Description
FOR SALE DIRECT FROM ITS OWNER
1974 TRIUMPH STAG RESTORED TO AN EXCEPTIONAL LEVEL BY MARQUE SPECIALIST.
DATE OF MANUFACTURE: 1974 | COLOUR: ORIGINAL FRENCH BLUE | INTERIOR TRIM: ORIGINAL BLACK INTERIOR
PART OF A PRIVATE COLLECTION NOW FOR SALE DIRECT FROM ITS OWNER
HISTORY OF THE TRIUMPH STAG
The Triumph Stag is a British car styled by the Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti, sold between 1970 and 1978 by the Triumph Motor Company.
Envisioned as a luxury sports car, the Triumph Stag was designed to compete directly with the Mercedes-Benz SL class models. All Stags were four-seater convertible coupés, but for structural rigidity - and to meet new American rollover standards at the time - the Stag required a B-pillar “roll bar” hoop connected to the windscreen frame by a T-bar. A removable hardtop was a popular factory option for the early Stags, and was later supplied as a standard fitment.
The car started as a styling experiment cut and shaped from a 1963-4 Triumph 2000 pre-production saloon, also styled by Michelotti, and loaned to him by Harry Webster, Director of Engineering at Triumph from the early to late 1960s. Triumph liked the Michelotti design so much that they propagated the styling lines of the Stag into the new T2000/ T2500 saloon and estate model lines of the 1970s.
Harry Webster had also already started development and testing of a new unique, all Triumph designed overhead cam (OHC) 2. 5 litre fuel injected (PI) V8 to be used in the Stag, large saloons and estate cars. The vision was to allow Triumph to compete in the V8 marketplace. Under the direction of Harry Webster’s replacement, Spen King in 1968, the new Triumph OHC 2. 5 PI V8 was enlarged to 2997 cc (3. 0 litre) to increase torque. The troublesome fuel injection was dropped in favour of dual Zenith-Stromberg 175 CDSE carburettors to meet emission standards in one of the target markets, the USA.
As in the Triumph 2000 model line, monocoque construction was employed, as was fully independent suspension – MacPherson struts in front, semi-trailing arms at the rear. Braking was by front disc and rear drum brakes, while steering was power-assisted rack and pinion.
The car was launched one year late in 1970, to a warm welcome at the various international auto shows, which soon turned sour after delivery to the market with reports of engine problems. Some of these were due to the perennial problem of poor build quality, endemic to the British motor industry of the time, while others related to design problems in the engine.
THIS ACTUAL CAR
Presented in the original factory delivered colour of French Blue paintwork, with matching hard top, complimented by original black interior, black carpets, and black mohair soft top.
Still retaining its original solid floor pans, chassis and many original body panels, with only a few corroded replacements correctly replaced by hand. The final paint and protection is in the stunning original shade of French Blue, as per the Heritage Certificate (on file). Mechanical upgrades include a hardened crankshaft, uprated water pump, radiator and the addition of Kenlowe fan and electronic ignition.
The owners association and love of the Triumph Stag goes back a long way.
