STAG VALUES SET TO SOAR!

This fabulous V8-powered GT is still in the affordable bracket, but you must be picky

AV8 engine and a four-seater convertible is an intoxicating mix – and it’s also one that’s far less common than you might think. Most usually associated with marques such as Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz or Aston Martin, the familyfriendly V8 drop-top tends to be very expensive to buy and run. But thanks to Triumph there’s an alternative that looks stylish, sounds fabulous and can be bought for surprisingly little cash... at the moment.

For the same sort of money as a tidy six-pot Rover P5 or four-cylinder Capri you could have a four-seater convertible that’s fast, comfortable and practical – and far more reliable than its reputation would have you believe.

The Stag was launched in June 1970 with a 3.0-litre V8 that was unique to this car. Buyers could choose between manual or automatic transmissions while a hard top was available at extra cost. North American sales started a year later then in October 1972 overdrive became a standard fitment for all cars with a manual gearbox. A Stag MkII arrived in February 1973 but changes were slight. The tail panel and sills were now matt black and there was fresh instrumentation while a hardtop was now included in the price. The wheel trims became all-silver in place of the previous silver and black items and the rear three-quarter windows were deleted from the soft-top. The overdrive was also switched from an A-Type to a J-Type. Within a couple of months alloy wheels had replaced wires on the options list then, in July 1973, the Stag was withdrawn from the US.

There wasn’t a lot more development of the Stag before it went out of production in June 1977. Although air-con had been offered as an option it was withdrawn in March 1975 then a year later, the Borg-Warner Type 35 automatic transmission was superseded by the Type 65 unit. But within a year the Stag had been killed off after just 25,939 had been built.