TVR Tuscan 2S in Cascade Copper
Discussion
Looks the same, TR4. How are you enjoying your new Tuscan?
Things with the new Tuscan couldn't be perfect forever, there are a few niggles beginning to creep through which need some attention. The car is struggling at cold idle and often just dies without throttle intervention. What's more there is also a high RPM misfire which needs some attention so it's back to a specialist next week for some jiggery pokery. The car is under warranty so we'll see what the problem is. My gut feeling is throttle bodies which tend to wear badly with the Speed Six.
On the plus side, it still looks incredible.
Things with the new Tuscan couldn't be perfect forever, there are a few niggles beginning to creep through which need some attention. The car is struggling at cold idle and often just dies without throttle intervention. What's more there is also a high RPM misfire which needs some attention so it's back to a specialist next week for some jiggery pokery. The car is under warranty so we'll see what the problem is. My gut feeling is throttle bodies which tend to wear badly with the Speed Six.
On the plus side, it still looks incredible.
robsco said:
Looks the same, TR4. How are you enjoying your new Tuscan?
Apologies I've only just caught up with your question. Had it now nearly six weeks and loving every moment
Within that short time it has been fully serviced and had some small but niggly things done at RVT Torque, had parts of the interior professionally recoloured from the original Aztec Yellow to black and then last Wednesday had Allan Howell drive over and work his magic on doing a bonnet conversion. Why TVR thought it a good idea to bolt the bonnet down and restrict access to the engine I don't know!
Also, I have done just under 800 miles in it which is more than the previous owner did in the last three years. Oh and I also made contact with the previous owner (who'd owned it for 13 years) and who was able to give me some more info on its history
Edited by TR4man on Friday 29th June 15:47
On Wednesday night we embark on the TVR's first European road trip! We begin heading to Dover, crossing to Calais, Paris, Lucerne, Florence, Pisa, Rome and Positano (our five day break), before venturing back north visiting Venice and Milan. We then blat across for our Calais ferry, crossing the whole of France in one hit!
Unfortunately the car has thrown a few curveballs. This week alone, we have a failed coolant temp sensor, a fried starter motor and failed fuel pump relay. The car will return on Tuesday night with hours to spare, sporting a new starter motor and the other small areas recitifed - this only a couple of weeks after the throttle cable failed leaving us stranded. In all honesty, right now my faith in the big Tuscan's ability to complete this journey is dwindling, however we won't be beaten! With teamwork, defiance and a girlfriend never quite allowing the Tuscan from the doghouse, it's all to play for!
I'll keep you posted on the plucky Brit's (hopefully drama free) journey.
Unfortunately the car has thrown a few curveballs. This week alone, we have a failed coolant temp sensor, a fried starter motor and failed fuel pump relay. The car will return on Tuesday night with hours to spare, sporting a new starter motor and the other small areas recitifed - this only a couple of weeks after the throttle cable failed leaving us stranded. In all honesty, right now my faith in the big Tuscan's ability to complete this journey is dwindling, however we won't be beaten! With teamwork, defiance and a girlfriend never quite allowing the Tuscan from the doghouse, it's all to play for!
I'll keep you posted on the plucky Brit's (hopefully drama free) journey.
A truly stunning car. A friend had one back in the early noughties, and it honestly looked (and sounded) like nothing on this earth.
However, his eventual experience sounds much like what you're going through now, and served as a stark reminder that these cars require a contingency fund similar to a small African country's GDP. Best of luck with the drive!
However, his eventual experience sounds much like what you're going through now, and served as a stark reminder that these cars require a contingency fund similar to a small African country's GDP. Best of luck with the drive!
robsco said:
This week alone, we have a failed coolant temp sensor, a fried starter motor and failed fuel pump relay. The car will return on Tuesday night with hours to spare, sporting a new starter motor and the other small areas recitifed - this only a couple of weeks after the throttle cable failed leaving us stranded. In all honesty, right now my faith in the big Tuscan's ability to complete this journey is dwindling
OP I really hope you have a great trip. 
You've certainly got a stunning car for European tour - I hope it behaves properly!
I've always fancied a TVR, but sadly never been in a position to buy one.
I only know 2 people who have owned them. One has a Griff that he tends to use 3 or 4 times a year, and every time he does something seems to go wrong!
The other had a Cerbera that he used as a daily for over a year with no issues.
But I'd still like one!
You've certainly got a stunning car for European tour - I hope it behaves properly!
I've always fancied a TVR, but sadly never been in a position to buy one.
I only know 2 people who have owned them. One has a Griff that he tends to use 3 or 4 times a year, and every time he does something seems to go wrong!
The other had a Cerbera that he used as a daily for over a year with no issues.
But I'd still like one!
TR4man said:
Can't help but think that a road trip to the Amalfi in such an awesome car deserves more than one photo and two sentences.come on man, we need to know everything!!!!
have you had it PPF'd - surely an absolute necessity with such a 'nightmare to repair' paint scheme!
Apologies for the late response!
I didn’t happen to take too many photos on the way down but the trip we took was as follows:
North Yorkshire down to Canterbury for overnight stop, sailing from Dover (I don’t enjoy ferry travel so Hull to Zeebrugge overnight was a strict no)
Calais to Paris (stopping for two full days in Paris – secure underground parking so no car worries)
Paris to Lucerne, Switzerland (one night here. Not long enough, it transpired!)
Lucerne to Pisa (one day and night in Pisa, which was quite long enough… very little to see beyond the tower and the associated piazza)
Pisa to Florence (only one day and night here, a huge shame as we were extremely fond of Florence)
Florence to Rome (two full days and nights in Rome)
Rome to Amalfi (5 day break here, our “relax” time. Utterly stunning but the car rendered almost unusable due to narrow cliff roads and parking restrictions, necessitating a Vespa to get around)
Amalfi to Venice (2 nights in Venice)
Venice to Milan (overnight stay)
Milan back to North Yorkshire (in one, arduous 18 hour journey)
There were so many highlights to this wonderful trip that it’s difficult to single out particular ones. Whereas we’d planned to use a lot more of the scenic driving routes, when time is at a premium and there’s so much history and beauty to digest, time constraints force your hand a little. Would I take the TVR back to Italy? Probably not. Whereas the pedal-to-the-metal, flat out nature of Italian driving is easy to adapt to, the quality of the roads leaves a lot to be desired (incidentally we were not far from Genoa when the bridge came down). The autostradas proved hard work, with huge expansion gaps causing the car to bounce off its bump stops quite frequently, meaning you could never quite settle. The Tuscan unfortunately is rather crudely set up, in that the car’s suspension travel ends rather harshly and thumps through the cabin; I believe that new, stiffer shocks will aid this. There were a few issues along the way which threatened to hinder progress, namely an intermittent hot start misfire which didn’t rear its ugly head until we were deep into Switzerland, forcing us to fuel with the engine running where the attendants allowed!
In the heart of Italy, travelling from Amalfi to Venice in 30 degree heat, the car completely died on the Autostrada with no warning at motorway speeds… having coasted to a halt, I feared the worst. After gathering my emotions, following a minute or so of rest, the car simply restarted on the button and behaved faultlessly for the rest of the journey. What the issue was I am still at a loss, perhaps fuel vapourisation in the heat. It’s not all bad news, though! In the TVR’s defence, it covered a full 1000 mile journey on the final day which filled me full of pride in Blackpool’s finest. Having set off at 12am from Milan in the pelting rain, despite the dipped beam failure (we had to use full beam to keep on the move, much to the understandable annoyance of other motorists), the car ran through to the Swiss border, into France and all the way north to Calais, stopping only for fuel and a 15 minute power nap somewhere in France. What's more, at 6am and shortly before sunrise, dipped beam flickered its way back into life!
After a 90 minute break during the ferry cross, the car then drove us from Dover back to Yorkshire, again in the pouring rain, through typical British traffic jams and safely to the doorstep by 8pm. It isn’t a journey that I’d repeat in a hurry, but driving through 4 countries in a day to end a very special holiday, with a very special person, and in arguably one of the most iconic cars of the 21st century (slightly biased!), is something I’ll never forget.
So, to the car… What has the first year of ownership taught me? The Tuscan needs to be viewed as a classic car with modern performance in order for it to make sense. Dynamically, the car is flawed. Fit and finish was lightyears behind what a customer would expect in 2004, let alone today. Although the car is ferociously fast, it never quite feels like 400bhp in a car weighing a shade over 1000kgs. The Tuscan is all about the experience, not the absolute numbers. The gearbox is beautiful (although perhaps not to the level of earlier T5s in Cerberas etc), the brake feel is incredible and the engine, whilst snuffling and grumpy when cold, is a snarling animal when it gets into its stride. It makes all the right noises, has the presence of cars costing 5 times the price, attracts the right sort of attention, goes like hell and looks like nothing else brought market before or since. After a year of gazing at it in awe, I’m glad to report that nothing has changed. I still cannot walk away from it without looking back and wondering how on earth a few folk in Blackpool could knock together something like this, and what a travesty it is that they sold so few.
The two photos below were taken on a recent trip to Burghley House for the TVRCC season opener.
I didn’t happen to take too many photos on the way down but the trip we took was as follows:
North Yorkshire down to Canterbury for overnight stop, sailing from Dover (I don’t enjoy ferry travel so Hull to Zeebrugge overnight was a strict no)
Calais to Paris (stopping for two full days in Paris – secure underground parking so no car worries)
Paris to Lucerne, Switzerland (one night here. Not long enough, it transpired!)
Lucerne to Pisa (one day and night in Pisa, which was quite long enough… very little to see beyond the tower and the associated piazza)
Pisa to Florence (only one day and night here, a huge shame as we were extremely fond of Florence)
Florence to Rome (two full days and nights in Rome)
Rome to Amalfi (5 day break here, our “relax” time. Utterly stunning but the car rendered almost unusable due to narrow cliff roads and parking restrictions, necessitating a Vespa to get around)
Amalfi to Venice (2 nights in Venice)
Venice to Milan (overnight stay)
Milan back to North Yorkshire (in one, arduous 18 hour journey)
There were so many highlights to this wonderful trip that it’s difficult to single out particular ones. Whereas we’d planned to use a lot more of the scenic driving routes, when time is at a premium and there’s so much history and beauty to digest, time constraints force your hand a little. Would I take the TVR back to Italy? Probably not. Whereas the pedal-to-the-metal, flat out nature of Italian driving is easy to adapt to, the quality of the roads leaves a lot to be desired (incidentally we were not far from Genoa when the bridge came down). The autostradas proved hard work, with huge expansion gaps causing the car to bounce off its bump stops quite frequently, meaning you could never quite settle. The Tuscan unfortunately is rather crudely set up, in that the car’s suspension travel ends rather harshly and thumps through the cabin; I believe that new, stiffer shocks will aid this. There were a few issues along the way which threatened to hinder progress, namely an intermittent hot start misfire which didn’t rear its ugly head until we were deep into Switzerland, forcing us to fuel with the engine running where the attendants allowed!
In the heart of Italy, travelling from Amalfi to Venice in 30 degree heat, the car completely died on the Autostrada with no warning at motorway speeds… having coasted to a halt, I feared the worst. After gathering my emotions, following a minute or so of rest, the car simply restarted on the button and behaved faultlessly for the rest of the journey. What the issue was I am still at a loss, perhaps fuel vapourisation in the heat. It’s not all bad news, though! In the TVR’s defence, it covered a full 1000 mile journey on the final day which filled me full of pride in Blackpool’s finest. Having set off at 12am from Milan in the pelting rain, despite the dipped beam failure (we had to use full beam to keep on the move, much to the understandable annoyance of other motorists), the car ran through to the Swiss border, into France and all the way north to Calais, stopping only for fuel and a 15 minute power nap somewhere in France. What's more, at 6am and shortly before sunrise, dipped beam flickered its way back into life!
After a 90 minute break during the ferry cross, the car then drove us from Dover back to Yorkshire, again in the pouring rain, through typical British traffic jams and safely to the doorstep by 8pm. It isn’t a journey that I’d repeat in a hurry, but driving through 4 countries in a day to end a very special holiday, with a very special person, and in arguably one of the most iconic cars of the 21st century (slightly biased!), is something I’ll never forget.
So, to the car… What has the first year of ownership taught me? The Tuscan needs to be viewed as a classic car with modern performance in order for it to make sense. Dynamically, the car is flawed. Fit and finish was lightyears behind what a customer would expect in 2004, let alone today. Although the car is ferociously fast, it never quite feels like 400bhp in a car weighing a shade over 1000kgs. The Tuscan is all about the experience, not the absolute numbers. The gearbox is beautiful (although perhaps not to the level of earlier T5s in Cerberas etc), the brake feel is incredible and the engine, whilst snuffling and grumpy when cold, is a snarling animal when it gets into its stride. It makes all the right noises, has the presence of cars costing 5 times the price, attracts the right sort of attention, goes like hell and looks like nothing else brought market before or since. After a year of gazing at it in awe, I’m glad to report that nothing has changed. I still cannot walk away from it without looking back and wondering how on earth a few folk in Blackpool could knock together something like this, and what a travesty it is that they sold so few.
The two photos below were taken on a recent trip to Burghley House for the TVRCC season opener.
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