TVR is a swashbuckling car brand, always fighting for survival, always exciting, always thinking on its feet. But after a series of collapses and rebirths, some feared that this particular pirate of the deep blue automotive world may have been cornered for the last time. The British sports car was pretty much dormant for years, changing ownership, and looking to be permanently mothballed. But the TVR story doesn't end there.TVR, which has been in business since the '40s, has not given up yet. The company has a new 200 mph model that many people wouldn't have heard of. This is a car that is American-powered and has links to the iconic McLaren F1 hypercar. It looks every inch the modern British sports car, albeit with supercar pace, and guess what? You can put an order in for one right now. Read on to find out more about TVR's forgotten supercar – and the EV variant that is on the cards too. The New TVR Griffith Is A 200 MPH Supercar Many People Forgot TVR Highlights Of The New TVR Griffith Uses Gordon Murray Design's iStream Carbon technology Fitted with a 5.0-liter Ford V8 powerplant that features a custom clutch, flywheel, ECU, and dry-sump Capable of 200 mph top speed TVR is a car company that has been around for almost 80 years. The Blackpool, England, based company has a long history of creating fire-breathing V8 and straight-six coupes that often do without any modern driver aids in exchange for seat-of-the-pants excitement and wild old school-style performance. However, after the company changed hands several times in the last few decades, it seemed like its days were numbered. TVR had and still has an extremely loyal fanbase, but when young businessperson Nicolai Smolenski bought the company in 2004, sales were falling. Smolenski Hoped To Turn TVR Around TVR There were rumors of production going overseas, with talk of improvements in quality and reliability. During this time, TVR was selling the Sagaris, a wild model that was one of its best – and last, for a while at least. Based on the T350, the Segaris was essentially a race car produced for road use, and did without most of the modern safety features we take for granted. Given its fearful reputation, it is no surprise that the Sagaris name was borrowed from a Greek word for a lightweight, amor-piercing battleaxe. The Sagaris also makes for a tantalizing secondhand buy too.Smolenski also said a new 600-horsepower supercar called the Typhoon would be launched in 2007, but in late December 2006 it was announced that TVR had gone into receivership. Smolenski then bought the company back from the receivers, and talked of Sagaris 2 in 2008, featuring modifications to the exhausts and dashboard, but then all went quiet. TVR Rose From The Ashes In 2013 TVR That is until April 2013. Les Edgar led a consortium of investors to buy the brand, intellectual property and all remaining assets of TVR and brought the brand back to the UK under the umbrella name TVR Automotive Ltd. Edgar had success in computer gaming – fitting as TVRs featured in games like Gran Turismo – but his true love is cars. Keen to show he was serious about TVR's rebirth, Edgar turned to the legendary F1 engineer Gordon Murray, who is responsible for the McLaren F1 and the extraordinary GMA T.50 hypercar, to create a contemporary model. The Griffith Uses Gordon Murray's iStream Tech TVR Using Gordon Murray Design's iStream Carbon technology, the new TVR features carbon fiber panels bonded to extruded aluminum tubing. The name for the new car would be Griffith, harking back to the mid '60s model of the same name, which was powered by a Ford V8 289. The Griffith name also appeared in the '90s, attached to the model that launched the modern TVR era, with an order taken every eight minutes at its launch at the Birmingham Motor Show in 1990. The new-new Griffith would be “unapologetic, loud, proud and British-built", said the company, and would arrive in 2018. Except, it didn't exactly work out like that. A Closer Look At The New Griffith New TVR Griffith V8 SpecsThe new TVR Griffith was unveiled in 2017. All the correct ingredients were there. The Griffith looked like a TVR, it sounded like a TVR, and it went like a TVR. But while there is unmistakably a sense of old-school muscular British coupe to the design, it is thoroughly modern in its details. The Griffith has a full ground-effect aerodynamic package to ensure it is stable and sticks to the road. The side exhausts look great, but they also serve a key function, allowing for a flat floor configuration that generates downforce by channeling the airflow along the underside of the car, sucking it towards the road.TVR At the heart of the car is a 5.0-liter Ford V8 powerplant that features a custom clutch, flywheel, ECU, dry-sump and other enhancements. This unit has around 500 horsepower and is good for a 400 bhp (394 hp) per tonne power-to-weight ratio. The engine is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox. The new Griffith is said to reach 60 mph in less than four seconds and has a top speed of 200mph. The car's carbon-fiber composite construction has a rigidity of almost 20,000 Nm per degree and is also designed to direct impact forces to the tires for better safety. The new car also has a number of modern safety features, including airbags, ABS and ESP. Where Is The New TVR Griffith Now?TVR Griffith 6Naturally, the launch of the new Griffith caused a lot of excitement among fans. The car was due to be around $120,000 and deliveries start in 2019, according to reports, but that has been put back a number of times. Other media outlets have stated that complications with manufacturing premises have meant that the new 2023 date was then pushed back to 2024. Currently, TVR is taking £5,000 ($6,684) deposits to secure a new V8 Griffith. The company says that there are a few V8-powered Launch Edition (LE) Griffiths available, with production of these pegged at a maximum of 500. Hopefully the Griffith will be worth the long wait. TVR's Electric FutureTVR EV GriffithOne indication that TVR is intent on having a long-term future is its announcement that there will also be an electric Griffith. This EV sports car should feature the same aerodynamically optimized design, albeit with a battery-powered powerplant. The company also said that it is working on ways to bring the characteristic TVR noise into the world of electrification. The electric TVR will be designed, engineered, and built in the UK, says the company, and will be the first in a "family of EV models". Hopefully, this could be the start of a more stable future for TVR.
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