The Thrill of the Speed 12: A Driver's Perspective

As I sat behind the wheel of the TVR Speed 6, I couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and trepidation. This was a car that had been touted as a road-going version of the legendary Speed 12, with its impressive V12 engine and lightweight bodywork. But as I began to familiarize myself with the controls, it quickly became apparent that this was not just another TVR model - it was an animal.

The moment I started the engine, I knew that something special was happening. The sound of the V12 was music to my ears, a deep rumble that seemed to vibrate through every molecule in my body. And as I eased off the clutch and began to move forward, I felt a surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins. This car wanted to get going, and it wasn't happy until it had reached top speed.

I opted for the heavy clutch setting, feeling the weight of the car settle into its new mode. As I accelerated down the runway, I was struck by just how quick this car was. The acceleration was instantaneous, with 0-60 in a mere second or two. And as I continued to push the limits of the car, it became clear that this was no ordinary road-going car - it was a serious performance machine.

The driving experience was intense and exhilarating, with every pedal stroke sending more power to the wheels. The car was a beast, its rear end hugging the ground as we accelerated down the runway. I felt like I was dancing with the car, my senses heightened as I pushed the limits of its performance. And yet, despite its ferocity, there was an element of finesse to the driving experience - it was almost as if the car knew exactly what I wanted to do.

As I continued to drive the Speed 6, I couldn't help but feel a sense of connection with the car. It was like we were two old friends, moving in perfect harmony down the runway. And yet, just when I thought that things couldn't get any more intense, the car's bonnet would come loose and threaten to drop off at any moment.

Despite this minor issue, the driving experience remained undiminished. In fact, it only seemed to add to the excitement - like a rollercoaster ride without a safety net, the Speed 6 was a truly thrilling experience. And as I finally brought the car to a stop and stepped out onto dry land, I couldn't help but feel exhilarated by what I had just experienced.

But the Speed 12 is more than just a car - it's an icon of British motorsport heritage. The original model sold at auction for £600,000, making it one of the most valuable cars in the world. And yet, despite its rarity and value, there was something special about driving this car that made it feel truly unique.

The TVR Speed 6 is a worthy tribute to the original Speed 12, with its impressive V12 engine and lightweight bodywork. But it's not just about speed - it's also about character and charm. This is a car that's not afraid to take risks and push boundaries, and that's part of what makes it so compelling.

As I sat in the driver's seat of the Speed 6, I couldn't help but think about the original Speed 12. That car was a true legend, with its 7.7-liter V12 engine and its rich history in British motorsport. And yet, as I drove the TVR Speed 6, I began to appreciate just how special this new model is.

In terms of value, the Speed 6 is certainly a serious proposition. With prices starting at over £1 million, it's not for the faint of heart. But if you're looking for a car that truly represents the spirit of British motorsport heritage, then this might be the one for you.

There's also some interesting news on the horizon - the Hillo engineering team has recently purchased the only other known original 7.7 engine block, along with its associated engineering drawings. This means that they'll be able to rebuild an exact replica of the original Speed 12 engine, and potentially even create new models based on this design.

As a driver, I'm excited at the prospect of getting my hands on one of these new engines - it would be a dream come true to drive a car with such incredible heritage. And yet, as much as I love the idea of driving an original Speed 12, I have to admit that the TVR Speed 6 has won me over. It's not just about speed and performance - it's also about character and charm.

So if you're looking for a car that truly represents the spirit of British motorsport heritage, then the TVR Speed 6 is certainly worth considering. And who knows - with its impressive V12 engine and lightweight bodywork, this might just be the ultimate road-going version of the legendary Speed 12.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: encome on last year we rediscovered a Grand Turismo Legend the TBR cber speed 12 the car that was too scary for anyone to drive on the road now an engineering company has come along and built a homage to that Legend from scratch and this thing is arguably even scarier oh sh come on come on before we discover what savagery has been created in the shape of this super car let's recap the speed 12 story TVR wanted a GT1 racing car in the 1990s to take on the McLaren F1 and they came up with this thing the cbra speed 12 7.7 L V12 an absolute Motorsport monster the regulations then changed which meant it's racing career was far too brief but amazingly some prototype road cars were made The Story Goes that TVR boss Peter wheeler took one of them home and the car scared him to a point where he decided to can the project with it deemed too Savage and too wild for the public the cars were all dismantled apart from one the car we filmed with and started up before it was sent off for auction that car was made in 2003 and 21 years later this thing has reared its anything but ugly head this is the TR speed2 turbo made by helical engineering under the TR supercars brand name here in the UK they're based in Black poool so their TVR people through and through in fact a lot of the employees are X TVR their day today is valve Rotator technology and valved exhaust systems but in their spare time they make these things they've turned up with three speed 12 turbos today this is car number one this is actually an original cbra speed 12 race car chassis from the GT1 days but under the Bonnet is a twin turbo V12 that we'll get to in a bit if this is the original prototype then car number two is the next step towards a production TR speed 12 turbo and then car number three is kind of the same as car number two but it's leftand drive and is further down the development cycle it's got a bit more power it's had some of the issues ironed out it's apparently the easiest car to drive of the three but for nailing it up and down this Runway today it's going to be car number two this is one of the greatest shapes ever put to metal or carbon fiber in this case I don't want to keep going over all the points I did in my original speed 12 video but just look at this thing starting from the back this is what I call the the lower duct tail that continues the rear diffuser this absolute picnic table of a rear wing god knows how much downforce that creates side eggs exhaust just like the original and this super low profile roof line that seems to compress the vehicle into the ground really hunkers it down we've got these massive cutouts on this huge Bonnet to accommodate that massive engine underneath it's got an Oho TVR face on it and then there brutal front splitter with these canards there's so many bits and pieces on this car that clearly makes the mission to get as many newtons of force as possible going that way in terms of the materials to make up this car the cockpit is carbon fiber and aluminium honeycomb the rest of the chassis and cage is tubular steel the body work is carbon fiber the brakes are carbon ceramic and because helical engineering like an exhaust this system is titanium let's have a look inside the interior on the original CRA speed 12 was fullon race car so maybe predictably this modern interpretation is much more plush got leather that feels pretty good everywhere we've got properly finished carbon fiber rather than kind of bare race car stuff once you climb over this massive sill which houses the exhaust just like on the original it's well you're pretty snug in here fullon race car pedal box it be interesting to see how that feels then we've got this Digital dash in front of me here it's definitely a modern upgrade to the original but interestingly there's something carried over oil pressure is front and center it's not telling me P you bastard but apart from speed it's very much the thing staring at you got this interesting gear stick here I imagine this is the sort of helical engineering design here feels pretty good to handle though tell me in the comments below where this handbrake is from they haven't invented that themselves that's definitely come from a road car tell me what it is what I really like is how the cage has been integrated in here so they've got this suede covering it all and shaped around it that's really cool The View out I could this is just going to be a very intense car to drive super raged super post box Windows either side are really narrow and Stumpy as well the view at the back is virtually non-existent I'm wait till you find out how much power one of these things is got also it's quite wet today let's have a look at the engine so what is under there is it the original 7.7 L 900 horsepower V12 no same amount of cylinders but quite different the name probably gives that away that there is a 6 L V12 from an Aston Martin oh no it's only going to have what 500 horsepower is wrong there's a Turbocharger that side and a turbo this side this engine has been developed tested and tuned to put out 1,025 brake horsepower that's veon power and it's got a manual gearbox and his rear wheeel drive have I mentioned how wet it is today I love the look of this engine B it's kind of just like the original Super functional but also incredibly good looking just like the original car everything's kind of mounted off this front section here so there's some steel going on in there the suspension comes off it the steering rack's integrated and the engine Comes This Way from it and then we've got the cooling and intakes and stuff this side it's quite functional and I absolutely love the way it looks the intake Platinum isn't that big expanse of carbon fiber like it was you could imagine if TVR had productionize that car the intank plum would look something like this bright orange very TVR the helical engineering guys have used these cars as test Peds for some of their actuators so we've got one either side for the exhaust waste Gates and then deep down in there somewhere the exhausts are valved as well for quiet and loud don't worry today we'll be going full loud the TVR is easily the most manly car I'm going to drive this year and we're doubling down because today's video is sponsored by manscaped manscaped has helped over 10 million men with their grooming that means roughly 20 million balls have been scaped and many more will be joining the gang thanks to this kit the performance package 5.0 Ultra manscape does up their game thanks to this baby right here the lawnmower 5.0 Ultra it's taking trimming to a whole new level thanks to dual skin safe blade heads and it's also accompanied by this upgraded trimmer head a big upgrade with this kit is the foil blade Edition I generally go for at least a small amount of stubble but this will allow me to go fully bare if I fancy going for it to emphasize the tach you know what I feel like a true TVR driver should have as solid a tach as possible let's put these babies into action this thing also has a bigger LED so no ning cranny is sayfe she's powerful is there anything better than having a shade down at the local scrapyard with the boys I think so oh yeah get in there my son you also get the weed Packer 2.0 as well as crop preserver and crop Soother you also get two free gifts with your package including these amazing manscape boxers I love my manscape boxers when these things are on there's going to be zero chafing around here and you'll also get this the shed 2.0 a very very Hardy toilet bag to keep all this stuff in so that's 20% off free international shipping and two free gifts when you use the discount code drivet tribe at manscape.com which you'll find in the link in the description below trust me when I say guys your balls will thank you so the headline stats I've got them here 1,25 brake horsepower 6115 ft of torque 8,750 RPM rev limit the gearbox is a six-speed manual not 62 mph in 2.9 seconds so just despite the manual gearbox it's as quick off the line as a McLaren senta not 120 in 9.8 not actually that quick relative to some other cars and top speed 218 M hour that's theoretical it's not been tested in real life I guess relative to the original which was designed to take on the McLaren F1 that's maybe slightly disappointing seems weird to say 218 but it's less so how do you start up a speed 12 turbo well it's not as scary as the race car because it's got a road car engine so it's a normal key two turns to get the addition on then the immobilizer fires everything up now we're going to click the little helical switch here that gets it from Eco to load then it should just fire up three two one and there we go it may be a road engine sounds quite racy to me now being the development car it doesn't really like to idle it wants to get going so let's give it what it wants heavy clutch set the RS C It Up and Away I mean it is an animal oh my I am just literally tip toing down this WR way I'm talking 20% thr all the Boost this car is absolutely terrifying bloody hell I'm going to have to go and dig a brave pill this is absolutely insane the helical lad said to me when I got in it was good knowing you I understand what they run about now and honestly that's tickling and throttle unbelievable get out what is this thing 120 130 oh my God I mean the fastest road car I've driven is a McLaren 720s in a straight line the fastest race car a Porsche 962 this thing is so much quicker 130 140 oh chist okay the Bonet come this I'm going to need to get that sorted oh my God okay at 1:40 the bonet's come become disconnected I'm going to need to back up get the guys to connect it I was worried coming into today that because it's terrible it would maybe be missing the drama of the any original speed 12 this is this has to be as scary as the original it has to be oh Jesus W tce the bonus popped up again but I've been told it's safe let's try and not get this video demonetized from profanity I have just myself this entire time okay the the dash is just come through the car come on oh okay okay that's my SC it is a bright Beast don't look in the camera when you do that Michael come on I've never known a car to almost make me angry at how much it scared me that it had the audacity to make me tiptoe as much as I was I really had to grip my teeth to feel like I was showing it I was up for the fight this facial expression right here is me trying to recalibrate how ferociously I travel down the runway for every millimeter of throttle pedal TR or you could call it being completely terrified chatting to the helico guys before I strapped in virtually every employe that had driven the car had spun it you guys would have seen this car on a car while drag race video by now but it was spun off the Airfield before it made it to the start line when you're chatting about this car down the pub with your mates make sure to call it the TR not a TVR for legal reason we'll get to the price in a bit is it worth it where I'm sitting right now I think it might be despite what I'll go into we've got to bring this thing to Dun air drw get B Collins by the wheel and S that it probably would challenge for the records it's not really built for that it's a proper lone urance racer chai is a power track I reckon this would go up against some of those serious typ well done speed 12 turbo well done you've beaten me you can buy one of these if you fancy owning something this extreme but this is where an issue arises the original speed 12 that we filmed with sold at auction for £600,000 TR supercars are retail in these things at over a million double the original 7.7 L na car although there is only one of those so I guess if you can't have that one there's a serious price to pay for a similar experience I think in terms of the value of these cars something that would play on my mind is the engine that Ashton V12 is an absolute brute but it's not the original 7.7 that engine would take you straight back to that epic racing era of the '90s into the 2000s but the there is a Twist to this Tale the Hilo engineering guys have recently purchased the only other known original 7.7 that engine somehow got squired away somewhere after TVR disbanded and through a twist of fate it's recently been on Earth so they've bought it and they're going to rebuild it but not only do they have that block they've also got the original engineering drawings that means not only will they have a working original they will be able to make brand new 7.7 and put them in their cars now we're talking and if that engine gets to a point where it's being fired up or put into a car trust me we will be there if you like this video give it a thumbs up I've been Mike and don't forget to subscribe to driv tribe what a car\n"