1967 Trident Clipper - Could Have Been A TVR...

I wrote about one of these back in June, 2010. (You can find the post here.)

The Clipper was supposed to be a TVR car. TVR's plans were for it to compete with the likes of Aston Martin and Jaguar.

According to legend, a British designer, Trevor Frost, (who was working for Carrozzeria Fissore in Turin, Italy, under the name of Trevor Fiore) sketched the design on a napkin during a lunch at a Blackpool pub in 1963. The car was to sit on a TVR frame and be powered by a Ford 289ci V8.

In 1965, Fissore built two TVR Trident prototypes. They were displayed at the 1965 Geneva Motor Show and received very good reviews. TVR commissioned Fissore to build two more cars, one of which was a convertible.

By the end of 1965, before Fissore could deliver cars # 4 & 5, TVR went bankrupt. Martin Lilley bought the TVR company and the rights to manufacture TVR cars, but for reasons that remain unclear, that didn't include rights to the Trident. Frost and Fissore, along with TVR dealer, William Last, secured the rights to the Trident and created Tridents Cars Limited. They renamed the car the Trident Clipper.

The Trident Clipper differed in two big ways from the TVR cars; it was built on an Austin Healey 3000 chassis and was made of fiberglass. The engine was still the Ford 289 V8 and Trident claimed the car could reach 60 MPH in 5 seconds and had a top speed of 150 MPH.

Approximately 30 - 40 V8 Clippers were built. A few were built using a lengthened Triumph TR6 chassis. Trident also built a number of 6 cylinder cars called the Tycoon (with a Triumph 2.5 liter I6) and the Venturer (with a Ford 3 liter V6). Roughly 140 Tridents were built in total.

This is a highly restored (over restored?) car. Essentially it's a show car. I'm just pointing it out because it's a very cool, very rare car.

Located in St. Louis, MO, click here to see the eBay listing.