Monday 23rd September 2013

TVR T440R: Time for Tea?

Martin Brundle attempts to deliver a review over a TVR. Fails.

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Though numbers can never be guaranteed at a PH Sunday Service, you can always be sure of some fantastic cars. Personal highlights from yesterday at Silverstone included a pair of M3 CSLs, a Xsara VTS (guilty pleasure), and a TVR Sagaris that looks just as wild now as it did back in 2005.

So today, with proper news covered for another morning, it was to YouTube for something relevant to yesterday. Few Sagaris videos jumped out as feature-worthy, but then I remembered the T440R: a madder, badder Tuscan with that claimed 215mph top speed.

Just three T440s were made for the road as Typhons, with a complicated gestation period in the best TVR fashion. But if this video is anything to go by, it would have made a spectacular car.

It's an excerpt from Martin Brundle's Supercars video; there's plenty of noise, as you would expect, but some useful insight from Martin too on what it's like to actually hustle a TVR rather than just hang on.

'Challenging' is probably the best way to describe the T440R on this evidence. It looks tough, involving and two very large handfuls in the wet. So step back ten years, turn up the volume and feast yourself on some Blackpool nostalgia. Hopefully it won't be long before we have something from the new TVR to report on...

 

 

 

[bubaak]

I loove this car

[myhandle]

There is one of these with a Typhon - related numberplate that appears regularly at events. The shape has aged very well, and it is really quite different to the Tuscan , including at the front, than photographs might initially suggest. Great to see such a rare car being driven so frequently.

[Morningside]

Niiiiiice

[V8Dom]

nice car, but you would think even a development car wont smoke that much..

[Atom Ant]

'Little bit raw for an F1 driver' that will do nicely then

[100SRV]

Pretty sure I saw one of these traveling South on the Horseshoe Pass around 6pm last Saturday...superb!

[MarkoNoTVR]

I love the deadpan delivery of "I'm enjoying this." Brundle's a legend though, so he's allowed!

Had a short trip around the NEC in a Typhon when I was in the TVRCC.....mint! Miss my T2 now....

[anonymous-user]

>200mph? I don't think so............ ;-)

[Gtom]

215mph?!

[Furyblade_Lee]

"It's a bit too raw, even for an ex-F1 driver.."

Makes me want one even more!!! I do raw.

[dinkel]

What's this about then: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/tvr-official...

'TVR Officially Announces its Revival' > surely it's BS?

[bobberz]

Sounds like a proper race car. How in the world was that ever road-legal?!

[iacabu]

Gorgeous. Happened to see the aforementioned car on the way into Blackpool along with a few others, so a quick Google later I made a trip to the prom for the 'back home' meet.

[crosseyedlion]

bobberz said:

Sounds like a proper race car. How in the world was that ever road-legal?!

May be wrong, but all the T440's were registered as Sagaris's...naughty TVR.

[B17NNS]

crosseyedlion said:

May be wrong, but all the T440's were registered as Sagaris's...naughty TVR.

they really couldn't be arsed with bureaucracy and paperwork could they.

[MrChips]

Common as muck.


These were a bit of a bargain a few years back, seeing as they're so rare. I think it's been 3-4 years since one was for sale so with the recent price rises that some of the TVR market have seen, it'd be interesting to see what they would go for now.

I believe this great little site was pulled together by the current owners of the cars, with a lot of useful info on it.

www.tvr-typhon.com

[judas]

dinkel said:

What's this about then: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/tvr-official...

'TVR Officially Announces its Revival' > surely it's BS?

I can only assume you've not been keeping up with the news...

Not BS. TVR was bought lock, stock and barrel earlier this year: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[0a]

I'm very happy to say I wouldn't be a good enough driver to enjoy that. Lovely looking car though.

[Bassfiend229hp]

B17NNS said:

crosseyedlion said:

May be wrong, but all the T440's were registered as Sagaris's...naughty TVR.

they really couldn't be arsed with bureaucracy and paperwork could they.

Gotta love 'em ...

[NCE 61]

There are actually four road going ones, three badged as Typhons & one as a T440:-