An apology to the creators of the Triumph Stag

I'VE just realised I've made a cataclysmic cock-up.

Don't worry, Life On Cars service will continue as normal and I'm not about to see the inside of a libel court, but I realised today that I'd made a horrendous mistake with my list of the ten best looking cars of all time.

I'd forgotten about the Triumph Stag.

Regular readers might have already noticed I've got a bit of penchant for traditional British sports cars - I do, after all, own one - but despite my dreams of driving a TVR Griffith when the Champion Euromillions syndicate finally comes good the one model I have on my mantlepiece isn't one of those. It is, of course, a bright red example of Triumph's V8 roadster.

As a car it's always had a bit of a troubled history, which has a little bit to do with being built by British Leyland and a lot to do with the horror stories surrounding its 3.0 litre V8, which Triumph went to lots of expense and trouble just for that one car. The obvious choice would have been the freely-available 3.5 litre V8 available just down the road from their colleagues at Rover, but that's hardly the Triumph way.

If ever I were to buy a Stag I'd almost certainly go for one of the many that's been converted to run the Rover V8, not because it's any more reliable but because it just sounds a lot hornier. As these soundbites, I reckon, prove:

A Triumph Stag with the Triumph V8 fitted from new:

And a Triumph Stag with the meatier Rover V8 it should have been given:

But forget the much-maligned mechanicals and just take in those neat proportions, the Rostyle wheels and the Michelotti styling, which is the reason why it's one of the few 1:18 scale models I have that isn't packed into a box in my loft. It is a stunning, delicately-crafted and timelessly styled sports car, as good looking now as it was 40 years ago.

Anyway, that's my homage to one of the great British sports cars, and my way of making up for a mistake on my part. Won't happen again...