Hyper-rare TVR T440R for sale

One of two? Maybe three? No one knows, but the chance to buy Blackpool's road-going Le Mans racer don't come often

By Cam Tait / Sunday, 23 November 2025 / Loading comments

When was the last time a car stopped you dead in your tracks? At the risk of sounding jaded by the relentless supply of multi-million-pound hypercars, it’s rare for a new model to elicit an audible ‘wow’ upon laying eyes on it. If you feel the same way, then I suggest you visit the Classic Motor Show at the NEC (you’ll have to wait until next year, sadly), because it’s full of cars that are immensely rare, achingly cool and have yet to be plastered all over social media. It really does make you feel like a kid again.

Many ‘wows’ were had, particularly those prompted by a genuine 1992 Lancia Delta WRC in full Martini gear and an Alpine A110 rally car with a PH sticker on the wings. But it was the TVR Car Club’s display that floored me. There, front and centre of the stand, was an original TVR Speed 12 prototype from 1997. A car that I could have sworn didn’t exist, but there it was, looking splendid in reflex purple, as it awaits a comprehensive restoration. And if that wasn’t enough, the car parked next to it is the one we have for sale here: a bonafide T440R.

Also known as the TuscanR, Typhon and T400R at various points during its development (we'll come back to that), the T440R followed in the Speed 12’s footsteps as TVR’s ticket to Le Mans. The company tried and failed to run the Speed 12 at the legendary 24-hour race, but the binning off of the GT1 ruleset at the turn of the millennium meant the only place left for it to compete was in the British GT championship. Not willing to let the Le Mans dream die, TVR set about building another purpose-built racer to compete against Ferrari 360s and Porsche 911s in the LMGT class for 2003. However, the FIA required that at least two variants be built for it to be allowed through the door, so one came badged as the T400R with a 4.0-litre straight-six and another as the T440R with a 4.2-litre engine.

Remarkably, the car we have here, ZNG, is believed to be the one and only T400R. Its 4.0-litre engine has long gone, however, in its place a new, 4.4-litre straight-six with power up from the original’s 400hp to 440hp, matching that of the original factory T440R. Complicated, isn’t it? But just like any TVR, just because it left the factory in a certain state wasn’t a sign that it was finished. And it’ll come as no surprise that the company slapped a supercharger on the third car and gave it the aforementioned Typhon name.

Anyway, back to the car in question. While its engine has received a few tweaks over the years, the rest of the car remains the same. The T440R was built around a tubular frame chassis with an aluminium honeycomb floor, integrated roll cage and carbon fibre bodywork. It tipped the scales at a little over a tonne and, with its CAD-developed shape resulting in a slippery 0.32cd, was said to be capable of 200mph plus. An incredible feat given it was built from the ground up in a factory akin to a blacksmith’s workshop.

Like the Speed 12, there’s an element of mystery to the T440R. Nobody really knows how many they made, nobody can properly remember which one was called what, and most accounts from former TVR employees are contradictory at best. But this one is arguably the most well-known of the lot, having been a former press car (and driven by Clarkson pre-new Top Gear) and appearing at the occasional show. The seller’s looking for £249,990, comfortably making this the most expensive TVR shy of the original Speed 12 (with another soon to follow). But there’s only one other like it, and the other hasn’t been seen in decades. So act now, because you may not get a second chance.

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