You’re looking at the new TVR Griffith two-seater coupe – a blast from the past that recycles an iconic old British brand for an equally brutish new sports car.
The new 2018 Griffith will cost from £90,000 in Launch Edition spec. That’s quite a hike from the outgoing model, last sold in 2002 when it cost £33,000.
When can I buy a new TVR Griffith?
From late 2018. The company unveiled the new Griff, as it was known in its heyday, at the 2017 Goodwood Revival historic motorsport event. Parkers has seen the new model up close and can confirm it looks a) very dramatic and b) very well built.
The revived sports car brand has employed celebrated sports car designer Gordon Murray to help reimagine its coupe for the contemporary market after nearly a decade and a half off sale.
It means that the 2018 Griffith uses very modern construction methods, including composite materials and lightweight aluminum – yet at a price point where a low-volume sports car is a viable business proposition, according to TVR.
Can it beat a Porsche 911? Read our review here
What’s special about the new TVR?
Anyone who grew up in the 1960s, 70s or 80s will probably remember the in-yer-face TVR brand, famous for its wild styling, mesmerising speed and OTT exhaust histrionics. It withered in 2006, but has been reintroduced by businessman and TVR fan Les Edgar, who acquired the rump of the collapsed business in 2013.
He’s devised a new interpretation of the old recipe. So there’s a 5.0-litre non-turbo V8 petrol engine, built by race engineers at Cosworth. It’s mounted up front, and drives the rear wheels. And the vital stats are pretty eye-popping:
- Power-to-weight ratio 400hp per tonne
- Top speed More than 200mph
- 0-60mph Less than 4.0sec
Exact power outputs are still shrouded in mystery; the car doesn’t go on sale until late 2018, after all.
Suffice to say, the new Griffith will be extremely powerful and exceptionally fast.
Will the new Griffith be fun to drive?
All the signs are this will be a properly rewarding driving experience. TVR quotes a 50:50 weight distribution, promising neutral handling, and composite materials are designed to keep weight below 1250kg. There’s a complex range of aerodynamic aids, too, designed to suck the Griffith to the road during high-speed cornering.
Boss Edgar said: ‘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.’
