Favorite car advertisement: 1975 Triumph TR7 | Daily Drive | Consumer Guide® The Daily Drive
1975 Triumph TR7
Even though I read car magazines in 1975, I still remember more clearly the TV ads for the Triumph TR7 than those in print. That said, I do recall the ads in print, and they had a profound impact on my development as a car player.
Unless you’re there — and can make an impression — it’s going to be difficult to gauge the TR7’s impact on me and my car-loving friends. Two years before we see Star Wars For the first time, the TR7 has redefined what a modern sports car looks like — and it looks good.
It’s also a good thing that the TR7 looks great, as it’s not particularly fast and it soon got a reputation for being unreliable. But since I don’t have the money to buy one, I’m not too worried about the repair cost, I just want to see the car.
Fortunately, the Chicago suburb where I spent my formative years was literally filled with angular victories. So much so that a friend named Chris found plenty of opportunities to spot TR7 and, annoyingly, point and scream, “Shape of things to come.”
Yellow seemed to be the most popular color back then, although we also saw a lot of white. In 1979, Triumph produced a 3.5-liter V8 under its sports hood and renamed it TR8.
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1975 Triumph TR7 Ad
Despite being rated at just 135 hp, the TR8 still boasts attention-grabbing performance. Most buff books report the ‘8’s 0-60 mph performance in about 8 seconds, fast by late Seventies standards.
To my eyes, the TR7 and TR8 still look great, and it’s easy to gauge how the car captured the attention of young enthusiasts of the day. According to the ad, the TR7 offers “… endless fun at an affordable price.” Probably. But even if it has spent a lot of time at the store, your neighbors are probably still quite jealous.
