Triumph Stag
Triumph Stag
The Triumph Stag was a car sold between 1970 and 1977 by the British Triumph Motor Company. It featured sharp styling by the Italian designer Michelotti.
Not quite a sports car, the Stag was more of a gentleman's sports tourer, somewhat like a Mercedes-Benz SL class or a British Ford Thunderbird. All Stags were four-seater convertible coupés; for structural rigidity, 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 Stag.
The car was developed from the Triumph 2000, but ended up having little in common with its progenitor, or indeed any other Triumph or British Leyland vehicle. Even its engine was unique, being a new Triumph single overhead cam, all-aluminium V8 of 3.0 litres derived by doubling Triumph's SOHC straight-4. The other V8 in the newly-formed BL, the Rover V8 engine, won out over the Triumph unit for future cars. As in the 2000, 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 two years late in 1970 to a fairly warm welcome, which soon turned sour at 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 were due to corrosion of the aluminium heads causing blockages and overheating. Allegedly the owners' manual omitted that aluminium engines require antifreeze in all seasons to inhibit such corrosion. Many owners actually adopted a popular conversion of the car to use the Rover V8 engine unit in preference to the Triumph one, but in recent times such conversions fetch lower prices than a genuine Triumph-engined car because of the lack of originality, and the fact that in modern times many of the original engine problems have now been solved by better knowledge and modern aftermarket products.
Perhaps thanks to such a reputation for trouble, only 25,877 cars were produced between 1970-1977. Most were fitted with a Borg-Warner 3-speed automatic transmission. Of this number, 6,780 were export models, of which only 2,871 were to the United States. Two models were produced, the MkI (1971-1973) and MkII (1973-1977).
Nowadays a Stag is a fairly desirable classic car, with sizeable club and owner support, a number of specialist suppliers, and reasonably strong prices. About 9,000 Stags are believed to survive in the United Kingdom, and an unknown number elsewhere. The car's popularity is possibly due to its comparitive rarity, its uniqueness, and that while susceptible to engine problems is reputed to be lacking in the rust and electrical problems that beset many British cars of the period.
References
- Poole, C. (2004). Genteel Tourer: The Story of the 1970-77 Triumph Stag. Collectible Automobile, October 2004, 52-61.
