‘PROPER’ TVR WINS OVER CLASSIC FANS
Revival picked for sports car maker’s long-awaited comeback
‘ We want it to age well and turn into a proper classic, like the TVRs of old’ JOHN CHASEY, TVR
TVR has revealed its first new car in more than a decade. And the firm, led by chairman, Les Edgar, became the first manufacturer ever to unveil new metal at the Revival.
It’s decided to resurrect the Griffith name, 15 years after the last generation of Griffith was sold.
Operations Director for TVR, John Chasey, says: ‘ When we were creating the new TVR, we thought about the car first and the model name later. It was important to name it an actual name; naming something after numbers and letters isn’t very TVR. We’ve got a great set of names, so we thought we’d re-use one. Griffith was the obvious choice as it was the first of the big-engined TVRs.
‘One of the main parts of the design criteria is that it needs to look good in 20 years time. We want this to age well, and turn into a proper classic like TVRs of old.’
The new TVR was designed by Gordon Murray, of Brabham and McLaren fame, and the engine is a 480bhp Cosworth V8. In traditional TVR fashion, the new car – which will cost around £90,000 – is rearwheel drive. The prototype was built by Gordon Murray Design in Guildford, but the new Griffith will be built in Ebbw Vale, Wales.
TVR Chimaera owner and TVR Car Club member, John Holden, says: ‘I think it [the new Griffith] looks brilliant and I’m really pleased, and a bit relieved. It certainly looks like a proper TVR.’