Car of the week: Triumph Stag

History has taught us that putting the UK and the US together in any scenario is typically not the best idea; however, blending a UK chassis and manufacturer with a V8 engine, designed for the American market, makes one of the most beautiful yet unreliable cars around.

Surprisingly, given the name of the car brand, the Triumph Stag wasn’t necessarily a triumph when it was originally released. It was intended to be Britain’s Italian-designed open-topped GT V8, which had the recipe for success, but, stag-eringly, it sold poorly in the US markets, its target demographic.

Styled by Giovanni Michelotti, who also contributed to the designs of the Alpine A110, Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale, Maserati 3500GT, and most notably, his most beautiful creation, the Leyland National Bus, the Triumph was crafted to rival the Mercedes-Benz SL class models. When it comes to style, it’s hard to find fault.

Mechanically, though, this car could not compete with its German rival. The car was initially intended to have a 2.0-liter 6-cylinder engine, which was then intended to be uprated to a 2.5-liter for production models. However, the director of engineering at Triumph then decided that he wanted the Stag to have Triumph’s very own overhead cam 2.5-liter fuel-injected V8.

The car in this state, unfortunately, didn’t meet the emission standards of the US market, which is wild given their obsession with coal rolling, and therefore, they had to opt for dual Zenith-Stromberg 175 CDSE carburetors instead of the mechanical fuel injection system.

There were several other changes made to the original engine designed for the car during its production, and alongside other cost-cutting efforts, we ended up with the famously unreliable Triumph Stag.

The cooling systems in place were shocking, given the specs of the car, with a poorly located water pump, angled head studs, and design flaws that would lead to head gasket failures. The V8 in the Stag was therefore one of the worst V8s that ever saw production, and ultimately led to poor sales in the US.

However, despite its disappointing launch and mechanical nightmares, the Stag has formed its own cult following.

With the wide availability of parts for the car, alongside its gorgeous styling, the car became a passion project for many motoring fanatics who were determined to turn this gorgeous but unreliable car into the masterpiece Triumph originally intended. Which feels like the automotive equivalent of girls saying they can “fix him”.

Top speed	120 mph
0-60 mph	10.4 seconds
How many units were sold	25,877
Cost when new	£1,995
What percent of Triumph Stags had the original V8 replaced with the Rover V8?	99.98%

Triumph Stag

The Triumph Stag is therefore our car of the week, as I saw a flawless example of one whilst on a walk in the Peaks and was left speechless. Which leads me to end on a lesson that will never be taught in your average fairytales; sometimes beauty is more important than substance.

“Triumph Stag” by Daisy Rumbold.