TriumphTR7

Who Designed the Triumph TR7?

Harris Mann, British Leyland's stylist at Longbridge, whose studio drew the wedge that became the TR7 in 1971; Triumph engineered it, and Michelotti built the convertible's prototype. Who he was, and what he said of the car.

About the pictureA TR7 beside a Princess, two wedges of the same studio: the designs, not the designer.

A light blue wedge-shaped convertible parked on grass beside the tail of an orange saloon.
Stand-in A TR7 convertible at Milton Keynes Museum in September 2022, beside the tail of a Princess saloon (sedan): two wedges from the same Longbridge studio, not a picture of their designer.kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0

The shape was Harris Mann's; the chassis, engine and running gear were Triumph's, under Spen King; and the prototype of the convertible, added later, was Giovanni Michelotti's.⁠1​2​3

From Duple to Longbridge

Sources for Harris Mann

Richard Gunn, "Obituary: Harris Mann 1938–2023", AROnline, 15 Aug 2023⁠3; Aaron Severson, "Way of the Wedge: The Triumph TR7 and TR8", Ate Up With Motor, 5 Feb 2012, pp. 1–5⁠1; Keith Adams, "The Cars: Triumph TR7/TR8 development story", AROnline, updated 8 Feb 2024⁠2

Mann came to car design from an apprenticeship at Duple, which built coaches and buses, and his team had shown a wedge before the TR7: the Austin Zanda, a show car of 1969, two years before the Magna.⁠3

Contents

The Magna

Mann's studio drew a notchback wedge with a sweeping side line, a lift-off roof panel and big American bumpers, and built it as full-size mock-ups badged MG Magna.

The targa roof did not survive into production, and Mann put that down to the engineers:

It was also intended to be a Targa roof, but Engineering just couldn't work it out. Which was a pity.

Harris Mann, interviewed by Richard Gunn in 2005, as reproduced by AROnline in 2023⁠1​2​3

Contents

The wedge

Mann looked at America first:

Before I looked at the TR7, I went to the States to see what was going on there. That's why it was a bit more extreme.

Harris Mann, interviewed by Richard Gunn in 2005, as reproduced by AROnline in 2023

AROnline describes the swage line he gave it, "slashed down the side of the car starting high at the rear end and tapering towards the front". The TR Drivers Club and the TR Register both name Mann as the stylist. The same line is the subject of a story about Giorgetto Giugiaro, which the TR7 in popular culture treats as folklore.⁠3​2​4​5

A red coupé with long black bumpers and side-marker lamps on a wet city street, vans behind.
The wedge in profile: a North American coupé in the Bronx, New York, in January 2012, with the long moulded bumpers and side markers of its market; its wheels are not the factory's.Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0

Contents

Later years

The TR Drivers Club made him its honorary president. Looking back in 2005, he was sorry about the engine:

The engine was another tragedy. Saab took that and made a great Turbo out it. Now that would have been something, a TR7 Turbo…

Harris Mann, interviewed by Richard Gunn in 2005, as reproduced by AROnline in 2023

AROnline reprinted those words in its obituary of him, in August 2023.⁠3​6

Contents

Roles

  1. 1971

    Stylist

    His Austin-Morris studio at Longbridge drew the wedge-shaped proposal that BL's board chose over Triumph's own "Bullet" in July 1971; AROnline says he restyled it to give it "a more expensive look"

    Aaron Severson, "Way of the Wedge: The Triumph TR7 and TR8", Ate Up With Motor, 5 Feb 2012, pp. 1–5⁠1; Keith Adams, "The Cars: Triumph TR7/TR8 development story", AROnline, updated 8 Feb 2024⁠2

Contents

Sources

Every source the site cites is on the sources page.

  • Referenceserious later work: clubs, specialists, magazines, books
  1. Aaron Severson, "Way of the Wedge: The Triumph TR7 and TR8", Ate Up With Motor, 5 Feb 2012, pp. 1–5, p. 2, the Magna chosen, July 1971; Triumph to engineer it; p. 4, the convertible's prototype; p. 2; p. 4; p. 2, the Magna: notchback wedge, side line, targa roof, bumpers; July 1971; King and Stokes. ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/triumph-tr7-tr8 Reference
  2. Keith Adams, "The Cars: Triumph TR7/TR8 development story", AROnline, updated 8 Feb 2024, Mann's studio; the board's choice; the full-size mock-ups; the board's choice; the restyle; "slashed down the side of the car …". aronline.co.uk/cars/triumph/tr7-tr8/bullet-development-story Reference
  3. Richard Gunn, "Obituary: Harris Mann 1938–2023", AROnline, 15 Aug 2023, the 2005 interview; Duple; the Zanda, 1969; the 2005 interview, "It was also intended to be a Targa roof …"; the 2005 interview, "Before I looked at the TR7 …"; the 2005 interview, "The engine was another tragedy …"; his death, 2023, aged 85. aronline.co.uk/people/harris-mann Reference
  4. Malcolm Paris (compiler), "Triumph TR7 / TR7 V8 and TR8 Buyers Guide", TR Register, the stylist. tr-register.co.uk/resources/buyers-guide/triumph-tr7-tr8 Reference
  5. Chris Turner (credited by the club), "The Works Triumph TR7 V8 Rally Cars" and the car pages (group), TR Drivers Club, the stylist. trdrivers.com/articles21/rallyhistory.html Reference
  6. TR Drivers Club, Harris Mann Prints, honorary president. trdrivers.com/harrismann21.html Reference

Contents