It is an eight-cylinder version of the "wedge-shaped" Triumph TR7 which was designed by Harris Mann and manufactured by British Leyland (BL), through its Jaguar/Rover/Triumph (JRT) division.

[3] However, British Leyland's financial state, labour problems and lack of engines—as MG and Range Rover had first priority—delayed the project.

The FIA papers for the TR8 homologation, granted 1 April 1978, include pictures showing a 1977 TR7 V8 prototype with a set of decals indicating it to be a TR7 V8.

[5] Neither of these decals are part of the set used on the car shown in the TR7 Sprint homologation pictures in the BMIHT archives,[6] and in Knowles’ Triumph TR7 The Untold Story.

History has shown this engine to be a reliable, flexible, and robust powerplant, especially after BL improved its manufacturing process.

However, about 400 1980 models sold in California, all 1981 models—of which only 352 were produced including twenty carbed cars for the UK market---and all 1982 models (of which all seventy went to Canada)[8] featured a Bosch L-jetronic fuel injection system with a specially designed Lucas fuel injection computer (ECU).

[10] For 1981, all North American cars received a unified version with fuel injection, producing 148 bhp (110 kW; 150 PS) at 5100 rpm and delivering 0–60 mph times in the low 8 seconds.

The German version of this page claims 2722 and cites the TR Register-Austria as source; 2815 is the number quoted in an article from Classic & Sports Car, March 1986 and in William Kimberley's 1981 book[14] as well.

The TR8 was due to be launched in the UK and a pilot production run was made consisting of four prototypes and 18 pre-production cars.

According to the FIA rules that applied at this time, recognition would have required the production of 400 similar cars suitable for normal sale.

However, production records (in the BMIHT archives) show that only about 150 cars had actually been built by this time, mostly due to major industrial action at the BL Speke plant that included a 17-week-long strike from November 1977.

Rally journalist and historian Graham Robson quotes John Davenport (director of BL Motorsport at the time) as reminding him that "In those days there was no rigorous FIA inspection system.

[21] An alternative explanation that does not ignore the FIA's explicit requirement for finished cars comes from an article on the Group-4 Vauxhall Chevette HS, published in Autosport only a few weeks after the TR8 was approved.