TVR Sportscars Brand Chronology 1956-2006 Plus a Roadmap to Global Sales for 2014 and Beyond

TVR is one of the greatest success stories in British sports cars. Not by sales or commercial volume, mind you, but the global popularity of TVR is evidence of:

— universal appeal of low-volume sportscars with character

— broad appeal of English-language auto journalism with a highly qualitative edge

— global appetite for automotive and supercar-themed entertainment content

— the power of visceral appeal to an exotic car that is nothing like anything sold locally or by big OEM makes

As an American who has lusted after TVR’s since first glimpsing the Tuscan in the pages of BBC’s TopGear magazine in the 1990s, this passion crossing oceans and cultures should be pretty self-evident.

Of all the cottage-industry sports car brands, few have had as lasting a hold on the collective car-guy consciousness as TVR. The fiberglass wondercars are not something I have driven, nor even seen in the flesh. But the alien panels, otherworldly cabin designs, and carefree engineering is wholly appealing. These were cars that, for all intents and purposes, were not rigorously engineered. Cars like Morgan would have made if they chose evolution versus freezing their best moment in the Plus 4, and riding it to eternity.

Granted, evolution and new sportscars on a five to ten-year model cycle has been a killer task for many other brands just like TVR. Lotus comes to mind. Caterham, altertively, froze some of Lotus’s best DNA and has been riding it to consistent profit of Seven sportscar sales for the last 50 years.

Lotus found that critical magic formula again with the Esprit, and rode it for 30 years — loathe to give up a winning recipe for the second time.

TVR sales volume came at low prices for buyers. Nowhere else could you hop into a supercar-fast exotic car for the equivalent price of a V8 BMW 5-series. Even the pinnacle machines, like the Tuscan and the Sagaris at the end, only carried pricing of about $80,000 pounds. So, let’s think of that as $130,000 in US currency. In today’s cash – that is huge value. A 2014 Lotus Exige LF1 edition in the USA is priced at approximately $85,000, for comparison.

The TVR legacy burns brightly in the UK especially, where no reliability woes can silence the bellow of a straight-six from Blackpool.

Repurchased rights to the IP (designs, engines, construction) and brand rights in 2013 have not let led to a new sportscar or even production of the existing line-up.

Regretfully, the UK’s relaxed sports-car road laws are part of what allowed TVR to thrive for as long as it did. Emission, crash and most electronics requirements are waived for small-volume sports cars like the TVR and countless other brands. A conscious effort to keep this much-loved industry alive and thriving.

The retro-grade rules also put a glass dome over much global sales ambition, however. Why innovate to pass US rules when you can keep selling in the UK with no rules?

This also stymies most take-over ideas, or a willingness to partner with a large global brand that has the resources to take a car global. Caterham was too backward to collaborate well with Renault, and Morgan is only selling Three-Wheelers in the USA now. Rules have killed its other models.

But guess what: they sell a boat-load of Three-Wheelers, and it is keeping the firm afloat.

Perhaps the Caterham/Superformance distribution model is the best way forward for TVR. Ship the cars without an engine so they can have single-type Fed approval, then have a creative seller add a big Chevy V8.

Win, win.

Or triple-win if Superformance were to buy a truck-load of BMW turbo straight-sixes to drop in…

Explore the history of TVR below via high-res official press photography, combined with the loving car photos of TVR’s many adoring owners.

Very gracious photo credits to:

http://tuscman.picturepush.com/

http://www.tvrblog.com/

 

The Four Eras of TVR History, So Far.

 

Model	Production Years	Engine	Displacement	Production figures[21]
Trevor Wilkinson Era[22]
Jomar1	1956–1959	Coventry Climax	1098 cc
		Ford 100E Sidevalve	1172 cc
TVR Open Sports / Coupe	1956–1957	Coventry Climax	1098 cc
		Ford 100E Sidevalve	1172 cc
		BMC B-Series	1489 cc
TVR Grantura I	1958–1960	Coventry Climax FWA	1098 cc	100
		Coventry Climax FWE	1216 cc
		Ford 100E Sidevalve	1172 cc
		BMC B-Series	1489 cc
TVR Grantura II	1960–1961	Coventry Climax FWE	1216 cc	400
		Ford Kent 105E	997 cc
		BMC B-Series	1489 cc
		BMC B-Series	1588 cc
TVR Grantura IIa	1961–1962	Coventry Climax FWE	1216 cc
		Ford Kent 105E	997 cc
		Ford Kent 109E	1340 cc
		BMC B-Series	1588 cc
		BMC B-Series	1622 cc
TVR Grantura III	1962–1963	BMC B-Series	1622 cc	90
TVR Grantura III 1800	1963–1965	BMC B-Series	1798 cc
TVR Grantura 1800S	1964–1966	BMC B-Series	1798 cc	90
TVR Trident	1965	Ford Windsor V8	4727 cc
TVR Griffith 2001	1963–1964	Ford Windsor V8	4727 cc	300
TVR Griffith 4001	1964–1967	Ford Windsor V8	4727 cc

 

 

Martin Lilley Era
TVR Grantura IV 1800S	1966–1967	BMC B-Series	1798 cc	90
TVR Tuscan V8	1967–1970	Ford Windsor V8	4727 cc	28 V8 and 27 V8SE
TVR Tuscan V6	1969–1971	Ford Essex V6	2994 cc	101
TVR Vixen S2	1968–1969	Ford Kent	1599 cc	438
TVR Vixen S3	1970–1972	Ford Kent	1599 cc	168
TVR Vixen 1300	1971–1972	Triumph I4	1296 cc	15
TVR Vixen 2500	1971–1972	Triumph I6	2498 cc	385
TVR Vixen S4	1972	Ford Kent	1599 cc	23
TVR 1600M	1972–1973	Ford Kent I4	1599 cc	148
	1975–1977
TVR 2500M	1972–1977	Triumph I6	2498 cc	947
TVR 3000M	1971–1979	Ford Essex V6	2994 cc	654
TVR 3000M Turbo	1975–1979	Ford Essex V6	2994 cc	20
TVR Taimar	1976–1979	Ford Essex V6	2994 cc	395 and 258 convertible
TVR Taimar Turbo	1976–1979	Ford Essex V6	2994 cc	30 and 13 convertible
TVR 3000S	1978–1979	Ford Essex V6	2994 cc
TVR 3000S Turbo	1978–1979	Ford Essex V6	2994 cc
TVR Tasmin 200	1981–1984	Ford Pinto I4	1993 cc	16 and 45 convertible
TVR Tasmin 280i	1980–1984	Ford Cologne V6	2792 cc	118 and 862 convertible

Peter Wheeler Era
TVR 280i	1984–1987	Ford Cologne V6	2792 cc
TVR 350i	1983–1989	TVR/Rover V8	3528 cc	52 and 897 convertible
TVR 350SX	1985–1989	TVR/Rover V8	3528 cc
		+ Sprintex Supercharger
TVR 400SX	1989	TVR/Rover V8	3948 cc
		+ Sprintex Supercharger
TVR 350SE	1990–1991	TVR/Rover V8	3947 cc	25
TVR 390SE	1984–1988	TVR/Rover V8	3905 cc
TVR 400SE	1988–1991	TVR/Rover V8	3948 cc	242 convertible
TVR 420SE	1986–1987	TVR/Rover V8	4228 cc
TVR 450SE	1989–1990	TVR/Rover V8	4441 cc	45 convertible
TVR 420SEAC	1986–1988	TVR/Rover V8	4228 cc	37
TVR 450SEAC	1988–1989	TVR/Rover V8	4441 cc	18
TVR S	1986–1988	Ford Cologne V6	2792 cc	605
TVR S2	1989–1990	Ford Cologne V6	2933 cc	668
TVR S3(C)	1991–1992	Ford Cologne V6	2933 cc	887
TVR S4C	1993–1993	Ford Cologne V6	2933 cc	34
TVR V8S	1991–1993	TVR/Rover V8	3948 cc	34
TVR Griffith	1992–2002	TVR/Rover V8	3948 cc	2304
			4280 cc
			4988 cc
TVR Chimaera	1992–2001	TVR/Rover V8	3948 cc	5256
			4280 cc
			4495 cc
			4988 cc
TVR Cerbera	1996–2003	AJP8 / Speed Eight	4185 cc	1490
			4475 cc
	1996–2003	Speed Six	3996 cc
TVR T400	2001–2007	Speed Six	3996 cc
TVR Tamora	2002–2006	Speed Six	3605 cc	356
TVR T350 (Targa & Coupe)	2002–2006	Speed Six	3605 cc	460
TVR Tuscan	1999–2006	Speed Six	3605 cc	1677
			3996 cc
TVR Sagaris	2004–2006	Speed Six	3996 cc	211
TVR Typhon	2004	Speed Six	3996 cc

TVR Sportscars Brand

Nikolai Smolenski Era
TVR Sagaris	2004–2006	Speed Six	3996 cc
Speciality/Racing Cars
TVR Cerbera Speed 122/3	1997	Speed Twelve	7730 cc
TVR Tuscan Speed 122/3		TVR Speed Twelve	7730 cc
TVR Tuscan Challenge3	1989–(around 100 made)	Rover V8/Speed Eight	4500 cc
TVR T400R/Typhon GT3	?
1 – Not technically a TVR model; a TVR chassis bodied by Ray Saidel.
2 – Never went into production.
3 – Built exclusively for racing.