Triumph TR8 Convertible

Following the success of the rally-only TR7 V8 cars built between 1978-1980, a road-going TR8 became available from 1980. These powerful sports cars were built primarily for the US market, although a handful were released in Britain, being available in both convertible and hardtop coupe versions.

Standard specification included the 3.5-litre Rover V8 engine which produced around 135bhp and could propel the car to 60mph in just over 8 seconds. Only around 2,750 were made in total, the vast majority of which went to America, and today a genuine TR8 is a rare find although many four-cylinder TR7s have been converted to TR8 spec and can be quite convincing!

There is no doubting the provenance of this particular car which is a rare right-hand drive 5-speed manual convertible – one of only around 18 right-hand drive TR8 convertibles ever made by the factory. As its Heritage Certificate confirms, it was built on 25th April 1980 and was first owned by British Leyland. Well known to the TR Register, it is widely accepted to be the very first pre-production prototype and was used as a mobile test bed to develop the cars which were to follow.

As part of the testing process it successfully completed the 1980 London-Land’s End-John O’ Groat’s-London run in 1980, being driven by BL staff. After a couple of years in BL ownership it was sold to Bole Mead Garage of Tamworth who put it into storage.

In 1985 the current vendor acquired the car from Bole Mead and it has been in his family ever since. Said to be totally original in all respects apart from the fitment of stainless steel exhausts, it has covered just 37,000 miles from new. Currently taxed and with an MOT until June 2012, it is said to drive beautifully with a very fruity exhaust note and an exhilarating turn of speed.

This car has been featured in many magazine articles and in an episode of the BBC’s Top Gear programme. An important piece of British motoring history, it comes with much documentation to verify its authenticity and would be a great addition to any collection.