The Triumph Stag is a 2+2 sports tourer manufactured by the Triumph Motor Company between 1970 and 1977, styled by Italian automotive designer Giovanni Michelotti.
As a long-time friend of Michelotti, Harry Webster, director of engineering and development at Triumph, first discovered the Italian’s talents when he was chief stylist of Turin-based specialist coach builder, Vignale. After Michelotti had left to set up his own design studio and designed many of Triumph’s models, Harry received a request from Michelotti in 1965 to supply him with a Triumph 2000, so that he could do a styling piece for the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show.
Harry absolutely loved the design when he saw it, as did the Triumph directors. In the summer of 1966 the car was collected from Turin and driven back to Coventry and the Stag was born. ‘Stag’ was the original code-name given to the model during development, but was adopted as the actual name because it was preferred to all alternatives submitted for consideration.
The car that arrived at Canley, a two-door drop head, had little in common with the styling of its progenitor 2000. However, it retained that car’s suspension and drive line and the design was taken forward to production by the engineers at Triumph who subsequently added the T-bar arrangement to cure the scuttle shake of the original open car.
During its seven-year production run, 25,939 examples were made, of which 17,819 were UK registered. Car registration BOL 88V – a Java Green example and the last Triumph Stag to come off the production line – remains on display at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire.
NUG 290P was built on 27th October, 1975 and subsequently dispatched to A. Farnell Ltd in Yorkshire, where it received its first registration on 13th February, 1976. It left Triumph’s Canley facility fitted with a tinted laminated windscreen, a removable hardtop, overdrive, inertia-reel seatbelts and a set of five alloy wheels shod with 185 x 14 Michelin XAS tyres.
Since then, the car has been lovingly used by no less than 13 keepers with the current owner acquiring the car on 23rd June, 2016.
In November 2017 (at around 100,000 miles), the car received a reconditioned V8 engine to replace the original unit. A little over 600 miles have been added to the odometer in the intervening years, mainly enjoying the sights and sounds of the New Forest.
A new soft-top was fitted to the refurbished frame in June 2018 and the car received a new alternator in July this year. The car is offered with an MoT until 27th of April, 2022 and the KrookLok which resides in the boot.
A comprehensive file of supporting documents will accompany the sale of the car. They include the V5C, the valid MoT, the refurbished engine paperwork, a leather-foldered drivers’ handbook, a British Motoring Heritage Trust factory record certificate and interestingly, an original sales brochure and colour and trim palette for the 1975 Triumph Stag. Various service, maintenance and parts documents are also available.
The interior presents in reasonable condition throughout, with an expected degree of wear and tear commensurate with its mileage and 46 years of age.
As mentioned, the soft-top frame was refurbished and received a new covering in 2018, but has rarely been subject to sunlight and remains in as-new condition. The seat coverings, carpets and door cards are in good order. However, the underside of the removable hardtop had received a significant tear and may be something the new owner could address, along with the small tears in the driver’s seat covering.
All lights and instruments are said to be in good working order and the boot which houses the fifth and spare alloy is in tidy condition.
The exterior is in good condition and again, is commensurate with its age. There is pitting on the front and rear bumpers but, by and large, the car gleams in the sunlight. There are a few issues with the bodywork, namely on the lower edges of the removable hardtop and these are pictured in the gallery.
The leading end of the driver’s side door still has a rust spot that will require attention in the near future, but, as stated, the exterior of the car presents rather well and the soft-top hood is in as new condition.
The alloy wheels are in good order and appear scuff-free and the chrome trims along the lower edge of both flanks are in very good condition, considering their vulnerable location.
As reported, a reconditioned V8 engine was fitted in November, 2017 as recommended by an earlier MoT advisory. Since that time, only 600 miles have been driven in the car by the current owner, mainly pootling around the New Forest.
Repositioning the car for the photos in the gallery, the writer can report that the car holds a good idle after a cold start and sounded in very good order, with the steering, brakes, clutch and (fortunately!) The handbrake is all in good working order.
Who doesn’t love a convertible? True roofless aficionados know there are many reasons for having one on your driveway but, bragging rights aside, most are sensory. Exposed as you are to nature’s elements, there is the heightened sense of motion as scenery rushes by and the fragrance of fresh open air as dappled shade flickers across your Ray-Bans.
The many surviving Stag examples appear to be almost exclusively lovingly cared-for and there is a wealth of information and technical support available on the Triumph Stag Owners Club website, the members of which are as knowledgeable and enthusiastic as they come.
In the all-too-brief time the writer spent in and around the car, it was easy to comprehend the passion that continues unabated for true Brit-grit motoring.
There can be little doubt that ‘Miss Carmine’ will be a worthy addition to any new home willing to look after her and keep her in the manner to which she has become accustomed over the past four-and-a-half decades.
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1975 Triumph Stag
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