True Brit: TVR Announces the Unveiling of Its First Car in Over a Decade
After being chopped up and spread around by owner Nikolay Smolensky in 2006, TVR appeared to be dead in the water. By then, production had dwindled from a dozen vehicles per week to just a few and the company seemed more doomed than usual. Eventually you just stopped hearing about it, unless you found yourself engrossed in a discussion about the craziest cars in history.
Smolensky sold TVR in 2013 to — get this — TVR Automotive Ltd., a company helmed by the U.K.’s Les Edgar and John Chasey, to minimal fanfare. However, our interest was piqued earlier this year when news arose of a new car in development with Gordon Murray and Cosworth. We weren’t alone — the model “ sold out” immediately upon its announcement. Now the company is letting us know where and when we can first lay our eyeballs upon it.
TVR announced Monday that it will unveil its new car to the public at the Goodwood Revival on September 8th. Accompanied by a collection of vintage models, the new British supercar is promised to have a Cosworth-developed V8 in excess of 400 brake horsepower and come in under £90,000, which equates to roughly $116,200 US — not that you’ll be able to buy one in North America.
The brand is assuring buyers that the new model, codenamed T37 and rumored to be bestowed with the venerable Griffith nameplate, will posses a top speed of over 200 mph and a 0 to 60 time of four seconds or less. That certainly seems possible based off the model’s feathery 2,645 pound curb weight and aforementioned horsepower.
“We are incredibly excited to be unveiling the new car at the Goodwood Revival,” TVR chairman Les Edgar said in an official statement. “It’s the first time a global launch of a new car has occurred at the event, and it seems an entirely appropriate place for us to do it, with the marque’s motorsport heritage and an enthusiastic audience of dedicated car fans — and in our 70th anniversary year. After a series of secret private viewings organized for the benefit of existing customers for the new car, we know that we have a surefire hit on our hands and very much look forward to seeing the public reaction in September.”
Having already accepted deposits for the first batch of preorders, TVR says there is still a small allocation of the 500 “launch edition” cars left over. After that, TVR says it won’t be accepting any more reservations until after the car’s unveiling.
[Image: TVR Automotive Ltd.]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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This is what I think when someone says True Brit! http://kfai.org/truebrit
When I was brainstorming on crazy car project ideas, I grew a fondness for the TVR Speed Six engine: 4.0L aluminum NA Inline-6 w/400hp. Then I learned they pretty much need overhauls every 20,000km due to some valvetrain issues. -_- Looks like this car will come with a V8, which for me at least is actually a disappointment. I was hoping they'd work the kinks out of their NA I6s. And they are spending Cosworth money just to get 400+bhp? Euro snobbery is the only reason LS376 w/525hp isn't in practically every V8 application on the planet IMO...