Friday 8th September 2017

New TVR Griffith - official

It's here! £90K, 200mph and over 500hp confirmed for the return of TVR

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This is fairly momentous news really, isn't it? A new TVR, the brand's first release for more than 10 years, on PistonHeads - a website that's legendary for its relationship with TVR.

Here it is!

And here it is, the Griffith for the 21st century. A familiar name then, but a TVR the kind of which we haven't seen before. The official line describes the car thus: "Boasting timeless sports car proportions and radical styling, the new Griffith is unmistakably a TVR, while its LED headlamps and full ground effect aerodynamics truly bring the brand into the present day." We're not ones to comment on styling - that's your job, after all - but Les Edgar goes further to say "This is unmistakably a TVR, a British muscle car that's as awesome and brutal as it is charismatic and refined." Sounds promising!

To the numbers. The Griffith is a small car - just 4,314mm long and 1,239mm tall - with the width rated at 1,850mm. Weight is said to be 1,250kg unladen, split 50:50 front to back. Tyres are from Avon, with the fronts 235/35-section on a 19-inch wheel and the rear 20s using 275/30-section rubber. Iron brakes use six-piston aluminium calipers at the front and four-piston equivalents at the back, the discs measuring 370mm and 350mm.

Side-exit exhaust a very good start

The Cosworth tweaks to the Mustang V8 haven't been extensively detailed yet, the press release stating simply that the ECU "has been substantially enhanced". 200mph is claimed, as is a 0-60mph dash in less than four seconds, with a 400hp-per-tonne power-to-weight ratio equating to a power output in the region of 500hp. The Griffith uses a six-speed Tremec Magnum XL gearbox.

Don't worry, there's plenty more. Suspension is fairly conventional, with double wishbones at each corner and adjustable coilover dampers, but the steering uses electric power assistance. Quite a big move for a company that for so long rejected any interfering technology. Sure, you couldn't expect a car with tyres this big to forego power assistance, though it seems a shame that there weren't any hydraulic options. ABS and traction control are standard.

Now it's well known that the TVR is built using Gordon Murray's iStream architecture, the car confirmed as using a steel, aluminium and bonded carbon composite in its chassis. The body employs composite again with "a number of aluminium panels."

Launch Edition is £90K; still a few available...

Inside there are two seats - and will only ever be two seats - with a bespoke infotainment system, lots of leather and only the required controls that "enhance the 'Spirit of Driving'". It should be noted too that this car is the Launch Edition with the full leather - there's no word yet on what a standard interior will look like.

Want one? A few of the 500 Launch Edition Griffiths are still available, with all of those offered in specific Launch Edition colours. The car starts at £90,000, and will begin production at the end of next year - welcome back TVR!

 

[Atmospheric]

Electric steering? a Sport button?

FFS

Like everything else about it though.

[FNG]

Dare I say a little disappointing in appearance?
But the rest sounds very promising indeed!

[MajorMantra]

I quite like that.

Am I the only one seeing a lot of ND MX-5 in the front end? (Not a bad thing, just the very first thought that popped into my head.)

[PhantomPH]

Ah...not as nice as I had hoped. That's a shame.

To me, it looks dated already. Merc SLS front and iffy modified Supra rear. Plus a mildly 80's interior...damn, I really wanted to like this.

[DanielSan]

The wasn't is strong here! I'm in love!

[Stu-nph26]

FNG said:

Dare I say a little disappointing in appearance?
But the rest sounds very promising indeed!

I was thinking the same but I'll reserve judgement until better pictures are released.

[kambites]

Sadly the EPAS was probably inevitable given that there will presumably be no hydraulic pump available off the shelf for the engine. I suppose they could have gone electrically-pumped hydraulic but that would add considerable cost and potential reliability concerns. Much easier just to bolt on an EPAS rack. EPAS systems have been steadily improving in terms of feel; it's unlikely to be great but hopefully it wont be too dire.

Styling-wise it's a bit tame, I was hoping for something loony like TVRs of old. Same with the interior really; it looks nice enough but it's rather bland. Of course what really matters is how it drives, which remains to be seen.

[Chapppers]

Magnum XL Gearbox. Shove it in and hope for the best.

[tejr]

Meh.. looks a bit weak from the front.. Not enough aggression.

[dazwalsh]

Quite like the look of that, retaining some tvr quirks that I hoped it would.

[308mate]

That whole design could be lifted significantly by a decent set of wheels.

[sjc]

Loving the spec,and was seriously thinking about one for next year,but unless it's the picture angles and colour that styling is a massive disappointment.

[bakes]

Looks Japanese. Thought it was a Supra at first. Too reserved for tvr

[RichardR]

PhantomPH said:

Ah...not as nice as I had hoped. That's a shame.

I was just sitting here chastising myself for feeling exactly the same way as you.

This shot in particularly unflattering IMHO...



Hopefully the looks will gel as more images come out and there's an opportunity to see it in the flesh too.

Despite the above, it's still fantastic to see a new TVR model!

[lufbramatt]

Not helped by these photos looking unbelievably amateur with the harsh lighting and dodgy photoshopped background. I bet that would look miles better with pics taken by a decent photographer.

[sjc]

308mate said:

That whole design could be lifted significantly by a decent set of wheels.

Indeed, the style and offset is totally wrong.

[thecremeegg]

Not much of a looker from these pics but it is in red, a colour that only works on Ferraris so in a black it might be more pleasing. Looking forward to seeing one in the flesh though!

[kambites]

lufbramatt said:

Not helped by these photos looking unbelievably amateur with the harsh lighting and dodgy photoshopped background. I bet that would look miles better with pics taken by a decent photographer.

True, it looks almost as if they're using reflections to try to hide the surface detailing.

[Alpinestars]

Launch video at 8.55.

Not liking the sound of EPAS.

https://www.tvr.co.uk/goodwood

[LordGrover]

Not keen on rear. Still would though.