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Vibrant, quirky, and British are all apt descriptors of James May, co-host of Top Gear and The Grand Tour. They also apply to this magenta Triumph Stag that, up until very recently, was a part of May’s collection. It sold this week on CollectingCars.com.
May selected this Stag for the final episode of The Grand Tour, in which the three co-hosts drove across Zimbabwe and Botswana. May had never driven a Stag before but had admired the model when he was younger. Who can blame him? The shapely convertible, designed by Giovanni Michelotti, who also penned several Lancias, Alfa Romeos, and Ferraris as well as the BMW New Class coupes and sedans, has a decidedly Italian flair.
CollectingCars.com
Despite serving him well on that farewell journey, in which his co-stars’ vehicles fell prey to several mechanical maladies, May decided to part ways with his Stag. “I loved it when we were filming the special, but I’m beginning to think that the magic was in the moment, not in the car,” says May in a video he posted with the car just prior to its sale.
After filming, the Stag was a bit worse for wear, so May had it sorted out by The Smallest Cog, the restoration shop founded by fellow Top Gear and The Grand Tour co-host Richard Hammond. Its purple paint—Triumph called it magenta, but it’s purple—appears to be in good shape, and the interior upholstery, dash pad, and wood trim covering the dash and center console all appear to be in excellent condition following its recent makeover.
CollectingCars.com
CollectingCars.com
Even the car’s little V-8 looks to be in tip-top shape, despite its poor reputation for reliability. The 3.0-liter mill was intended for more widespread use, but the Stag was its only application. The engine was born when Triumph realized it needed a bit more power for its new grand touring Stag drop-top than the brand’s inline-six could provide. Using the existing slant four Triumph was building for Saab as a jumping-off point, the British firm mirrored the engine to create a petite 3.0-liter V-8. The new engine used an iron block and aluminum SOHC cylinder heads. Bosch mechanical fuel injection was considered for the engine, but issues during development led to the 3.0-liter using a pair of single-barrel Zenith-Stroberg carbs instead.
Output was a respectable but not particularly impressive 146 horsepower at 5700 rpm and 170 lb-ft of torque at 3500 rpm. With 2200 rpm between peak torque and peak power, it’s safe to assume that the Stag’s V-8 is not tuned for outright power and was built to cruise. May admits as much, noting that, “I have never looked at the speedometer. I don’t need to know how fast I’m going, because the answer is, ‘not very’.” Captain Slow, indeed.
CollectingCars.com
Despite the thorough cleaning the car received after its big television debut, May notes that it still has its flaws: “When I’m driving the car, little bits of Zimbabwe emerge.” His video clearly points out the car’s flaws, including the model’s reputation for sub-par reliability, and this example’s loud color. Still, its sale was buoyed by May’s star power among automotive enthusiasts. “It marks the end of my career on proper telly,” May said. Indeed, it is a noteworthy moment for someone who has been an important figure among automotive enthusiasts around the world for decades.
With a sale price of £37,100 ($49,699), the Stag brought about $15,000 more than a #1 (concours) example and double that of a #2 (excellent) car in the U.S. Hagerty Price Guide. Stags generally command similar prices in the U.K. and U.S. Greg Ingold, Hagerty’s senior manager of vehicle valuations, also took a look at our Power List of celebrity vehicle sales and didn’t find any of May’s previous cars to compare it to. However, May’s co-stars’ cars serve as a good indicator. “Richard Hammond–owned cars have gone for 14% to 121% above their equivalent Hagerty Price Guide values, and a Jeremy Clarkson car has gone for 106% above its HPG value,” said Ingold.
For the record, a #1-condition car should not spit any bits of Zimbabwe at you when you turn on the vent, so it’s safe to say that the Top Gear connection can be worth a 100% premium no matter which presenter held the vehicle’s title.
CollectingCars.com
CollectingCars.com