TVR has finally pulled the covers of the Griffith sports car, a project that has been in the works for over three years and TVR’s first all-new car since the Sagaris which first broke cover way back in 2003.
It’s worth noting that since the Sagaris, the company has transitioned from Russian to British ownership once more – now officially owned by a 'Syndicate of British Businessmen', led by Electronic Arts video game developer, Les Edgar.
News of the new TVR sale and acquisition was announced in 2013. Two years later TVR said they were working on a new sports car project.
After another three years of development, the fruits of TVR’s labor were put on show during the Goodwood Revival meeting in the UK last weekend.
The Griffith shares the winning two-seat, front-engined, rear-wheel drive recipe you’d expect from the British company. The body also features design cues from TVR's of old, with the addition of deep air intakes, front and rear aero units and a double side exit exhaust - but delve deeper and the Griffith proves that under TVR's new owners, the company has well and truly moved into the 21st century.
A Ford-sourced, Cosworth tuned 5.0-litre V8 producing around 372kW (500hp in TVR’s words) coupled to a 6-speed manual gearbox is said to power the Griffith from 0-100km/h in under 4 seconds, with a claimed top speed of over 322km/h.
Purists rejoice – there is no automatic option.
The Griffith is built on an aluminum frame with bonded carbon fibre sections designed by Gordon Murray Design, a company headed and named after the famous McLaren F1 road and race car designer.
TVR say this has helped to achieve perfect 50:50 weight distribution, as well as the company’s main target to offer a 400hp(298kW) per tone power-to-weight ratio thanks to an dry weight of under 1250kg.
The new TVR Griffith boasts a full ground-effect aerodynamic package for high speed stability corner handling abilities.
“Today’s unveiling is the culmination of nearly three years of tireless work by the team, and we’re all proud to be able to show the new TVR Griffith to the world,"said Les Edgar.
"This is unmistakably a TVR, a British muscle car that’s as awesome and brutal as it is charismatic and refined. Importantly, the new TVR offers levels of technical sophistication, comfort, reliability and practicality never seen by the brand before.”
Production of the TVR Griffith is only planed for one limited ‘Launch Edition’ of 500 units. But the good news is, unlike many ‘limited run’ sports cars, you’re actually able to buy one.
TVR advertise on their website that a small allocation of cars have been held back for the cars public unveiling, and you’ll be able to secure yours for ‘less than £90,000’ (NZ$164,000) with a £5,000 (NZ$9,100) deposit.
As this article went live, deposits were still being accepted for Britain’s latest sports car.
