Correct identification for a S2 2.9

[JimTC]

Hi

Just after some clarification regarding identitying S2 variants.

Can these be identified as 280S with a 2.9 engine, or should they be 290S? Or is 290 reserved for the S3?

I have a 1990 car in mind that has the former ID.

Thanks in advance.

[GreenV8S]

It's normal for them to be registered as a 280S. And the specs of the various versions, S1, S2 etc are not at all fixed. There are plenty of cars that are a blend of the different versions, as various upgrades made their way into the production line.

[frontfloater]

My 1989 S2 had a V5 designating it as a 290S. But if you read the opening chapters of Steve Heath's book about the S-series cars, he makes the point that there was no set system, and almost every combination exists. It seems to have been a case of "mix & match" across the S1, S1.5, S2 and later cars.

[JimTC]

Thanks for the really useful information!
Cheers

[ChazUwe]

Not unusual for them to have different info on the V5, good old TVR! Visual confirmation will obviously tell you which engine you have!

[magpies]

My S1 has only TVR and no model on my V5

[sixor8]

A lot of cars were recorded with no model details. If you look at how many left, you'll see 'Missing' as the data for cars recorded with make only. It gets quoted a lot, especially by certain TV car programmes but the correct numbers are sketchy at best.

TVR, bless, get all the models on one page.

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?q=tvr

If you go into the missing cars, you'll find 354 of them were registered in 1992. The first Griffs aren't as rare as some believe, and there will also be S models in there too. There are still 138 cars registered in 1988 that have no model recorded.

TVR aren't the only ones, there are over 120,000 Mercedes with no model designation!

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/mercedes_mis...

[Adrian@]

My take is, this was all down to TVR not wanting to pay for the correct testing of each and every model change. (does anyone know how many version actually had a crash test...if I was asked, I would say two, M series and Griffith). A@