nell for mass produced British sportscars, nor was it the catalyst for the demise of our car industry as a whole. Sure the build quality may not have helped things but poor build was something that was endemic throughout the British car industry at the time.! As for the styling if you think the TR7 was bad spare a thought for those driving family cars from British Leyland throughout the 80's!! Who owns the 'Triumph' name now? This was sold to BMW when they acquired Rover, and wasn't part of the deal which took Rover back under British ownership. Rumours have been rife that BMW may use the TR name on a sports range in the future, some have suggested that the Z3 was nearly a TR! For the immediate future though it looks as if the TR name will remain part of motoring history and unlikely to rise in a similar fashion to the motorbike which bares the Triumph name.

(Articles provided from http://www.triumphtr7.com)