While it often feels as though Britain?s low-volume automakers are better at producing grandiose claims than actual cars, we?re still excited by the relaunch of one of the most evocative names ever to be stuck to the front of an English sports car: TVR.
Although none of the company?s last-generation vehicles were ever officially exported to the United States, the company?s combination of outlandish looks, simple construction, and huge performance, plus a starring role in early iterations of the Gran Turismo video game, meant that at least some of its notoriety managed to cross the Atlantic. The use of a TVR Tuscan in the not entirely dreadful 2001 John Travolta action flick Swordfish even triggered rumors the company planned to come to America?this despite its proud refusal to fit any driver aids to its brutish model range, not even ABS. It never happened, and with slipping sales and a change of ownership, TVR stopped producing cars five years later.
The brand continued to exist in deep stasis, with control passing to a company led by former software entrepreneur Les Edgar. Now, a new car has been shown and is set to launch in 2018. While its name references an early TVR?the Griffith that was sold between 1991 and 2001?the new model promises to be a vastly more technically sophisticated car than its basic predecessor. Whereas the original Griffith had fiberglass bodywork over a simple tubular-steel frame, the new coupe is built around what’s called an iStream chassi...