Utter the words Griffith, Cerbera, Tuscan, Tamora, Typhon and Sagaris to any common or garden human and they’ll ask why you’re listing the ingredients of a McDonalds burger patty, but say even one of those within earshot of a petrolhead and they’ll pucker up like a nipple in Nepal.
Founded in 1947 by a fellow by the name of Trevor, TVR quickly became renowned for their bespoke and typically British sports cars, and by typically, we mean unreliable. So much so that the company closed down in 1965. And then reopened in that same year under new ownership. And then changed ownership in 1981, and again in 2004. Despite all the chopping and changing, though, TVR still managed to be the third-largest specialised sports car manufacturer in the world at one point or another.
Long story short – owner number 4, a fellow by the name of Nikolay, half-heartedly left the brand chugging along until he sold it in 2013 to a little syndicate, led by a TVR owner and, most importantly, an outright petrolhead, Les.
So now that we’ve all been schooled in the history of Trevor (see, I put the vowels back) what you need to do is sit up and take notice. TVR is back and set for a 2017 unveiling and Les says the new TVR will bring back everything that we loved about their cars of yore – outrageous styling and brown pants performance. The key to this, however, isn’t big Les himself (he made his money in gaming) but rather the team he’s put together…Cosworth and Gordon Murray are to the automotive world what the
Cosworth and Gordon Murray are to the automotive world what the Zimmer frames and grasshoppers are to the Toyota Camry. Making use of Gordon Murray’s carbon fibre chassis and clever aero, the reborn TVR will be both strong, light and efficient. Once production gets up to pace, the carbon chassis will become an option with the standard models making use of an aluminium tub and fibreglass panels.
Cosworth are the crafty wizards in charge of the powerplant and word is that they’ll be using Ford’s tried and tested Coyote V8, with a bit of a fettling of course. A good old manual gearbox is the order if the day and buyers can expect this midway point between Lotus and Aston Martin to be a well thought out blend of luxury, technology and simplicity so as to guarantee reliability. But don’t be fooled, this is going to be one seriously lairy rebirth. Are you excited because boy oh boy are we! Trevor, we’re ready for you.
