All you need to know about TVR
Born: 1949
Nationality: English
When engineer Trevor Wilkinson built himself a "special" based on an Alvis Firebird in 1947, he was probably looking only as far as the end of the next hill-climb. Two years later, though, he built the first true TVR on its own chassis, powering it with a side-valve engine made by Ford.
By 1954 it was being commercially built in "kit" form, taking advantage of a tax loophole that allowed such cars to be sold without the horrendous car purchase tax of the era. The "kit" car system, which required the buyers to put the major components together themselves, didn't make for high quality finish. But, especially in the US which had a love affair with the "British Sports Car", this wasn't too important as long as the car went fast and looked sporty.
In 1957, a new design that was given the name Jomar appeared. Interest was so great from the US that the disorganised little company's production facilities couldn't cope. With external financial backing, it became the Layton Sports Cars company. In 1958 the Grantura was launched, named after a company set up to provide the fibreglass bodies for Layton, and set the tone for the future style of the brand. The company found it difficult to handle the all too regular stresses of financial difficulties, and in 1961 Trevor Wilkinson left.
Around that time the penal car tax was halved, and "kit" car producers were feeling the heat. A competition version of the Grantura, powered by a Coventry Climax engine, was sent to race at Sebring in Florida in 1962, and its performance attracted the attention of a new York Ford dealer, Jack Griffith.
Putting a Cobra V8 engine under the Grantura's hood resulted in a car that appealed to speed-mad Americans. Griffith had TVR send him cars without engines, which he completed with the V8s and sold as TVR Griffiths. However, in 1965, a US dockworkers' strike helped to push TVR Cars in Blackpool into liquidation.
Businessman Martin Lilley and his father bought the company and began building Granturas again, with engines provided by MG. The M-Series, introduced in 1971 had a better chassis, and included for the first time a convertible version. The 2500M had a 2.5-litre Triumph engine and the 300M was powered by a Ford V6. Through the '70s, TVR became profitable, thanks to its acceptance in the US speciality car market.
A totally new car, the Tasmin, came along in 1980, powered by a Ford 2.8-litre V6, and two years later the current owner, Peter Wheeler, took over and began development of TVRs that would be powered by Rover V8 engines, initially called the 350i. By 1988 the engine had been developed to 4.5-litres and had a whopping 324 bhp in the 450 SEAC model. Another new model, the S, began production in 1987, and sold well for a low price in comparison to other TVRs and equivalent sports cars.
The Griffith name was revived in 1992 and really put TVR on the supercar road. It continued to be very successful until phased out in 2002. The Chimaera, which sold more than 10,000 copies in the decade since it was introduced, is still in production.
And in 1996, TVR rolled out their first car with an engine designed and built by themselves, the Speed Eight in the Cerbera. A Speed Six came a year later, and in 1978 TVR revealed its 880 bhp 7.7-litre V12 Speed Twelve.
A new Tuscan began in 2000, and is the company's best-selling model. A racing version of the Cerbera won at Silverstone in 2001, and that year a new "affordable" TVR, the Tamora, was introduced. Today, the company is at the leading edge of its segment with the T350, T400R and T440R coupés.
Best Car: The current Tuscan, according to the buyers.
Worst Car: Perhaps some of the early side-valve Ford kit cars.
Weirdest Car: To some eyes, any of the mid-'80s "wedgy" Tasmins, but it is a matter of taste.