DRIVERS with the Stag owners club recently parked their iconic cars in Barry Island to celebrate the club’s 40th anniversary.

Thought of as a luxury grand tourer, the Triumph Stag was designed to fill an apparent gap in the market occupied mainly by the Mercedes-Benz SL class models.

All Stags were four-seater convertibles, but for structural rigidity the Stag required a B-pillar "roll bar" hoop connected to the windscreen frame by a T-bar.

This year is the 40th anniversary of the Stag Owners Club and next year will be the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first Stag.

South Wales Area Co-ordinator, Colin Evans said: “To celebrate, we are taking the club mascot, Socrates, around the UK to arrive at the Silverstone Classic in July 2020.

“Socrates started from the Beaulieu Motor Museum on July, 7 2019 travelling to Cornwall followed by Devon, Somerset and Dorset, Bristol and then South Wales Area.

“Socrates had been collected from Bristol Area at Aust, near the first Severn Bridge, and during his week in South Wales he visited Chepstow Castle, Cardiff Castle, Cardiff Bay, Tredegar House Newport, Caerphilly Castle and the Brecon Beacons National Park.

“On Saturday, August 10, South Wales Area handed Socrates over to South West Wales at another iconic location in South Wales namely Marco's Café in Barry Island home of the TV programme Gavin & Stacey.

“We were pleased to meet up with Marco himself who remembers the Stag from his youth and has appeared in the programme.”

Mr Evans added: “We are anxious as a club to encourage younger members take up the enjoyable pastime of driving, displaying and refurbishing classic cars particularly the Triumph Stag.”

Anyone interested in the Stag or joining the Stag Owners Club should contact Mr Evans on 07870 654205.

For details, visit stag.org.uk

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