Anybody remember these. I wanted one so bad when I was younger. I haven't seen one on the road in decades.

The shape of things to come.

I remember them well and certainly never wanted one... I did however want a TR6!

I remember my Dad was very against me getting one (I was in high school at the time).

My boss had one. He couldn't wait to get rid of it after a string of issues.

And yeah, I always wanted one.

The sports car that looked fast but wasn't.

We never had these here, and even if they did, I would want one. Who wants a car that looks fast but isn't? That's as bad as buying a 911 Turbo and keeping it in a garage forever, never driving the thing.

Well... at least you'd have the satisfaction of knowing that the 911 Turbo could go fast... with the Tr7, you'd be better off keeping it in a garage forever.

The late V8's were reasonably quick, and in soft top form not bad looking.

Model Triumph TR7 V8
Engine 3528cc, V8 OHV
Power 133bhp @ 5000rpm
Torque 174lb ft @ 3000rpm
Top speed 135mph
0-60mph 7.7sec
Fuel consumption 21mpg
Gearbox Five-speed manual

Still went rusty though.

Even the V8s were crap. 133 bhp from a big V8 ? That is horrible. 7.7 seconds 0-60 is not fast.

They had terrible reliability and poor longevity.

I remember the ads for them, and thought they looked cool, but was young enough that I didn't really check the stats. The Fiat X1/9 was the same in being a car that looked fast but wasn't. But then, in the late '70s through the '90s, most cars weren't really fast. I think the '79 Mustang would do 0-60 in about 7 seconds with the V-8, same with the Camaros of the day.

If you ever want a some '80s weak-performance nostalgia, look up the MotorWeek Retro Reviews on YouTube - they say things like "this car is quick, able to hit 60 miles per hour in less than 8 seconds..." It's all relative, I guess, and things have been steadily improving. My '04 Mustang GT could hit 60 in 5.5 seconds, my '14 could do it in 4.5 seconds, and my '18 can do it in 4.

When I was 16 I bought a 1974 Ford Mustang (another car my Dad said not to buy). It had a V8 with an automatic 3 speed transmission. Thing ran at ridiculously high RPM's and was not fast at all. It ran hot all the time due to a poor designed cooling system. It was my first lesson in what kind of car not to buy.

#%&*$# thing was a tank though. I got t-boned by an idiot and I was able to walk way.

I remember them, and their allure, but not for me. I never liked the shape.

I was a Ford Capri fan though, and I eventually got one when I was 21, my first car. Best car I ever had, I liked it so much I owned it twice

Of course, my actual dream car is an Aston Martin DB5. But that's like, way out of my league.

I'd say my all-time favorite British car is the Lotus Esprit for obvious reasons. As a kid I had to settle for the Matchbox version.

Nobody has made and sold more awesome cars than Matchbox.

A friend of mine had a Capri. That little car had some zip to it.

I'm sure it wasn't the same style, being in the US, but one of my brothers had a Capri, which at the time was the Ford Mercury division of the Mustang, with a different grille and taillights, and a different engine (a turbo-4). His looked just like the one below, even the same color. What style was yours?

What happened to Mark G? I was sure we'd see the Fiero in this thread by now

I won't argue which is the best British or English car or marque (it's McLaren by the way)

But my favorite is certainly the McLaren F1. It's really on a different level. And not a Triumph competitor haha

Aston Martin and Land Rover get honorable mention

Yes that seems to be a very different style of car to the British Capri. I had heard there was a different "Capri" but never saw one, thanks.

I had a 2.0L Sport version, very similar to the pictured one here but a different colour. I want to say the paint trim was slightly different too - but I don't have any photos of it

Took it to 120MPH a couple of times. it was a beast

They were quite competitive for the era, at least as fast as a contemporary Corvette for example.

And the V8 is only 3.5 liter/215ci, and it's 135hp wasn't horrible considering that American big block performance cars with almost twice the displacement were then making under 200 horsepower.

DM, that looks very similar to my 1977 Toyota Celica GT. No pictures, unfortunately. The famous 22R engine was awesome.

That's what I was guessing, and I saw a few of those around when I was a kid, and always liked them. I always thought the '70s Mercury version of the Mustang should have been called Cougar because that's what was done in the '60s, and that would allow the Capri to be the car like you had.

LB4LB, one of my favorite cars from the early '80s was the Ceilca Supra, before they branched the Supra off as it's own vehicle. I think it's a nice looking car even by today's standards, but again, being in the '80s, its performance is lacking compared to what people expect today. I think my 2016 Mazda CX-5 might be close in performance.