Lot 122: Triumph TR8 Convertible

The Triumph TR8 was a V8 version of the Triumph TR7 sports car, manufactured by British Leyland (BL) who later morphed into Jaguar/Rover/Triumph (JRT). Because of its outstanding performance, the TR8 was often dubbed the "English Corvette". The majority of TR8s were sold in the United States and very few genuine TR8's exist outside the USA, except for pre-production examples. The Rally TR8, driven by Tony Pond with Fred Gallagher in the navigators seat, was actually a TR7 V8, with many TR8 components. The TR7 is often converted to a TR7V8 with the same ubiquitous Rover 3.5 litre V8 power-plant used in original factory TR8s . In Australia a popular TR7V8 conversion is to use the 4416 cm� version of this engine that had been developed for the Leyland P76.A V8 version of the TR7 was always planned, with a prototype being built as far back as 1972, but financial limitations and labour problems delayed the project. Eventually some 145 cars were built with V8 engines (predominately automatic) and no TR8 identifying badges. These cars were evaluated, on behalf of British Leyland, by various dealers and then sold off as used cars. In 1980, the Drophead version was added and accounted for the majority of later TR8s.Total world-wide production of the TR8 is thought to be around 2720, the vast majority being left hand drive but offered here is one of only eighteen genuine, factory built, right-hand drive TR8's built in 1980/1981. This example having been originally supplied to the Quality Control and Reliability dept of British Leyland, based in Solihull, Birmingham, was eventually released to the public in the early eighties. It is offered complete with a British Motor Heritage Trust certificate to confirm its provenance and is also supplied with bills and invoices dating back to 1984 and MoT certificates from 1988.Originally finished in Pendelican white, the car was colour changed, to graphite metallic, early in its life but was restored to its original colour scheme in 1998, including the engine bay. During this re-paint, the car also received new door skins as part of a cosmetic restoration.This piece of British Motoring history has covered around 3000 miles since the repaint by way of a few hundred miles each summer and a mere 34200 miles in total. This is made up of 6541 miles on the original speedometer and 27700 on the current speedometer. The car is well known among members of the Drivers Club and has been featured in various books and magazines.