[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-main-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”Open Sans|800|||||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”36px” custom_margin=”||5px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-intro” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Open Sans|300|||||||” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Triumph\u2019s in-house stylist, John Ashford, had big ideas when it came to expanding the TR7 into a whole range of different cars. Five decades on, he explains why it wasn\u2019t to be<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/01\/CCW-LEAD-TR7-Interview-1.jpg” title_text=”CCW-LEAD-TR7 Interview-1″ module_class=”fp-lead-img” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
‘I wasn\u2019t too heavily involved in the original design of the Triumph TR7 \u2013 my involvement really began on the Sprint version,\u2019 says John Ashford, still Birmingham-based after a working lifetime at the heart of the British car industry.<\/p>\n
\u2018That said, I did contribute the bonnet vents, depressing them into the metal rather than having them standing proud \u2013 I remember wanting to do it that way because it solved airflow issues over the windscreen.\u2019<\/p>\n
Tantalisingly Ashford reveals details of a mid-engined Triumph TR proposal he made in April 1969. Around the time of the TR7\u2019s development, Triumph engineers were running a new Porsche 914 to evaluate it and while Ashford admits that it was never intended for production, it was certainly part of a maelstrom of ideas for the TR7 that circulated before BL management brought Harris Mann in.<\/p>\n
\u2018At Triumph, we were working on our own version of the TR7 before Harris arrived,\u2019 Ashford recalls. \u2018At that time, it was a more straightforward development of the TR6 and didn\u2019t have a wedge shape.<\/p>\n
\u2018Two models were made \u2013 a Targa version and a closed coup\u00e9, like the Stag but with removable hard-top panels in its T-roof. At the front it looked a bit like how the original Volkswagen Golf would end up, with a rectangular grille with open headlamps at each end.<\/p>\n
\u2018It was in existence when I joined Triumph in 1968 \u2013 they were working on it even as the TR6 was launched. It was done by Les Moore \u2013 whether Giovanni Michelotti was also involved, I don\u2019t know \u2013 but people were talking about that particular design not going ahead even in 1968. In the end, BL management chose Harris Mann\u2019s proposal \u2013 a clean break with the past, aimed squarely at the American market.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/01\/CCW-LEAD-TR7-Interview-2.jpg” title_text=”KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA” module_class=”fp-image” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Ashford with the four-seater Triumph Lynx \u2013 a production-ready replacement for the Stag.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″ custom_padding=”0px|||||”]<\/p>\n
\u2018But the TR7 range was originally intended to be much larger. There was actually a point where the basic eight-valve model would have been an MG, to replace the \u2019B,\u2019 he explains. \u2018One of the prototypes was built with MG badges but it became a Triumph during the development process.<\/p>\n
\u2018I devised the Lynx four-seater fastback, and there was also a proposal to do a two-plus-two convertible, the Broadside, using Lynx panels. But because of problems with cash within British Leyland and with the Speke factory itself the whole Lynx and Broadside project was canned just at the stage when it was due to go into production.\u2019<\/p>\n
Ashford shares further details of how he intended the TR7 to evolve. With Harris Mann no longer involved, Ashford responded to criticism of the original car\u2019s plunging swage line by removing it. His more barrel-sided creations owe more to David Bache\u2019s contemporary Rover SD1, using its doorhandles and, in the case of the Broadside, its rear light clusters too.<\/p>\n
Ashford thinks back to the mid-Seventies, and the plans at Longbridge regarding the future of BL\u2019s various marques. \u2018Talk at the time was that the Lynx would replace the Stag because its production run had been more limited than expected,\u2019 he recalls. \u2018Both Broadside and Lynx would be Stag replacements \u2013 the Stag was originally intended to be built in convertible and coup\u00e9 forms, too, but in the end the hard-top version remained a one-off.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/01\/CCW-LEAD-TR7-Interview-9.jpg” title_text=”CCW-LEAD-TR7 Interview-9″ module_class=”fp-image” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
The TR7 2.0 was intended to replace the MGB \u2013 but Lord Stokes declined.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-quote-bold” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” text_font_size=”20px” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018There was a real design challenge around open cars at the time because there was talk of withdrawing them completely from the US market\u2019<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
\u2018There was going to be a range of engines, with Rover V8-engined versions as Stag replacements and a four-cylinder Lynx to replace the \u2019B GT. But at the time Lord Stokes decided that there was no future for the MG brand so all of BL\u2019s future sports cars would be Triumphs.\u2019<\/p>\n
Unlike the TR7, though, BL was bold enough to devise the Broadside as a T-roofed, canvas-topped convertible. \u2018There was a real design challenge around open cars at the time because there was talk of withdrawing them completely from the US market,\u2019 says Ashford. \u2018But while there were these ongoing safety concerns there was also a lot of doubt as to what should be done. The cars we were selling in the US market had enormous bumper overriders, which were the result of a lot of caution rather than meeting any exact legislation.<\/p>\n
\u2018Things were very ambiguous during both TR7 and Lynx development. We\u2019d always wanted to see a proper convertible TR7 \u2013 the TR6 had always been an open car \u2013 but Harris Mann\u2019s design had started out as a metal-roofed coup\u00e9. The eventual convertible was an afterthought, albeit a popular one. Michelotti\u2019s name was mentioned in connection with it but he used to do a lot of prototyping work for Triumph even if he hadn\u2019t done the design work himself. He was trusted to realise cars in three dimensions.\u2019<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
As well as creating the Lynx and Broadside, Ashford was also tasked with creating the TR7\u2019s sense of identity, especially on the much-touted but short-lived 1977 16-valve Sprint-engined variant, which went from range mainstay to Group 4 rally homologation special thanks to BL cost-cutting rationalisation.<\/p>\n
\u2018I created the \u201cSprint Stripe\u201d, which ran the length of the car,\u2019 says Ashford. \u2018The requirement from Triumph was to take away emphasis from the TR7\u2019s side-scallop, which wasn\u2019t well-liked, as well as to differentiate the Sprint from the ordinary TR7.\u2019<\/p>\n
Ashford is credited with the body graphics used across the TR7 range, but latterly admits that the design wasn\u2019t really his: \u2018We always had our eye on the United States export market, and our importer, Bruce McWilliams, had a big say in Triumph\u2019s marketing \u2013 the American point of view was very important to them.<\/p>\n
\u2018The tape graphics on the TR7, including that open-font lettering, were actually designed by his wife, Gertrude \u2018Jimmy\u2019 McWilliams. Thing was, she actually worked as a graphic designer for General Motors at the time so they were passed to me and I had the job of working them into the TR7\u2019s shape. I turned them italic in order to look right on the car.\u2019<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/01\/CCW-LEAD-TR7-Interview-3.jpg” title_text=”CCW-LEAD-TR7 Interview-3″ module_class=”fp-image” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
John Ashford\u2019s design sketch dated April 1969 of a mid-engined TR proposal.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Like Harris Mann, John Ashford has misgivings about the initial engine choices for the TR7, although he explains why it ended up the way it did: \u2018The problem with the Rover V8 was that it couldn\u2019t be made in the quantity required for TR7 sales. It had been the same issue with the Stag. Longbridge talked about putting the Rover V8 in the Lynx for the US market, but it would have had the Sprint engine, too, primarily for the European market.<\/p>\n
\u2018The Rover V8 was a natural fit for the car especially in the American export market. It was a GM engine originally, from the Buick Skylark, and when Triumph finally put it in the TR7 it modified it further, altering the carburation and fuel systems. The resulting TR8 was compared to the Corvette, but the Chevrolet was only really envisioned to sell in the US. I don\u2019t think the TR7 was influenced by any other car.\u2019<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shape of things that could have been\u2026Triumph\u2019s in-house stylist, John Ashford, had big ideas when it came to expanding the TR7 into a whole range of different cars. Five decades on, he explains why it wasn\u2019t to be’I wasn\u2019t too heavily involved in the original design of the Triumph TR7 \u2013 my involvement really began […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":519,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"akindell","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":546,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542\/revisions\/546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}