British sports car specialist hopes to offer enthusiasts with old-school driving fun including 500hp naturally aspirated V8 and six-speed manual gearbox.
It looks very TVR-ish…
That’s exactly what the new owners of the British sports car specialist want: revive the TVR brand and retain its core values, including svelte design, minimalist interior, lightweight body and driving fun.
The packaging concept is the usual front-engine, rear-drive matrix. But rather than adopting a novel name for the revival, the new sports car is called Griffith, last used 15 years ago. One striking element of the new Griffith is the side exhaust pipes.
Classic! Where does that V8 come from?
The Griffith gets a 5.0-litre naturally aspirated V8 from Ford and tuned by Cosworth; the last Griffith saw a similarly sized eight-pot from Rover.
TVR says the Griffith has a power-to-weight ratio of 400hp per tonne and tips the scales at just 1,250kg. That translates into a power output of 500hp. The light body is courtesy of a carbonfibre chassis, plus body panels and structure made from carbon composites.
TVR adds that the Griffith is capable of cracking the 0-100kph sprint within four seconds and has a top speed in excess of 320kph. The sole transmission choice is a six-speed manual driving just the rear wheels.
Wouldn’t that be a hindrance to its global success?
It probably would, which is why TVR will initially concentrate on the European markets especially the British one. In order for the Griffith to appeal elsewhere, like in Asia or North America, an automatic gearbox would be essential.
However, TVR wants to pitch the Griffith as sports car with old-school fun for driving purists. That’s why Aston Martin and Porsche are still offering manual gearboxes in selected models, aside the two-pedal setup.
First deliveries of the Griffith are scheduled for late 2018 with prices starting from some 13 million baht if sold in Thailand. In other words, the Griffith is challenging the Porsche 911 segment.
