Lynx giveaway TVR 400 SE for sale
Not just any 400 - this was a competition prize! Bom chicka wah wah...
Nowadays, if you're lucky enough to win a car in a competition, it's likely to be a bit rubbish. The last we saw on TV was a Toyota Aygo, for example. But it wasn't always this way - once upon a time, there were TVRs as competition prizes.
That's right, this 400 SE was given away as a prize. Not just any prize, either, but from Faberge Lynx, as every teenage boy's favourite deodorant was once known. Look, there's a badge on the boot and everything. While Brut might seem a more fitting TVR fragrance, the Lynx association - we'll avoid 'Lynx effect' at all costs - does at least make the TVR interesting.
We've no idea how this came about. Even the forum doesn't seem to know much about the TVR given away by Lynx, so it really must be a mystery. Presumably it involved buying loads of deodorant, maybe sending off to a designated PO box, or telling Faberge why you deserved the 400SE most of all. If anyone does know, we'd love to hear about it. The collaboration does remain an odd pairing, though; in 1992 it's hard to imagine anyone spraying Lynx on themselves coveting a TVR. By the same token, a driver aspiring to the last of the Wedges surely wasn't a Lynx kind of person. Rather eliminated a woman entering the competition, too.
Anyway, though the finer details of the competition may remain a mystery, the lucky prizewinner's car remains a beaut. Black paint and magnolia leather is a fairly refined colour combo for such famously rowdy car, and the SE has only covered a little over 40,000 miles despite now being 30 years old. It's being sold with a full history and all MOTs, which must now be quite the collection.
In fact, there's arguably never been a better time for a Wedge, and this one in particular. As the later TVRs straight-six TVRs seemingly continue to appreciate, so something with the old Rover V8 for less than £20k continues to appeal. This one was subject to some extensive restorative work in 2016, with more than £20,000 spent, and the last owner invested further despite only acquiring the car in 2020. So not only does the Lynx (can we call it that?) have a new roof and set of dash veneers, it also as a gearbox that refurbished less than 2,500 miles ago. The advert states that the body and interior are in "very good condition", with "exceptional" chassis and running gear. There seems little reason to doubt that from here. This era of TVR is seldom seen nowadays, and even more rarely in this condition.
So although being the Lynx prize car is hardly the most illustrious claim to uniqueness ever made, this 400 SE has plenty more going for it than that. TVR always did burly sports car better than anyone else, and nothing quite epitomises that like a Wedge. For half the price of the best Griffith yet still with that iconic V8, the allure is easy to see. Call it the Lynx effect...
0DC99666-16AC-4558-83D7-9478905E553C by James Fawcett, on Flickr
My TVR 400 SE 004_Original by James Fawcett, on Flickr
I remember all the people just staring at it, as I sat at the lights burbbling on tickover and driving through town blokes were just gawping because of the noise and looks and the acceleration going onto the dual carriage way from 2nd to 3rd and 4th gear was epic.
I remember all the people just staring at it, as I sat at the lights burbbling on tickover and driving through town blokes were just gawping because of the noise and looks and the acceleration going onto the dual carriage way from 2nd to 3rd and 4th gear was epic.
https://youtu.be/NFO9jjxGfDE
Can remember when they used to occasionally give away a car on the Bullseye game show, usually a crap entry level model. More often than not it was a speedboat and i even remember a few Hammond organs (thats the keyboard instrument, nothing to do with Richard Hammond).
What's wrong with it, or is that the going rate?
And if so, what's wrong with them?
That seems like a bargain, considering current market conditions.
They just don't seem to have increased in price much over the last few years (yet).
Best get one quick.
(I've a 350i for sale...)
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