Driven: TVR Sagaris
Early impressions of the new TVR are hugely positive
In the spirit of enquiry without which PistonHeads would not be the place it is, your intrepid reporter, PH editor Manek Dubash, took a test drive of the new TVR Sagaris, courtesy of E Sussex TVR dealer Dream Machines, with the aim of bringing you first impressions. We drove the vivid green machine back to back against a Tamora, just to compare the old style TVR with the new.
While the Tamora/T350 setup is exciting to drive, the example we drove was not one that took to a moment's inattention kindly. Although much fun, full attention was required at all times.
The Sagaris on the other hand has all the excitement, and more, of the earlier car but with a much more mature attitude. Although we had only 20 minutes or so in the car, what was clear was that a hugely positive difference was made by the suspension, the power-assisted steering setup -- and by the noise.
Without losing any feel or the aggressive, go-kart-like turn-in, the 195mph Sagaris feels planted on the road. Where the Tamora would go snuffling in the gutters at the slightest excuse, the solidly screwed-together Sagaris would have none of it, and was happy to drive in a straight line unless provoked by the driver.
It felt more compliant too, though without loss of feel, making for a more comfortable ride. And that's despite the spring rates being three times stiffer than the Tamora's. The brakes too are worthy of the car, with plenty of modulation possible and as much retardation as you need.
You could imagine crossing continents in the Sagaris, where you might think twice -- three times -- before undertaking the same exercise in the Tamora/T350.
And then there's the noise. TVR has tuned the exhaust perfectly, with plenty of pops and bangs on the overrun, and a lightweight flywheel contributing to its ability to issue peremptory barks of throttle blip when changing down. On the move it sounds smooth but with a classic TVR rumble; this car is the one to convert the V8 die-hards. The performance is of course, everything we've come to expect of TVR's 400bhp Straight Six, highly suited as it is to the Sagaris' long-travel go pedal, with 0-60mph coming up in under four seconds.
As for the styling, that's down to personal preference. For this reporter, the car could do with losing some of the overly-busy styling, especially the now-redundant front wheel-arch corrugations, and return to the something closer to flowing lines of the 1990s cars. But that's only one person's opinion...
TVR has got it right with the Sagaris. Let's hope this is the start of a permanent upsurge in the sometimes patchy history of the Blackpool tiger.
www.racinggreentvr.com/models/sagaris.asp
Its Racing Greens drive through the back roads and some of London. I just played this to the office and most of us were in stitches!!!! What a way to go, i love the bit through the town, those people on the pavement can't believe it either.
Well done Racing Green, loved it.
A direct link is here
www.racinggreencars.com
A well constructed video too! Well done to Racing Green!
>> Edited by ricardinho on Friday 18th March 12:17
Rubbish, IMHO. We drove from NW England to the south of France, NW Italy, Switzerland and back in the Tamora last year. A great experience having only thought of it once!
Julian
Am I the only one who is confused by this?
I thought the Sagaris was supposed to be the no-compromise raw track focused experience and the T350 more the soft GT.
Sounds like they are completely the wrong way round.
Mark
Produced for Racing Green TVR by PHer Gruffy, with a couple of assistants, and a top driver.
Here are some more direct links (File Save As...)
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VHigh Qual .wmv (24,665 Kb .wmv)- www.sleepy-fish.com/images/videos/TVRs/Racing_Green_Sagaris_vhigh.wmv
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High Qual .wmv (15,672 Kb .wmv)- www.sleepy-fish.com/images/videos/TVRs/Racing_Green_Sagaris_high.wmv
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Med Qual .wmv (11,089 Kb .wmv)-
www.sleepy-fish.com/images/videos/TVRs/Racing_Green_Sagaris_med.wmv
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Low - Qual .wmv (4,491 Kb .wmv)- www.sleepy-fish.com/images/videos/TVRs/Racing_Green_Sagaris_low.wmv
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Hi Qual .mov (29,686 Kb .mov)- www.sleepy-fish.com/images/videos/TVRs/sagaris_large.mov
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Low Qual .mov (9,011 Kb .mov)- www.sleepy-fish.com/images/videos/TVRs/sagaris_small.mov
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Hi Qual .mpg (24,316 Kb) - www.sleepy-fish.com/images/videos/TVRs/sagaris_promo.mpg
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For those of you at the open weekend at Racing Green, you'll have seen this on DVD. For those that know nothing about it...boy are you in for a treat
Shot a couple of weeks ago on the roads in the south, central London, and a test track, its an awesome demonstration and visualisation of TVR's latest creation.
Trust me, you will not be disappointed....I loved it, and I know you will.
Perhaps Gruffy and Racing Green would like to add some words to sum up their input to the short film, and what they think of the car (about 400 miles done on the day of shooting).
Regards
LB
>> Edited by luca brazzi on Friday 18th March 17:03
BT52 said:
"You could imagine crossing continents in the Sagaris, where you might think twice -- three times -- before undertaking the same exercise in the Tamora/T350. "
Am I the only one who is confused by this?
I thought the Sagaris was supposed to be the no-compromise raw track focused experience and the T350 more the soft GT.
Sounds like they are completely the wrong way round.
Mark
It's odd, but true. The Sagaris feels much more planted and really very easy to drive (though I didn't push it on the test drive). It feels like you're driving it, and not the other way around as is the case with some of the earlier models.
I've heard comments that the '05 T350's and Tamoras feel similar but I don't know of a dealer with a '05 t350 demo that I can test the theory out at!
D
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