We all know that BL wanted to develop the TR7 into a family of sporting cars to fully replace the GT6, TR6, MGB and Stag – and that Bullet and Lynx only went part way towards achieving that goal.
Gene Thompson thought so too, and fired up his copy of Paint Shop Pro to produce these stunning proposals. Wouldn’t it be great if Nanjing Automotive (or whoever PwC sells MG Rover to), dust off the coolest retro design BL produced in the Seventies and came up with something like these for the renaissance of MG Rover?
One can dream…
Re-defining an icon…
IT IS obvious that Gene Thompson is obviously pretty handy with his graphics package, as well as being able to turn his hand at the art of producing good advertising copy. His lifelong dream, it seems is to see a healthy and viable Triumph car company return to the motoring scene. His advertising pipedream (above) certainly demonstrates just how much he wants the dream to become reality – and just how much that dream of a modern TR7 stands up to scrutiny even today.
All we’ll say on the matter is that the Triumph TR8A looks like one hell of a car, and if the company ever came back to produce it, we’ll add our names to the waiting list. Especially given its SD1-style indicators. Respect…
Still, the TR8A can wait for another day – how about some alternative TR7s to play with?
Alternative TR7s
More Safety – faster
Gene tells us in his own words, why he’s produced these designs for austin-rover.co.uk…
I’ve been afflicted with Triumphilia since I first saw a Stag many years ago. In the past 30 years I’ve had one sort of Triumph or other in my driveway most of the time. Currently I have an ’81 TR8 and really love it.
Of course, part of the enjoyment comes from the controversial nature of the car. While the convertible styling has held up pretty well and most people I talk to don’t believe it’s a 25 year old car, the coupe still seems to induce some eye-rolling. (That’s good – it’s certainly more interesting than driving an invisible MX5.)
Having seen the various styling proposals for the TR7/8 on your site and other places on the Web, I often found myself saying, “What on earth were they thinking?! Even I could have done better than that!” I finally fired up Paint Shop Pro and gave it a shot. I’ve attached a zip file with some tweaked TR7s and a TR8. I got a little carried away with the background for the TR8, then decided it looked like something one might see in an ad, so I coughed up some purple prose in the style of the times and wrote some copy. Pointless but kinda fun…”
Is the Editor of the Parkers website and price guide, formerly editor of Classic Car Weekly, and launch editor/creator of Modern Classics magazine. Has contributed to various motoring titles including Octane, Practical Classics, Evo, Honest John, CAR magazine, Autocar, Pistonheads, Diesel Car, Practical Performance Car, Performance French Car, Car Mechanics, Jaguar World Monthly, MG Enthusiast, Modern MINI, Practical Classics, Fifth Gear Website, Radio 4, and the the Motoring Independent...
Likes 'conditionally challenged' motors and taking them on unfeasible adventures all across Europe.
- Concepts and prototypes : Hyundai/Rover Oden (1992) - 9 November 2023
- Opinion : So, maybe the Montego was the best they could do… - 8 November 2023
- The cars : Austin Montego (LM11) development story - 7 November 2023
Be the first to comment