Stag James Bond Stag!

[Basil]

I'm sitting here watching Diamonds are forever and James Bond is driving a Triumph Stag. I never noticed that before. Cool car - like a Spitfire on steriods!

Basil

 

[piman]

Hello Basil,

yes a nice car, but not at all like a Spitfire.
Based on the 2000 sedan, originally a personal project car of Michelloti who styled the sedan for Triumph. Triumph liked this so much that they decided to produce it.
What killed the Stag was rushed or insufficient development, and poor quality control.
Certainly a nice car if you get a sorted one, although, for me, too few made with manual transmission. Lovely sounding V8 engine.

Alec

 

[Basil]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by piman:
Hello Basil,

yes a nice car, but not at all like a Spitfire.
Based on the 2000 sedan, originally a personal project car of Michelloti who styled the sedan for Triumph. Triumph liked this so much that they decided to produce it.
What killed the Stag was rushed or insufficient development, and poor quality control.
Certainly a nice car if you get a sorted one, although, for me, too few made with manual transmission. Lovely sounding V8 engine.

Alec

<hr></blockquote>

I know its an entirely different car from a Spitfire, but it does remind me of an over-sized Spit, expecially from the back where the tail lights look very Spitfire-like. Just my opinion.

Basil

 

[Sherlock]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr> Basil said:
I know its an entirely different car from a Spitfire, but it does remind me of an over-sized Spit, expecially from the back where the tail lights look very Spitfire-like. Just my opinion.
<hr></blockquote>

Ahhh good old badge engineering, which came first? the chicken or the egg?

It has occured to me before as well, but the Stag definitely came first, then Triumph likely re-designed the rear end of the Spitfire shell to look like a miniature Stag.

Also don't forget, except for size of the vehicle, the MG Midget and MGB look virtually identical from the rear end (not saying there aren't any detail differences), and if I'm not mistaken the MG Midget hit the market about a year before the MGB.

So it's nothing new...

 

[tony barnhill]

didn't it have something to do with Michelotti designing the Stag & then getting the contract to redesign the Spitfire?

 

[78Z]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by tony barnhill:
didn't it have something to do with Michelotti designing the Stag & then getting the contract to redesign the Spitfire?<hr></blockquote>

He styled a lot of Triumphs including the orig Spitfire. The TR6 was styled by Karmenn of Germany though.

 

[Geo Hahn]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by piman:
...Certainly a nice car if you get a sorted one, although, for me, too few made with manual transmission...<hr></blockquote>

Here's one that may fit that criteria...

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6469&item=2455445068

Won't be cheap. If my memory serves it was originally out there requesting an $18K opening bid.

I'm not a Stag owner, photos can deceive, etc -- but this one certainly looks like the real deal.

 

[UltimateQuestion]

The description says that over $76,000 Canadian was spent on the restoration!

Sure looks nice though.

 

[KLUTZ]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Geo Hahn:


Here's one that may fit that criteria...


I'm not a Stag owner, photos can deceive, etc -- but this one certainly looks like the real deal.<hr></blockquote>

I am not 100% sure, but I think around 98% that this is the car rebuilt by John at LNER in Newmarket Ontario. If this is the same auto... YES..I have seen it.. it is the real deal. It is stunning. I saw it a year ago, almost finnished, and it ended up that the owner could not pay for it. And yes. The $$$ is accurate as it was verrified by another source I know.
I am not an expert on STAGS, but this is one I would surly love to have.

[ 01-31-2004: Message edited by: Basil ]</p>

 

[MDCanaday]

The real question about stags is why the heck Leyland had to build such a dreadfull motor when they had the 3.5 Rover v8.????? A band of idiots could hardly have done worse. The idea of a motor with 1/2 the reliability of a TR7 is hard to fathom.
MD(mad dog)

 

[Dale]

Hey Mad Dog long time!
Have heard many Triumph fans wonder the same thing about the Stag engine. Just Brit pride I think. The "Buick" not being a real Triumph engine and all. The TR7 having been around since 69 I believe when it was developed for Saab had an edge in terms of familiarity. I guess putting two together seemed natural enough making it half as good or twice as bad or whatever. It is the stuff of dreams to wonder what might have been, but I think the Japanese onslaught would have overtaken the market even if the Brits had scored 100% on engineering and marketing decisions. Too many economic and political aspects over which they had limited or no control.

 

[Dale]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Basil:
I'm sitting here watching Diamonds are forever and James Bond is driving a Triumph Stag. I never noticed that before. Cool car - like a Spitfire on steriods!

Basil<hr></blockquote>

If your watching the same perpetual Bond that I've been scoping check out the pretty white Herald convertible in (darn can't remember the title). One of the bad guy flunkies drives it to the Spectre guys place then gets tossed in the shark tank. What a way to go.

 

[Sherlock]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr> KLUTZ said: I am not 100% sure, but I think around 98% that this is the car rebuilt by John at LNER in Newmarket Ontario. If this is the same auto... YES..I have seen it.. it is the real deal. It is stunning. I saw it a year ago, almost finnished, and it ended up that the owner could not pay for it. And yes. The $$$ is accurate as it was verrified by another source I know.
I am not an expert on STAGS, but this is one I would surly love to have.
<hr></blockquote>

If you're story is true I think I know the owners (former owners?) of that car, I saw the car in December 2002 at our Saloon Car Club meeting in Milton, Ontario, when they drove it down to the meeting. At that point they were driving it around mid-winter for as many miles as it would take to break in the newly rebuilt engine (despite snow being on the ground), so I assume they don't let a car out of the shop if it's not paid for... But that was the only time I ever saw the car, and the last time I saw them was in March or April 2003, when they were still showing off pictures of their new Stag, at that time early in 2003 they also mentioned about some problems with the engine rebuild and that the car was back at LNR, and then I haven't seen them since.

Funny thing is, I never saw them around any shows all last summer and was curious why as I know they like to make it out to as many as possible. But the picture from December 2002 is of a yellow 1973 Stag, and I know they had the car restored through LNR, so I assume it must be the same car that's on E-Bay, I would have never made the connection without your comment. That's too bad to hear.

They were so proud of the car.

And having seen the car, I can confirm the above, that the car is in outstanding condition!

[ 01-25-2004: Message edited by: Sherlock ]</p>

 

[KLUTZ]

Somtimes I amaze myself Sherlock. The seller has now added a couple things to the listing as a result of many inquiries. Yes. It was done at LNER. I guess I was one of the lucky ones to have seen it too. Not, though, as lucky as the one who can afford it.
Paul

 

[StagByTriumph]

Okay, enough of this speculation

A Spitfire on steroids indeed. You have no idea until you drive one and stick your foot into it, blow through some twisty turns up a canyon or down the interstate. Take a Stag cross country versus taking a Spitty cross country - I'll take the comfort, performance and head turning style any day.

Engines:

First off, The Triumph V8 has no design issues that have not been resolved 100% to make it an absoultely excellent engine for the Stag. We have several Daily Drivers in the club, and many a Stag with over 100k miles on the original engine. Properly set up is is one of the sweetest, smoothest, torquiest V8's and it is exactly suited for the Stag chassis. We have one member who took the Stag engine to Harry Websters completed dream, that being installing a complete EFI setup with HEI ignition, no distributor. To say it is awesome is a complete understatement.
Second, There is a James Bond site showing the Diamonds Are Forever Stag at https://www.jamesbond007.net/vehicules/Stag.html and in the movie they dubbed a Herald exhaust note over the Stag because they did not want to show up the Aston Martin exhaust.

As to stuffing a Rover in the Stag, Spen King thought it was such a bad idea to put a rover in the Stag. He wanted the Triumph brand to have a Triumph V8 to put in their Saloon series of cars. But Rover wanted to dispose of the Triumph V8 because it was competition for their own Saloon cars, and for the day the Triumph V8 was advanced technology competition, old pushrod 1950's design versus late 1960's design. So Spen, unoficially, had his engineers shore up the Rover V8 in the test Stag so it would not fit under the hood, and styling engineers refused to add a typical Rover hump to clear the carburetors. Also, the Rover V8 is not as comfortable under the Stag hood. It is a rough idling vibrating engine that resonates throughout the chassis. Having said that, one of my Stags has a 225BHP EFI Rover 3.5 (kind of tweaked a little!), makes the Stag a real nasty growling animal.

So that Canadian Stag:

I wonder how crazy that owner was to stuff $75k Canadian into the car? And although it appears stunning, the chassis was not 100% restored, I talked to the seller. How the heck can you let a restoration go so crazy in cost?? Come on, someone was poking this guy without vaseline for all he was worth and then some. If I had to guess, I would say that was a scam.

[ 01-31-2004: Message edited by: StagByTriumph ]</p>

 

[vagt6]

Also, the car behind the Stag, just off the left rear. Is that a Delorean (DMC)?

 

[Basil]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by StagByTriumph:
A Spitfire on steroids indeed. You have no idea until you drive one and stick your foot into it, blow through some twisty turns up a canyon or down the interstate. Take a Stag cross country versus taking a Spitty cross country - I'll take the comfort, performance and head turning style any day.<hr></blockquote>

I did not mean to imply that the Stag and a Spit were the same cars. Indeed I suspect performace-wise the Stag and the Spit are as different in that regard as my 78 Spit is from my 67 XKE. I just meant that the Stag (from the rear mostly) reminds me of my Spit, only much bigger and meaner. You have to admit there are at least some styling cues the two share.

Cheers,
Basil

 

[Eric]

In England, many Stags were converted to Buick (Rover) V8's when the old ones were blowing heads. Now that the cooling issues are easily and reliably resolvable, people are putting the Triumph V8's back in. I've read a comparison test (Practical Classics, IIRC), and the Triumph engined car handled better and behaved like a proper European motor, while the Buick was a better 'grunter', befitting it's 'colonial' heritage.

From everything I've read, a well done Stag is as reliable as any 70's car, and a lovely grand tourer. I've never driven one, but I did hear one running at the shop where I found my GT6. Pure aural s*x!

 

[StagByTriumph]

Well Basil, it is sort of like any other brand styling, you sort of get the Triumph family genes in all the designs, just like Jaguars , Beemers, Fords and Chevy's. But you know, sometimes the milk man sneaks in and changes the lineage.

So those family genes happened to be Michelotti's.

 

[waltesefalcon]

Hi Everybody,

I agree that the rear end of the Stag and the redesigned Spitfire's look very similar. Sadly in my opinion the rear end of the later Spit's was thier worst feature almost grafted on to the design. I think it looks much better on the Stag, especially with the front end being very similarly styled.

Cheers,

Walter