By the mid 1970s, the two popular sports cars produced by the new British Leyland were showing their age. What the company needed was a smart, modern sports car. The TR7, designed to replace both the MGB and the Triumph TR6, was the result. Its wedge-shaped design was modern enough but much of the rest of the car was, for some, disappointingly conventional and press reaction was not universally warm. Initially available as a two-seat coupe, the car went on sale in Britain in 1974.