Details about TVR’s future and new Griffith are thin, but expect a strong comeback when the new Griffith launches around 2023.
Ten months after TVR announced a £2m (AUD$3.7m) funding boost to help bring its Griffith to market, the marque has announced a new partnership with Ensorcia Metals Corporation. Though it hasn’t disclosed how close this new backing brings it to its £25m ($46m) funding target, it’s said to help fund both production and development of the long-awaited Griffith and a future EV.
Details are vague, but the new partnership with Ensorcia Metals Company is said to have sparked work on future powertrain alternatives, even though the V8-powered Griffith has yet to get even close to production. Les Edgar, Chairman of TVR, said: ‘…it has been clear for some time that EV has to be part of our future. Finding the right partner for the road ahead has been a complex process.’ Affiliate company Ensorcia Automotive is also said to have injected funding into the development of the combustion-powered Griffith.
The first Griffiths were due for delivery in early 2019, and all looked healthy with a £40m ($74m) order bank and secured funding from both financial partners and the Welsh government, but now TVR has pushed first deliveries to late 2023, six years from its 2017 debut.
A manufacturing facility was acquired by TVR in mid-2018, but reports stated that the marque’s Welsh factory had more structural damage than initially anticipated. Holding a three per cent stake in the British car brand, the Welsh government is playing a large role in funding the renovations, but with no investment seen on a planned £100m ($184m) Automotive Technology nearby, concerns are that delays may cause funding to be cut entirely.
Despite frequent appearances at motor shows since its 2017 announcement, the new Griffith is still far away from entering production, as it’s still in need of extensive development and prototyping, both of which have stalled completely. While these cash injections will no doubt help, it remains a drop in the ocean when it comes to the cost of development, despite its streamlined production processes partnered with Gordon Murray Design.
The new Griffith was due to be the first new model from TVR since the Sagaris released in 2004, and the first since the company was bought by entrepreneur Edgar in 2013. Featuring a front-mounted V8 engine and drive to the rear, the Griffith has models such as the Porsche 911, Aston Martin Vantage and Jaguar F-type firmly in its sights. It was also to spearhead the firm’s return to motorsport as it targets a class victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
On the surface the Griffith looks like a traditional TVR, but beneath is a blend of cutting-edge tech and old-school engineering. The engine will provide the low-tech charm; the Griffith will be powered by an off-the-shelf 5.0-litre V8 from Ford. The tried and tested unit isn’t the most advanced engine, but it’s unbustable and should go a long way to shake off TVR’s slightly flaky reputation for reliability.
Better still, tweaks by British engineering specialist Cosworth are claimed to deliver even greater performance. The V8 feeds some side-exit exhausts that pop out from behind the front wheels (a design detail that wouldn’t look out of place on the original 1960s Griffith) and the smallest of rear wings keeps the silhouette as clean as possible.
As well as Gordon Murray Automotive’s iStream construction process, the high-tech elements of the Griffith will be made up of some fairly sophisticated aerodynamics. For instance, the side-exit exhausts have allowed TVR to create an almost totally flat underside, which means the Griffith is effectively a ‘ground effects’ car. The only notable external addition is the rear spoiler which has been added to boost traction at high speeds, crucial for when the motorsport version of the Griffith takes to the track.
Of course the reality of this actually coming to fruition continues to look pretty bleak for TVR, even with its new lifeline. Whether this flutter of life is nothing more than a blip on an empty radar, or the beginning of a new push to see the company come back to life, we’ll have to wait and see.
TVR claims the new Griffith has exceptional torsional rigidity and should tip the scales at under 1250kg. In terms of proportions, the new Griffith measures 4314mm in length, is 1850mm wide and 1239mm high, and putting that into context, Porsche’s current 718 Cayman measures 4379mm, 1801mm and 1205mm respectively.
Beneath the David Seesing-designed carbonfibre body, and hung from the iStream chassis with its 50:50 weight distribution, are double wishbones front and rear, with adjustable coilover dampers and concentric springs. The steering is electric power assisted, while the brakes are 370mm ventilated and floating discs with six-piston calipers at the front and 350mm two-piece discs at the rear with four-piston calipers. The 19-inch front wheels are fitted with a 235/35 Avon ZZ5 tyre, the 20-inch rears with a 275/30.
Although power and torque figures are yet to be quoted, TVR’s official video created in conjunction with Goodwood states the engine produces 353kW. The press literature does state that the car will have a power-to-weight ratio of 294kW per ton, but 353kW and a kerb weight of 1250kg results in 287kW per ton, short of the claimed figure. We’re told the six-speed manual Tremec gearbox is rated to 949Nm at up to 7500rpm.
Performance is something else TVR is being coy about, but it claims a maximum speed of over 320km/h and a sub four-second 0-100km/h time. The car will be offered with a variety of driving modes, too.
If you’re a fan of TVRs of old you’ll be expecting an unconventional interior, and while the new Griffith isn’t on a par with its ancestors for the quirkiness and plain daft design details of old, it’s not an Audi inside, either. There’s a TFT instrument binnacle, rotary controls for the air conditioning and even a keyless ignition system. The floor-mounted aluminium pedals look suitably proper, too.
A strict two-seater, the Griffith was proposed to be priced from £90,000 (AUD$165,000), with buyers given the choice of a range of colours including specific Launch Edition hues, alongside a full leather interior. Five hundred Griffith Launch Editions are set to be produced, and although all were once accounted for, a ‘small number’ are now available.