Top 10: Survivors from the 1970s
The ’70s were tough times for Britain’s motor industry, with a drop in production and a dramatic rise in sales of imported cars throughout the decade. Set that against a backdrop of poor industrial relations and over-complicated model ranges, and it’s easy to see why companies like British Leyland had problems.
At the start of the ’70s, Britain was building more than 1.6 million cars annually – a figure that fell to less than a million by 1980. By it wasn’t all bad news, for the ’70s saw some all-time greats produced. Check out these figures for the ten top survivors, which include the ones still in use and those that are SORN’d.
Triumph TR6
3359 still registered in the UK
A total of 94,619 examples of the 1968-76 TR6 were built by Triumph, with the vast majority inevitably produced during the ’70s – the decade featured here. Given that this was an enthusiast’s car and hailed as a classic in its own lifetime, its total number of survivors is as healthy as you might expect.
But here’s an interesting statistic: of all the TR6s made, a mere 8370 were sold in Britain. Today’s survivors account for a mighty 40% of that figure, but don’t get too carried away; many of the TR6s now here have been re-imported from the US over the last twenty years or so.
Add a comment