Triumph TR7 Le Mans Turbo
The TR7 built to race at Le Mans: a redundant BL development car that Janspeed and ADA Engineering turned into a Group 5 racer with a twin-turbocharged Rover V8. It failed to qualify in 1980 and was withdrawn in 1981 and 1982.
About the pictureA rally TR7 of 2023, standing in for the racing car.
From Janspeed's development car
ADA Engineering
The engine and chassis
The Rover V8 had two Rotomaster turbochargers, and Motor Sport put its power at 450 to 550 bhp, depending on the boost; the TR Drivers Club gives well over 500 bhp, from 3,619 cc, with two SU carburettors of 51 mm (2 in). The engine sat lower and further back than in a road car, with a dry sump, and there was a water intercooler, with a refrigerant cooler under the boot lid (trunk lid).
The target weight for Group 5 was about 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). At the front the struts carried the rear hub assemblies of a March Formula 2 car, and the rear axle was a four-link one in the style of the Group 4 rally cars, with a Panhard rod added. The brakes were AP discs of 305 by 32 mm (12 by 1¼ in), and both sources name Bilstein dampers.source 2source 1
Le Mans, 1980
1981–82 and after
The rest is the TR Drivers Club's account, and the history below follows it from Derek Bell's test drive of 1981 to the car's sale abroad.
The car survives, as the TR Register's film of 2016 shows, though the film, like racingsportscars, calls it a TR8; Motor Sport's report of 1980 called it a TR7.source 1source 3source 4
Where it has been
- 1977
A redundant BL Motorsport development car, bought by Janspeed
A TR7 that Janspeed had used as a development vehicle for BL Motorsport: left-hand drive according to the TR Drivers Club, while Motor Sport called the rebuilt car "this RHD hardtop". Janspeed's Jan Odor bought it to build a Modsports car, then, after a rule change, had it restyled with racing body panels and a turbocharged Rover V8 for Group 5; according to Motor Sport it was first shown in the winter of 1977–78, in a "patriotic-liveried and aerodynamic body". In period it was "A TR7 for Le Mans"; racingsportscars files it under the TR8
Jim Johnson, "The Le Mans TR7 Turbo Entry", TR Drivers Clubsource 1; Jeremy Walton ("J.W."), "A TR7 for Le Mans", Motor Sport, May 1980, p. 37source 2
- 1979
ADA Engineering took over the chassis and the running of the car
November 1979. Ian Harrower and Chris Crawford's ADA (Anglo-Dutch-American) Engineering, West London; Janspeed owned the car and developed its engine: a Rover V8 with two Rotomaster turbochargers, 3,619 cc according to the TR Drivers Club, "3½-litre" according to Motor Sport
Jeremy Walton ("J.W."), "A TR7 for Le Mans", Motor Sport, May 1980, p. 37source 2; Jim Johnson, "The Le Mans TR7 Turbo Entry", TR Drivers Clubsource 1
- 1980
Entered for the Le Mans 24 Hours, the first Triumph there for 19 years
According to the TR Drivers Club it was timed at 201 mph on the Mulsanne straight but failed to qualify; driveshaft vibration had held it to 175 mph earlier
Jim Johnson, "The Le Mans TR7 Turbo Entry", TR Drivers Clubsource 1
- 1981
Tested by Derek Bell
Its 1981 Le Mans entry was withdrawn after a heavy crash at the Silverstone Six Hours (TR Drivers Club)
Jim Johnson, "The Le Mans TR7 Turbo Entry", TR Drivers Clubsource 1
- 1982
- 1983
Bought by the British Sports Car Centre, Goldhawk Road, London, and sold abroad
At the end of 1983. The TR Drivers Club's author believes the car still exists
Jim Johnson, "The Le Mans TR7 Turbo Entry", TR Drivers Clubsource 1
- 2016
Shown and run at the Goodwood Festival of Speed
July 2016. Filmed by the TR Register in its racing body, with its rear wing and 'Janspeed Turbo' bonnet stripe
TR Register (YouTube channel), Triumph TR8 Turbo Le Mans at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2016, published 3 Jul 2016source 4
Results
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
- Jim Johnson, "The Le Mans TR7 Turbo Entry", TR Drivers Club, paras 1–3: the development car; Le Mans 1980; 1981 and 1982; para. 1: Janspeed's development car for BL Motorsport, 1977; Jan Odor; Modsports; the rule change; para. 2: Janspeed the owner and engine builder, ADA the chassis and the running; para. 2: twin 2 in SU carburettors; 3,619 cc; well over 500 bhp; Bilstein dampers; para. 3: the first Triumph at Le Mans for 19 years; did not qualify; 201 and 175 mph; Derek Bell's test; the Silverstone Six Hours, 1981; the 1981 and 1982 entries withdrawn; the British Sports Car Centre, 1983; para. 1; para. 2; para. 3. trdrivers.com/articles21/lemanstr7turbo1.html Reference
- Jeremy Walton ("J.W."), "A TR7 for Le Mans", Motor Sport, May 1980, p. 37, p. 37; p. 37, first shown in the winter of 1977–78; Monza in April and Silverstone on 11 May; p. 37, ADA Engineering, Ian Harrower and Chris Crawford, from November 1979; "It is nice to see that ADA and Janspeed …"; p. 37, paras 3–4: two Rotomaster turbochargers; 450 to 550 bhp by boost; about 1,000 kg; March F2 hubs; four-link axle and Panhard rod; AP discs; the coolers; the engine set lower and further back, with a dry sump; p. 37, the drivers named for Le Mans. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/may-1980/37/tr7-le-mans Primary
- racingsportscars.com, "All Results of Triumph TR8" (1979–1999), 1980–82; 1980, Silverstone; 1980–82, 24 h Le Mans; 1982, 24 h Le Mans; 1980, 6 h Silverstone; 1980, 24 h Le Mans; 1981, 6 h Silverstone; 1981, 1000 km Brands Hatch. racingsportscars.com/type/results/Triumph/TR8.html Database
- TR Register (YouTube channel), Triumph TR8 Turbo Le Mans at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2016, published 3 Jul 2016, the film, Goodwood, 2016. youtube.com/watch?v=kegx3XB54wA Primary