TVR - The Story of The Most Cursed Car Company | Up To Speed

TVR: A Brand with a Turbulent History

No one liked good idea and returned to the classic looks of the successful M series the base model v6s was a huge success for daily drivers and weekend racers alike and the optional v8s became a bucket list car for enthusiasts. The v8s went from 0 to 60 in only 4.9 seconds, was faster than the Ferrari Testarossa, and the Lotus has pre-in the Porsche Carrera - the 90s was definitely the best time for TVR and it looked like all that bad luck was a thing of the past.

Oh good, you know these guys have really been through it. But you know what they stuck dinner scruples and it got through it. They even brought back the Griffith nameplate in 1991 along with a luxury version called the Chimaera in 1992 and a 2+2 coupe, the Tuscana, in 1996. TVR also manufactured their own engines for the first time, the AJ p6 and the AJp-8, better known as the Speed 6 and the Speed A.

Then in 1999, TVR debuted the Tuscan and the styling of this car was bonkers. It looks like a Dodge Viper had a baby with a spider. The headlights were a bunch of different eyes, and the taillights were mounted super low right above the exhaust. The turn signals were on the B pillars, and door handles were buttons under the side mirrors. There were also two hoods - one small one that gave you access to almost nothing, and the second one that was bolted down.

The hood that's bolted down well, with no way to put it out without unbolting the whole thing, was another issue that plagued TVR cars. The battery just happened to be mounted upside down under there and exposed to the underside of the car, and debris would get in it and like the entire engine bay on fire. With no way to put it out without unbolting the hood, it was a nightmare.

Then in 2003, TVR debuted their last new model, the Sagaris. The Sagaris was Wheeler's swan song and the epitome of everything TVR had become under his ownership. At twenty-three hundred pounds, that weighed the same as a new Miata, but under the hood was a 406 horsepower naturally aspirated inline six.

It's at this point that you may be wondering James, Why haven't I seen any of these new TVRs at cars and coffee or on Bring a Trailer? Well, it's because of Wheeler's stubbornness and questionable business decisions. He didn't like ABS, all right. He didn't like airbags, he didn't like stability control because he thought they gave drivers a false sense of security, and as a result...

You can't drive these cars in the US, which is the first time TVR's bad luck became our bad luck. Trippi. Right after the debut of the Sagaris, Wheeler sold the company to a Russian banker named Nikolai Smolenski and under Nikolai... no new models have come out.

Now in 2013, Nikolai sold TVR to some British businessmen who formed TVR?Automotive Limited well, they primarily aimed to provide parts for classic TVRs still on the road. In 2017, the group did debut a brand new Griffith featuring a Cosworth-enhanced 5-liter V8 borrowed from a Ford Mustang GT.

TVR said the car would go on sale in 2019, but check the calendars... that didn't happen. I guess the only people with worse luck than TVR are the auto enthusiasts who love them.