One of the last great names from the Triumph Motor Company, Tony Lee, has died. He was 86.
Lee was began working for Standard-Triumph in 1946, taking a short break to carry out his national service before returning to a position in the firm’s Test Rig department in 1947. He got on well working alongside Harry Webster and Walter Belgrove, progressing in his field and quickly becoming recognised as a young talent. One of his earliest projects involved performance testing the first car to be released by Triumph in the wake of the war, the 1800.
His work eventually took him overseas to supervise the implementation of Triumph Herald production in Australia, before taking up the role of Chief Development Engineer.
It was often said by his colleagues that Lee could find a way to solve any problem, no matter how big a challenge it presented, and for that he gained the respect of his peers – not to mention their fondness for his sense of humour and vivacious personality.
Despite having a hand in the development of most vehicles to emerge from Canley during his tenure, Lee became well known latterly for his involvement with the TR7 and TR8. He remained passionate about the cars long after his retirement in 1989, and was guest of honour at the model’s 40th anniversary celebrations in 2014, which included a fleet of wedges making the pilgrimage to Lee’s home in Coventry before driving in convoy to Gaydon.
