Back from the beyond, and almost 70 years to the day since its birth, the iconic British sports car manufacturer TVR is back, and it’s brought one of its most-loved creations with it to the party.
TVR was at one time the third-largest specialised sports car manufacturer in the world. That’s no mean feat considering every car they produced came from a little factory in Blackpool.
Models released included the Grantura, Tuscan, Vixen, Cerbera, Chimaera, and the most desirable Griffith.
The Griffith was one of the great British sports cars of its or, indeed, any other era. Great-looking, simple, delightful to drive and wholly reliable - something that couldn’t be claimed by some of the others just mentioned (let’s be honest here).
All this made it all the more sad when the company went into administration and in effect closed in 2006.
However fast forward 10 years, and almost 70 years to the day since the company was founded TVR has announced it is coming back. This has made us a bit teary-eyed.
Technically called the T37 it has Griffith branding on it, and according to the company it will be “Unapologetic, loud, proud, and British built”.
What makes a TVR a TVR is quite simply the TVR DNA.
All TVRs share a DNA that means great looks, great sound and great performance. Looking fast whilst standing still, the body designs of TVRs past, present and future will always be exciting, innovative and worthy material for every bedroom wall dream poster. The engines, always up front, are big and loud, to give dramatic acceleration and top speed. The interiors, with their leather, carpet and other special finishes combined with the ubiquitous view over a long and shapely bonnet, are places where true drivers belong.
Put together, these attributes can be described as quirky, eccentric even, distinctly British but always fast, always noisy, always TVR.
Employing a full ground-effect aerodynamic package to deliver outstanding stability and handling capabilities, the new TVR has been designed and engineered with driver focused performance and safety as its main priority.
The use of side exhausts allows a flat floor configuration generating downforce by channeling the airflow along the underside of the vehicle to suck it towards the road. By employing ground effect in the new car's design, TVR has ensured it remains unflinchingly stable at high speeds while delivering exceptional handling and cornering capabilities.
When it comes to power the all new TVR features a 5.0 litre V8 powerplant with custom clutch, flywheel and ECU. In addition, a dry-sump and other enhancements by Cosworth together with a 6-Speed manual gearbox from Tremec are designed to deliver a class leading 400 bhp per tonne power-to-weight ratio.
As for the technology they use Gordon Murray Design's unique iStream process, in addition to being extremely lightweight, delivers exceptional torsional rigidity and passive safety capabilities. The vehicle's carbon fibre composite construction boasts a rigidity of almost 20,000 Nm per degree and is also designed to direct impact force to the tyres for increased safety. The new car also features airbags, ABS and ESP.
With a price tag of £90,000, TVR is now accepting deposits for the Griffith and production time is estimated at about a year. Head over to TVR's official website here for more information.