Trevor Wilkinson Presents: TVR

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A special hello to TVR automotive company. Gran Turismo players know that TVR has been in every GT game since the first. But sometimes on the international circuit, not a lot of people ever hear about TVR because we're normally accustomed to Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, Aston Martin, and companies like that. So I figured I'd open this thread for discussion of TVR automobiles.

I don't know much about TVR's past, but I've gotten to know some of the autos of today, the Speed 12, Cerbera, Griffith, Tuscan, Chimera, the Sagaris which is wilder than the Speed 12, and the one that raced Le Mans this year and last. To me, I think TVR does the sportscar right:

Great horsepower + race-car like handling + lightweight body = TVR sports car

And like most American cars, I can't recall a mid-engined TVR. I'm surprised that TVR hasn't come up with its own version of the Panoz LMP or something like it, since it's so used to front/rear.

Simple, right? Come along with the TVR talk! Good and bad off-topic news. (Good) Congratulations for Yokohama F Marinos for winning Stage 1 in J-League Soccer this year. (Bad) Rest in peace, Marlon Brando. Hell of a job as an actor. Brando was 80.
 
TreVoR Wilkinson - The founder

EDIT: Didn't know you followed the J-League, John! I know you are a US football fan, but I didn't know that you were a real football fan too.

EDIT2: OK, so on the subject of TVRs. I am not a big fan of TVR at all (ask live4speed). Don't get me wrong, I am all for the spirit of what the company do, but I just can't stand the look of them. I liked the 60s ones but later models were just plain awful and the more recent cars look like they've been designed by design students who are basically just saying 'Look at me! Look at me! My cars are crazy!'. I know I'm in the minority, but I just can't stand them. Sorry.

But I guess what really counts is what John said; 'Great horsepower + race-car like handling + lightweight body = TVR sports car', and you can't argue with that!
 
I remember an interview once with him in a magazine. He said that the Speed 12 still scares him at times. For someone to make a car ridiculously fast like that is ok in my books. 👍
 
Hell... it scares me too, Slick! Not its looks, but it's performance.
 
WEBSITES OF MENTION:
http://www.tvr-eng.co.uk/tvr.htm (requires Flash)
http://www.gspovey.demon.co.uk/garage/tvr/gallery/index.htm

I've finally seen some older TVRs on the second site. TVR's history dates back to 1947. But thanks to the crappy Flash from the first site I listed, that's as far as I got. And Chaser, I'm kind of the opposite of your views on TVR as you may well know. TVRs, to me, don't seem like life-like versions of "design your own car" contests. In fact, I seen worse from the "design your own car" things. It's about the only car company I know that has chameleon paints that you can actually choose. Not to matter, though. The cars are already expensive!

If GT2 serves me well, the Speed 12 was such a powerhouse in British GT. I think it was so powerful that it was banned from British GT. Keep in mind. As a STREET CAR, it had a rollcage or something. To me, the Speed 12 is the most demonic street car ever built. So powerful, it can be suicide to even race it. I heard it had a top speed of 240 mph, for those who dare try. I think if the car was more tame, it would probably be in the same field (or even better) than the Ferrari F50 and the McLaren F1.

Watch your step around the Speed 12.
 
Yep..... The Speed 12.. On GT3, I didn't bother to even look in the tune shop because the car was perfect as it was..... Hell of a monster that car is!!!
Though I can't quite get used to how strange it looks...
 
TVR is the most pure sportscar maker in the world. They do not compromise, simple as that and their cars can run rings around cars twice the price. I can't wait to see what damage the Sagaris will do to supercars since the T350C has already beaten the crap out of the Murcielago and Zonda C12.
 
JohnBM01
I don't know much about TVR's past, but I've gotten to know some of the autos of today, the Speed 12, Cerbera, Griffith, Tuscan, Chimera, the Sagaris which is wilder than the Speed 12, and the one that raced Le Mans this year and last. To me, I think TVR does the sportscar right:
Click to expand...
I noticed you said the Sagaris is wilder than the Speed 12. Not true, thats why the Sagaris is going into production and the Speed 12 never did. Peter Wheeler (the current owner of TVR) races TVR's and test drives all the models as well as using a proper test driver, he decided to drivce a Speed 12 home once before any were sold and he **** himself. One was sold to a member of the Prodigy before Peter decided to pull the plug because it was too powerful for the road. When asked by a journalist "how are people meant to drive this on the road?" Peter replied "they arn't".

The true figuer for the Speed 12 are still unknown, what is known is that it weighs 1000kg's, it's engine is two of TVR's own speed six engines mated together to form a V12 and the maximum Bhp figure is somewhere over the 960Bhp mark. When the car was being dyno tested for peak power it broke on of the cables holding it in place at the 800Bhp mark which was before it had reached it's peak power. This car far eclipses the Sagaris in terms of rawness and performance. It was once said that it should hit 60 in under 3 seconds and reach over 240Mph, neither of thoes figures have been confirmed because the car has never been tested.
 
JohnBM01
If GT2 serves me well, the Speed 12 was such a powerhouse in British GT. I think it was so powerful that it was banned from British GT. Keep in mind. As a STREET CAR, it had a rollcage or something. To me, the Speed 12 is the most demonic street car ever built. So powerful, it can be suicide to even race it. I heard it had a top speed of 240 mph, for those who dare try. I think if the car was more tame, it would probably be in the same field (or even better) than the Ferrari F50 and the McLaren F1.

Watch your step around the Speed 12.
Click to expand...
The Speed 12 wasn't banned from British GT, it's just that after the change in regulations it no longer met the requirements, whichis why all the great GT1 class cars dissapeared like the CLK-LM and the 911 GT1-R. The street car does have a roll cage and the top speed is said to be over 240Mph but it's never been tested.
 
Still a beast of a car. I mean, this car is possibly the most demonic creation in automotive history (expect plenty of counterstatements, John). I mean, this car is basically a machine than can scare lots of people with its performance. I don't know if anyone tried to tone it down any, but it is a very powerful machine. And I also bet this machine would make serious top speeds down Hunadieres (or Mulsanne... nowadays, I can't tell which straight is which at Le Mans). I mean, the McLaren F1 and the Porsche 917 were probably more controllable than the Speed 12. And they are MID-ENGINED!

The TVR's front-engine would make for better control and power down the roads, though.
 
Have you ever seen a TVR Griffith next to a Viper? In pictures they look similar in size, but in reality the Viper is much bigger than you would expect - compared to the Griffith which is only a little bigger than a mx5/miata!

Performance wise the Griff more than holds its own against the Viper, sounds better, looks better and would probably run rings around it on the open road - all for about 1/3rd the price.
 
I have actually in a showroom on Deansgate in Manchester.
 
The only designs I like in the current lineup are the Chimaera and Cerbera, the others are too extreme/weird for me.
 
I love them all, especiall the Sagaris and Typhon which will have 580Bhp, thats fivehundered and eighty Bhp.
 
humbo
Yes of course they are all excellent sports cars but I was strictly talking about the cars' looks.
Click to expand...

I agree with you Humbo, I used to love TVR's and have driven both the Chimera and Cerbera and loved them, but I find the latest look too extreme and I think they need to get back to creating beautiful looking cars.

I guess they're going throw the design cycle of aggressive, ugly car design at the moment. I remember the 'wedge' shape of the 80's, then the Griffith, Chimeara, Cerbera shapes of the 90's and now it's the Tuscan, 350 extreme style of the 00's. I'm looking forward to the next design direction
 
humbo
Yes of course they are all excellent sports cars but I was strictly talking about the cars' looks.
Click to expand...
I know what you meant, but I love the looks of them, if you want a sports car to look less extreme get a Lotus, Jaguar or Marcos. TVR's are superb, however I don't think a car like the T350C looks extreme, I don't think the Tuscan speed 6 looks extreme, I think the Sagaris does. The rest are just different, they dont all have large vents and edges, the T350C is smooth lines and curves.
 
JohnBM01
Still a beast of a car. I mean, this car is possibly the most demonic creation in automotive history (expect plenty of counterstatements, John). I mean, this car is basically a machine than can scare lots of people with its performance. I don't know if anyone tried to tone it down any, but it is a very powerful machine. And I also bet this machine would make serious top speeds down Hunadieres (or Mulsanne... nowadays, I can't tell which straight is which at Le Mans). I mean, the McLaren F1 and the Porsche 917 were probably more controllable than the Speed 12. And they are MID-ENGINED!

The TVR's front-engine would make for better control and power down the roads, though.
Click to expand...
All I know about what the Speed 12 was like to drive is it's "scary"-Peter Wheeler and "awesome"-Tiff Needel.
 
Anyone watch the Tuscan challenge?
tuskh99-15.jpg

tuskh99-47.jpg
 

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