Sure, you may never actually see a TVR Griffith on U.S. roads, but there’s always a chance.
Those of you out there familiar with TVR, a small-volume British sports car manufacturer, know there is actually a new model coming. Yes, many years after the delightfully ludicrous Sagaris stopped production, the British mark is coming back with a new Griffith. However, European regulations have pushed the launch date back into 2020, according to Dutch site AutoRAI.
TVR is a bit of a scrapper as far as car companies go. Like Lotus, the British mark reaches all the way back to 1946. It’s changed hands several times over the years, and this past decade has seen no actual cars until this new Griffith. Despite the lack of production, TVR is still with us. The company revealed their new model at the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed to mark TVR’s 70th anniversary. After renovating its Ebbw Vale factory in Wales, TVR was supposed to start delivering cars in early 2019. However, last month that date was pushed back to “late 2019.”
Clearing the red tape
Now, per the AutoRAI piece, that date has been pushed back again to early or mid-2020. According to reports, it’s not internal issues causing the delay, but European regulations. As the Welsh government owns 3 percent of TVR, it’s technically a “state-funded” company under EU rules. That means the business must take bids from all 28 member states in the EU for its factory renovation, rather than just leaving it to British contractors. Paul Thompson, Heritage Director for TVR, said of the process, “It takes more time than we expected to start production, thanks to the rules of the European Union.”
Mind you, we’re not talking about a huge-volume production car here. TVR aims to kick off production with 500 units within the first year. From there, they hope to expand production up to 2,000 units annually. With the delay, early buyers have a much longer wait in store for their new Griffith.
Under the hood, the new TVR Griffith houses a Ford-sourced, Cosworth-tuned 5.0-liter Coyote V8. TVR claims it produces 500 horsepower and is capable of 0-100 in 6 seconds. Yes, zero to one hundred mph in six seconds. And it has a Tremec manual transmission. And it’s rear-wheel drive. And it’s a boutique British sports car.
No, it’s fine…I’ll wait. Last year, Jalopnik reported the car could possibly make it to our shores. I’m sure some will make it this way, but it’s not likely you or I will ever see one. Nonetheless, I’m still pulling for TVR — the thought of having a raw, raucous old-school sports car with a huge V8 and a manual transmission would be a wonderful thing.
Now TVR just needs to build the damn car.
