Today started out dark & rainy, and I’ve been meaning to take the old TR out for a rip in the country and down to the banks of the Thames... But the old girl looks so clean in the garage, perhaps a few beauty shots first.
This is the 1978 Triumph TR7 V8 (TR8, really, but entered as such for marketing reasons), as driven to 4th overall in the RAC Rally GB that year by Tony Pond and codriver Fred Gallagher. But that 4th place doesn’t tell the whole story, as the ever-sideways Pond’s drive through the ranks was transcendent after suffering a setback early on due to a stuck handbrake.
Before the Audi quattro changed the face of rallying, the thundering 300hp Triumph found some success against the ubiquitous Mk2 Escorts, as well as a Stratos and Porsche or two. Apparently a difficult beast to tame, Pond was the best of its pilots. I can hear that Rover V8 murmuring, gaining temperature... and now, it seems, it’s time for that rip.
The model is in 1/43 from Corgi’s Vanguards line, and was part of the excellent Secret Super I received from XJDano. It’s really a nice little piece, and rolls well so perhaps panning shots are in its future. The packaging is great too, and came with a very informative little fold-out on the car. I really dig it, and will have to look for more of these.
Cool, huh? I always liked these little wedges from childhood, one lived up the street from us when I was a kid. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I do, thanks again to XJDano for an awesome find!