RE: New TVR Griffith on the move

[bullittmcqueen]

kambites said:

Robmarriott said:

It sounds very strange ticking over.

The side-exit exhausts mean that when you're on one side of the car you can only hear the exhaust pulses from one bank of the engine and it being a cross-plane V8, they are not firing at even intervals.

I think it was also impacted by the camera mic, but the sound was still good. But should be a bit more present when you're standing next to the car. Any idea on whether this sound was "final" in the sense that everything was cat-ted and with proper exhaust all correctly installed ?

[tighnamara]

Thom said:

People who don't like it can be criticised for repeating themselves, but how about others who keep going on how a British company is trying to do "something interesting", which is another way of saying they actually don't really like the car either but are too embarrassed to admit it out loud.

Why the need to keep posting that you don't like the car, no need to look near this page if you are so against the car and company ethos.
If I wasn't keen on something I would certainly not waste my time posting the same same every other day.
Takes all sorts I suppose.

All I can say is we'll done to Les and team and hope they have success

[corcoran]

Oh How We Laughed

[braddo]

Thom said:

I have been a die-hard TVR fan since...

blah blah blah

All your ranting appears to be because you don't like the car's looks. That is just ridiculous
You seem to calling into question the entire project just because you don't like the front end styling or because the new car isn't as batsh!t ugly as a fewTVRs made for a select few years (Sagaris, Tamora, T350).

Thom said:

...Murray will for sure have designed a lethally efficient car, and where efficiency begins, the fun - and the Sport in its purest form - ends...

This in particular is utter bull patties. A bog standard S1 Elise is an extremely efficient car and a wonderfully fun, pure sports car. At the other extreme, the McLaren F1 is an efficient car but designed (successfully, can't remember by whom) to be an engaging road car.

That said, it would be an interesting test to see how fun the new TVR will be if it was shod on 195-width tyres all round...

[C1RVY]

Porsche911R said:

IF TVR can do this for £90k what are Lotus playing at where that old Evora is £110k ?

Some thing don't add up in Lotus land. TVR have sold more than Lotus have all year.

Eh!?!? Lotus production can't keep up with order demand currently - they're struggling to make em quick enough. The new Exige Cup sold out within a couple of weeks I heard.

That new Griffith does look better on the move, but the front end is just foul.

Please have a redesign TVR.

[tubs]

Sorry but that sounds like a Tuk Tuk!!

[Light n Hairy]

Assuming TVR does realise the looks need a rethink and decide to redesign the exterior completely, does anyone with knowledge of such things know how feasible or costly that would be? I assume they havent made the permanent tools, pressings or jigs yet.

[ESOG]

Looks and sounds amazing. the rear quarter panel/window from the side view leading to the rear deck with the spoiler reminds me of a Dodge Stealth RT Turbo of all things. I like it as it gives the car a real meaty and planted look to it IMO.

What do you all say?

[Edmundo2]

Re the noise - are any of you really suggesting that a 5ltr yank V8 tuned by Cosworth is going to sound poor? !

Whatever we can hear on a cheap video is irrelevant and unrepresentative.

It will be awesome- how can it not be..........

[bullittmcqueen]

Light n Hairy said:

Assuming TVR does realise the looks need a rethink and decide to redesign the exterior completely, does anyone with knowledge of such things know how feasible or costly that would be? I assume they havent made the permanent tools, pressings or jigs yet.

It's not going to happen and it would be very expensive as it would also impact the type approval process. I guess it's been a lot, lot easier 20 years ago.

[anonymous-user]

Thom said:

I was in the market for a 570S, but as someone who runs several nice British classic cars, I decided it lacked the soul a British car should have, and as a DIYer I cannot get to grip with paying £1k or so a year for an oil change. Call me mean if you want, but that's how it is.

I have been a die-hard TVR fan since the Cerbera came out, before PH was born, and have followed much of the TVR drama with all the ups and downs experienced by lucky and not-so-lucky owners. Like many others probably I was disappointed when Wheeler sold the company, and was really hoping that this new "TVR" would live up to expectations of the TVR name, but the looks just do not do it, full stop. Will it be a great car? Perhaps. Do I wish all the people involved success? Absolutely. Does this car tick all the boxes worth of the TVR badge? Hell no.
There are lots of stereotypes about the Corvette but the C6 ZR1 is the only car I can think of these days that gathers all the proper TVR values - too much power, front engine, (reasonably) good looks, (relatively) simple architecture without too much driver aids, a proper handful if you provoke it, etc. It's important to have fun without going too fast. Murray will for sure have designed a lethally efficient car, and where efficiency begins, the fun - and the Sport in its purest form - ends. Let's see how this new car will fare with journos
If this is what a sport cars should be in 2017, then faire game, but that won't prevent me from shouting out loud for as long as I will be breathing that this is exactly where 4-wheeled fun has gone wrong. This is a point of view that many classic cars enthusiasts probably share, or at least, I have heard said repeatedly with unabashed confidence, and TVR was probably the last brand I can think of that could defend these values with indisputable relevance.
Call me "obtuse" if you will, but when I drive my porkers I expect things I would not expect from my classics, and vice versa. In a market where the choice is ever widening, I consider vital to work on core values. Perhaps the brand TVR does not have core values in the end, if we consider how many different people ran the company in the past, and considering how many radically different cars were made from the Grantura to the Sagaris.

There is chance the styling will evolve for the better on other possible models. After all, not all cars under the Wheeler era looked good. Let's see what they come up with if they can make profits and launch other models. I understand fully that a model that appeals to the masses would generate the revenues needed to build probably a profitable business in the long term, then give birth to hopefully other more exciting models, but I do not see this happening considering how the PR is being handled, not even considering the challenging looks of the car.

I totally agree on the Mclaren, lovely things but hugely expensive to run. I am not sure what a modern TVR could be, there are so many rules and regulations these days that it is almost impossible to say. Back in the day it was totally acceptable to have exploding engines and a few leaks here and there, not to mention styling and impact protection which would barely have met the Chinese test standards. As I see it they haven't gone wrong at all. The looks of the car are always going to divide opinion. I am waiting until I see one in the flesh before I make a judgement. The launch colour doesn't work for me and I am curious to see the finished interior. However, there is no doubting the numbers, which I believe to be true. Or the chassis, after speaking to people involved it is a very clever bit of engineering, not a spine frame and some outriggers! Take any manufacturer and they are diluting their core values. Case in point Porsche. Every variant gets that little bit more 'efficient', the enjoyment of the early ones was learning how to make the most of their curious balance, it's all but engineered out these days. For TVR to survive they need deposits, they can't do this with tiny volumes. The Corvette is a great car, but has always been a bit of a dog dynamically on UK roads. Also the fit and finish is no better than anything else that Chevrolet make. No. There is room for a British performance car, and a performance car with a dirty V8 that is not a Porsche, not a Mclaren and has a bit of history. They'll live and die on the order book and the cash flow, I really hope they make it work.

[Thom]

braddo said:

All your ranting appears to be because you don't like the car's looks. That is just ridiculous
You seem to calling into question the entire project just because you don't like the front end styling or because the new car isn't as batsh!t ugly as a fewTVRs made for a select few years (Sagaris, Tamora, T350).

This is not any more ridiculous than supporting a car with a look we are not too sure of just because it carries the badge of a brand we once revered but that has actually been defunct for 10 years.
As I said earlier this may turn out an excellent car and some may like it but then it should carry another badge.

braddo said:

This in particular is utter bull patties. A bog standard S1 Elise is an extremely efficient car and a wonderfully fun, pure sports car.

An Elise S1 is such an underpowered car I would not call it anywhere near fun. Last car in this format I drove was a Speedster turbo with 280hp and 350 ft.lbs and all the required suspension mods. That was a fun car.

[anonymous-user]

Thom said:

An Elise S1 is such an underpowered car I would not call it anywhere near fun. Last car in this format I drove was a Speedster turbo with 280hp and 350 ft.lbs and all the required suspension mods. That was a fun car.

The beauty of the Elise is its balance. You don't need 280HP to appreciate the genius of the chassis!

[bullittmcqueen]

Let's see how this one pans out, with that kind of invested money. It may be an alternative for all the naysayers, although it may be lacking in the underfloor aero department :

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/09/19/bil...

[BJWoods]

Light n Hairy said:

Assuming TVR does realise the looks need a rethink and decide to redesign the exterior completely, does anyone with knowledge of such things know how feasible or costly that would be? I assume they havent made the permanent tools, pressings or jigs yet.

The looks are great.. just because different to what is used to.

And I have a deposit down.

[jhonn]

Thom said:

As I said earlier this may turn out an excellent car and some may like it but then it should carry another badge.

Seems an odd thing to say - could you explain why the company/car being called TVR is a problem to you?

Names from defunct companies do get resurrected and put on 'new' products - Bugatti for cars, Triumph for motorcycles being a couple of examples - they make good products and the public accepts them for what they are - I can't see the problem myself.

Are you saying that they can call it a TVR if it turns out to be crap?

[so called]

I like it.

I wonder if I can fit one on my drive?

[KTF]

yonex said:

You don't need 280HP to appreciate the genius of the chassis!

Toyota tried that with the GT86 and each time its mentioned, someone always says 'its nice but if only it had more power...'

[C1RVY]

Thom said:

An Elise S1 is such an underpowered car I would not call it anywhere near fun. Last car in this format I drove was a Speedster turbo with 280hp and 350 ft.lbs and all the required suspension mods. That was a fun car.

A Lotus Elise - not a fun car.

Can this really be Pistonheads!?!?!?

[Thom]

jhonn said:

Seems an odd thing to say - could you explain why the company/car being called TVR is a problem to you?

Names from defunct companies do get resurrected and put on 'new' products - Bugatti for cars, Triumph for motorcycles being a couple of examples - they make good products and the public accepts them for what they are - I can't see the problem myself

Well, just go for a drive in an original Bugatti. If you have a bit of historical sensitivity you should understand what's wrong with rewriting history.

Conversely, if this new "TVR" is such a great car and an innovative departure from TVRs of old, why should it need to carry the badge of a defunct brand known for glue-smelling plastic bath tubs mounted on a rotting chassis that handles like a wheelbarrow?

Edited by Thom on Thursday 21st September 10:15