Magic Reunites Simon Cowell With His 1971 Triumph TR6, His First Auto Love

Simon Cowell is famous for a lot of things, from his showbiz savvy to his snappy remarks, his love of Botox and his love of cars. These two loves run deep and are on perfect display in the latest episode of Britain's Got Talent, which aired last Sunday night (May 12) on ITV, in the UK.

Trixy, an electrical engineer who moonlights as a magician, was auditioning for the show, and he gets credit for reuniting Simon with his 1971 Triumph TR6, in an act that brought audiences – and almost Simon himself – to tears. The full magic act is available in the video below.

As these "magic" tricks go, Trixy's also started off slowly, with him making judge Bruno Tonoli's watch disappear. He also had the four judges, including Simon, pick random photos from the 50 memory photos he had in a clear plastic bag. Simon got to pick two and didn't look at them until he and Trixy were off the stage, into the hallways of the London Palladium theater.

The first photo Simon had was of his previous pooch, while the second showed him beaming from behind the wheel of a cherry-red Triumph TR6. He admitted that this was his "favorite" car ever and was shocked when Trixy made an identical toy version pop up out of thin air.

He was even more surprised when Trixy led him outside, where the car that he'd bought on March 21, 1994, with £10,500 ($13,200 but in today's money) he'd borrowed for friends, was waiting for him under a silky wrap. Trixy swore that this was not a replica but the exact same car from back then, fully restored. Inside the glovebox was a gift box that held Bruno's "disappeared" wristwatch.

Simon was shocked and admitted that the whole thing felt "unreal." In a rare show of emotion, he planted a kiss on the hood of the TR6 before heading back inside to join the other judges.

The Triumph TR6 is a sports car made by Triumph Motor Company but, somehow ironically, a rarity in its home country because more than 90% of the units produced were exported to the U.S. Powered by Triumph's 2.5-liter straight-6 engine mated to a four-speed manual transmission, it had body styling by Karmann and came with the in-house removable hardtop as an option.

For Simon, this TR6 signified a return to form, as he'd lost all his money in the late '80s and was even forced to move back home with his parents. When he bought it, he was clawing his way back in showbiz, so we assume ownership struck a particular chord.

As for the "magic" behind the reunion, chalk it off to TV magic. From what we can tell, this '71 TR6 was restored (and owned) by TR6 enthusiast and rebuilder Dave Lewis after Cowell sold it. At some point, it emerged for sale on a specialized UK site, asking £17,001 ($21,400 at the current exchange rate).

The seller included in the listing a message for Cowell to meet up just so he could see the car and how well it'd been maintained since he last drove it.

In January 2023, an edit producer working for Thames TV, which co-produces BGT with Cowell's SyCo Entertainment, reached out to the seller with a comment on the listing, asking for details and maybe a meeting. Coincidences, there is no such thing in showbiz and least of all in reality television.

That's not direct proof that Cowell himself was in on the big surprise within this magic act, but it does point out that producers knew all about it and even facilitated it. And bear in mind that Simon is one of the producers.