Listen: 2017 was a long time ago. You likely feel like you’ve lived twenty lifetimes since TVR first showed off the new Griffith at Goodwood. The modern take on TVR classic designs looked production ready back then, and the company promised an early 2019 delivery.
Unfortunately, because of government loans, and the red tape associated, TVR won’t be properly up and running until late 2019, according to a report by Car Magazine. TVR boss Les Edgar offers that the company may begin producing cars elsewhere until the new factory is ready, however.
The problem here is caused by the Welsh government. More specifically, the two-million GBP loan that TVR received from the Welsh government in exchange for a 3% ownership stake.
In order to comply with EU rules, government involvement means the factory upfitting contract needed to be tendered across Europe, rather than just locally, and the tender needed to be open for 7 months, which ends in January. Following the contract acceptance, TVR says the factory will be ready for prime time some six months later.
Everything else, the near-500-horsepower Cosworth-fettled Ford 5.0 V8, the body, the interior, the complete bottom-up fresh design, is ready for production. They allegedly just need the factory to build the thing in.
Edgar is aiming for the car to come in smaller, less expensive, and more powerful than a base Porsche 911. He says the top speed should be 200 mph, and the finished product is aiming for a curb weight under 2570 pounds. Impressive on both counts. It sounds like a properly analog sports car experience, and two years later, I’m still excited by the prospect. More of this, please.