TriumphTR7
A red, white and blue rally coupé numbered 24, with four lamps on its nose, parked outside a museum building.

Triumph TR7 Images

The TR7 in pictures: coupés and convertibles from all three factories, cockpits and trim, a Sprint, the American Spider, rally and racing cars of later years, and the prototypes and the last car kept at Gaydon.

Number 24, with Lombard RAC Rally plates and four lamps on its nose, parked in the grounds of the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, in June 2017: a TR7 in works colours wearing the plate OOM 514R, which two works cars carried.Andrew Basterfield, CC BY-SA 2.0

The TR7's wedge changed little from the first car to the last, so what separates one TR7 from another in a photograph is mostly detail: the badge on the nose, the bonnet (hood), the bumpers. The cars built at Canley from October 1978 had a laurel-wreath decal on the nose, and the last Solihull cars, by Wikipedia's account, a small round badge. The pictures are grouped by what they show, and each opens a larger view. A caption dates the photograph; where it dates a car, the date comes from its registration. A caption also says where a car has later parts.⁠1​2​3​4

Coupés

The fixed-head coupé was built in all three factories. The later Canley cars had a bonnet with a second, inset bulge, and the coupés here run from a car registered in 1976–77 to one with the round badge of the last years.⁠1​5​3​6​2

Coupés 4

  • A white wedge-shaped coupé with a black vinyl roof and silver wheel trims on a dark museum stand. Opens a larger view

    1 Coventry Transport Museum, January 2018: a white coupé with a black vinyl roof and polished wheel trims, registered in 1976–77, on a dark stand.

  • A white coupé seen from behind and to one side, with TRIUMPH and TR7 lettering across the tail. Opens a larger view

    2 British Motor Museum, Gaydon, July 2018: TRIUMPH and TR7 across the tail of a coupé registered in 1976–77, at a show for BMC and Leyland cars.

  • A dark blue coupé with a white coachline, a small round nose badge and a 2.0 Litre wing badge, in a car park. Opens a larger view

    3 A show in England, July 2022: a coupé with the small round nose badge, an engine-size script on the wing and an X-suffix plate of 1981–82, the marks of a Solihull car.

  • The tail of a dark blue coupé with TRIUMPH and TR7 lettering and a black rear bumper. Opens a larger view

    4 Voorschoten, the Netherlands, April 2021: a dark blue coupé from behind, its black rear bumper and the lettering across the tail panel.

Picture credits (4)
  1. 1 Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. 2 Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. 3 Calreyn88, CC BY-SA 4.0
  4. 4 louisznl, CC BY 2.0

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Convertibles

The convertible came later, built from January 1979 for America and sold in Britain from March 1980. The colours in the captions are as the pictures show them, not factory names.⁠6​7

Convertibles 4

  • A pale gold convertible with its hood down, photographed from low on grass under a wide sky, with poplars behind. Opens a larger view

    5 Luton Festival of Transport, 2017: a pale gold convertible registered in 1981–82, hood (soft top) down, under a wide sky.

  • A silver convertible with its hood folded away, in a show car park. Opens a larger view

    6 A car park show in England, July 2022: a late silver convertible with its hood folded and its round nose badge; its trims and mud flaps perhaps added later.

  • A light blue convertible with its black hood up, parked beside a white building with brick arches. Opens a larger view

    7 England, 2017: a light blue convertible registered in 1979–80, with the laurel-wreath decal and its black hood raised.

  • A blue convertible with its black hood up and a laurel-wreath decal, in a show car park. Opens a larger view

    8 A show in England, July 2022: a blue convertible registered in 1980–81, hood up, on wheels and a front lip that are not the factory's.

Picture credits (4)
  1. 5 pyntofmyld, CC BY 2.0
  2. 6 Calreyn88, CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. 7 Along time ago..., CC BY 2.0
  4. 8 Calreyn88, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Interiors

The cockpit changed less than the trim did, and the versions page sets out the trims by period.⁠8​2

Interiors 3

  • Looking down into a convertible's cockpit: dashboard, steering wheel, gear lever and black seats. Opens a larger view

    9 Kraków, Poland, September 2014: looking down into a left-hand-drive convertible, TR7 on the glovebox; its radio and steering wheel were added since.

  • A close-up of a car's instrument binnacle, the rev counter in focus beside a strip of warning lamps. Opens a larger view

    10 United States, 2015: the binnacle's Smiths rev counter, marked to 7,000 rpm.

  • A champagne convertible seen from above the front corner, with a small round nose badge and check seats. Opens a larger view

    11 British Motor Museum, Gaydon, 2018: tartan (plaid) seat facings seen through the windscreen of the last TR7.

Picture credits (3)
  1. 9 Dawid783, CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. 10 Jacob Frey 4A, CC BY 2.0
  3. 11 Tony Hisgett, CC BY 2.0

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The TR7 Sprint

A TR7 Sprint looks like any other coupé, and its badges can be copied. What proves one is its numbers, which identification explains.⁠9

Sprint 2

  • A white coupé side-on with a dark stripe along its flank. Opens a larger view

    12 England, from a scanned print: a white Sprint looked down on from high above its left side, its roof dark and its alloys black-centred; the SPRINT lettering alone proves nothing.

  • An engine bay seen from the left, with a sixteen-valve cylinder head and carburettors. Opens a larger view

    13 From the same photographer's prints: a white car's 16-valve head and its carburettors under the bonnet.

Picture credits (2)
  1. 12 Graham.Fountain, CC BY-SA 3.0
  2. 13 Graham.Fountain, CC BY-SA 3.0

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Special editions

The Spider of the 1980 model year, an American special edition, is shown in two pictures, and one of them may not show a real one.⁠10​2

Spider 2

  • A black convertible with red side stripes and Spider badging on a wet car park. Opens a larger view

    14 United States: a Spider on a wet car park, a placard where its number plate would be.

  • A dusty black convertible with red stripes carried side-on on the back of a flatbed truck. Opens a larger view

    15 Christchurch, New Zealand, December 2012: a TR7 in the Spider's colours, chained to the back of a recovery truck; a car in the livery, not necessarily a factory Spider.

Picture credits (2)
  1. 14 Stormbear, CC BY-SA 2.5
  2. 15 Riley, CC BY 2.0

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In competition

Only one of these is a car of the works rally team: SJW 548S, its first TR7 V8 with left-hand drive. The others are club and historic cars of later years, some in the works team's colours, and the racing page tells of the TR7 on the circuits in its own time. Many photographs labelled "TR7 3.5" or "TR7 4.6" show V8 conversions, not TR8s or factory cars, so a caption here calls a car a V8 only where its photographer does.⁠4​3​11

In competition 5

  • A red, white and blue rally car coming head-on along a stage, lamps covered on its nose. Opens a larger view

    16 Race Retro, Stoneleigh Park, March 2008: SJW 548S, a works car, head-on in its British Airways colours, number 15.

  • A red, white and blue rally coupé numbered 11 rounding cones on an airfield stage in low evening light. Opens a larger view

    17 Snetterton, Norfolk, in the 1980s by the photographer's account: a red, white and blue TR7-bodied rally car, number 11, rounding the cones in evening light.

  • A white rally coupé numbered 141 coming through a muddy forest bend. Opens a larger view

    18 Tempest Rally, Berkshire, November 2011: a club TR7, number 141, through a forest bend, its bonnet in works-style colours.

  • A red rally coupé numbered 201 on a mountain road above a wooded valley. Opens a larger view

    19 Rallye de l'Ardèche, France, October 2024: a red TR7, number 201, a V8 by its photographer's account, in a class for historic cars.

  • A red coupé race car numbered 7 at speed past circuit barriers, the background blurred. Opens a larger view

    20 Brands Hatch, Kent, May 2011: a modified coupé, number 7, panned at speed in a club race.

Picture credits (5)
  1. 16 estoril, CC BY 2.0
  2. 17 Martin Pettitt, CC BY 2.0
  3. 18 rally bear, CC BY-SA 2.0
  4. 19 Kakoula10, CC BY-SA 4.0
  5. 20 Tony Harrison, CC BY-SA 2.0

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At Gaydon

The British Motor Museum keeps the prototypes of two TR7s that never reached the showrooms, the Lynx and the Broadside, and the last TR7 of all, which has been in its collection since it was built.⁠12

At Gaydon 3

  • A green hatchback coupé with a wedge nose in a museum hall. Opens a larger view

    21 Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, July 2009: the Lynx prototype, the TR7-based 2+2 hatchback that never went on sale.

  • The tail of a silver prototype coupé with BROADSIDE on its number plate. Opens a larger view

    22 British Motor Museum, Gaydon, October 2023: a Broadside prototype from behind, BROADSIDE on its plate.

  • The tail of a champagne convertible with its brown hood up and TR7 lettering, in a museum. Opens a larger view

    23 British Motor Museum, Gaydon, 2018: the tail of MOV 542X, the last TR7 by chassis number, its hood up.

Picture credits (3)
  1. 21 Mark Brown, CC BY-SA 2.0
  2. 22 Andrew Bone, CC BY 2.0
  3. 23 Tony Hisgett, CC BY 2.0

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Sources

Every source the site cites is on the sources page.

  • Primarymade at the time, by the maker or by people who were there
  • Referenceserious later work: clubs, specialists, magazines, books
  • Databaseresults and listings, entry by entry
  • Uncheckedencyclopaedias and enthusiast sites: cited beside a good source, named in the sentence, or marked Unchecked
  1. Clive Richardson ("C.R."), "The Triumph TR7", Motor Sport, Jun 1979, p. 58, p. 58, the Canley badges; p. 58, the Canley changes. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/june-1979/58/the-triumph-tr7 Primary
  2. Wikipedia (EN), "Triumph TR7", 2026, the round nose badge of the Solihull cars, citing Piggott; the Solihull badge, citing Piggott; the trims by factory, citing Piggott; the Spider's stripes and badging, citing Hart. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_TR7 Unchecked
  3. Aaron Severson, "Way of the Wedge: The Triumph TR7 and TR8", Ate Up With Motor, 5 Feb 2012, pp. 1–5, p. 4, the late Solihull car's badge; p. 3, single and double bulges; p. 4, the late badge; p. 5, the V8 conversions among the survivors. ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/triumph-tr7-tr8 Reference
  4. Chris Turner (credited by the club), "The Works Triumph TR7 V8 Rally Cars" and the car pages (group), TR Drivers Club, the register: OOM 514R on two cars; car page, SJW 548S. trdrivers.com/articles21/rallyhistory.html Reference
  5. Keith Adams, "The Cars: Triumph TR7/TR8 development story", AROnline, updated 8 Feb 2024, a bonnet power bulge among the Canley changes. aronline.co.uk/cars/triumph/tr7-tr8/bullet-development-story Reference
  6. Paul Towle and Rex Holford (update) and Mark Elbers (update), "TR7 & TR8 Identification & Production Data Explained", TR Drivers Club, 1987, updated (© 2016), the three factories; the convertibles built from January 1979. trdrivers.com/tr7_-_tr8_vin_numbers.htm Reference
  7. "C.R.", "The Triumph TR7 Drophead" ("Sunshine Seven"), Motor Sport, Apr 1980, p. 35, Britain, March 1980. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/april-1980/35/sunshine-seven Primary
  8. Motor Sport, News, editorials and short items on the TR7 (group), Jul 1975 – Aug 1981; Apr 2002, Apr 1977, p. 33, the tartan trim. motorsportmagazine.com/archive Primary
  9. Graham Fountain, "The TR7 Sprint Story", TR Driver (TR Drivers Club), 1991 no. 2, the Sprints; the ACH numbers. trdrivers.com/articles21/tr7sprintarticle-1991.html Reference
  10. Michael Hart, "Counting TR7 Spiders: A Day at the Gaydon Archive", Triumph Wedge Owners Association, © 2013, the Spider. triumphwedgeowners.org/spider Reference
  11. Wikimedia Commons, "Category:Triumph TR7" and its subcategories, the files labelled "TR7 3.5" and "TR7 4.6". commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Triumph_TR7 Database
  12. Keith Cox, "Gaydon cars with a TR7 connection", TR Drivers Club, the Lynx, the Broadsides and the last TR7. trdrivers.com/articles21/gaydoncars.html Reference

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