The TVR Griffith, later models being referred to as the Griffith 500, is a
sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
designed and built by
TVR, starting production in 1990, and ending production in 2002. The Griffith name appeared again on a sports car introduced under a revived TVR brand in 2017.
First generation (1990–2002)
Like its forerunner namesakes, the
Griffith 200 and
Griffith 400, the modern Griffith was a lightweight ()
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
-bodied, 2-door, 2-seat sports car with a
V8 engine
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...
. Originally, it used a 4.0 L
Rover V8
The Rover V8 engine is a compact V8 internal combustion engine with aluminium cylinder block and cylinder heads, originally designed by General Motors and later re-designed and produced by Rover in the United Kingdom. It has been used in a wide ...
engine, but that could be optionally increased to 4.3 L in 1992 with a further option of big-valve cylinder heads. In 1993, with a TVR-developed 5.0 L version of the Rover V8 became available. All versions of the Griffith use the
Lucas Industries
Lucas Industries plc was a Birmingham-based British manufacturer of motor industry and aerospace industry components. Once prominent, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was formerly a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In August 1996 ...
14CUX engine management system. All models use a five-speed manual transmission from Rover and
TREMEC
TREMEC (Transmisiones y Equipos Mecánicos SA de CV, formerly Transmission Technology Corporation, TTC) is a manufacturer of automobile transmissions and drivetrain components based in Querétaro, Mexico.
Company
Torque transfer solutions fro ...
.
Although the Griffith was almost mechanically identical to its sister car, the
Chimaera, it had a different body design and was produced in much smaller numbers.
The Griffith was a lightweight, high-power, and well-balanced car. A low-cost speed six Griffith proposal never became a production reality; by the time it was launched alongside the Griffith in 1999, it had morphed into the
Tuscan Speed Six.
A special edition Japanese market Griffith 500 was made dubbed the Blackpool B340. This car was featured in
Gran Turismo,
Gran Turismo 2 (in the former as the Griffith 4.0 in the NTSC and PAL versions) and
Driving Emotion Type-S
is a racing game developed by Escape, a subsidiary of Square. It was published in Japan on March 30, 2000 and was Square's first release for the PlayStation 2 console. After criticisms of the game's handling, the international versions feature ...
. The car was similar to a normal Griffith 500 with some bespoke options available. The Japanese market also got a B275 4.0 engined car with aluminium basketweave dashboard.
In 2000, TVR announced that the Griffith production was going to end. A limited edition run of 100 Special Edition (SE) cars were to be built to mark the end of production. Although still very similar to the previous Griffith 500 model, the SE had a hybrid interior using the Chimaera dashboard and Cerbera seats. Noticeably, the rear lights were different along with different door mirrors, higher powered headlights and clear indicator lenses. Some also came with 16-inch wheels. Each car came with a numbered plaque in the glove box including the build number and a Special Edition Badge on its boot. All cars also had a unique signature in the boot under the carpet. The SEs were built between 2000 and 2002, with the last registered in 2003.
Every year, to celebrate the TVR Griffith, their owners have a meet called "The Griff Growl."
![TVR Griffith 400 - 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/TVR_Griffith_400_-_001.jpg)
In 2008, Al Melling Sports Cars unveiled the
Melling Wildcat, a roadster heavily based on the Griffith but powered by a variant of TVR's later
AJP8 engine.
Specifications
Engine
Name: Rover alloy V8
Valvetrain setup: 2 valves per cylinder, Overhead Valve
Transmission
Transmission: 5-speed manual (Rover LT77 or
Tremec T5)
Suspension
Front:
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
, double wishbones, coil-over gas dampers,
sway bar
An anti-roll bar (roll bar, anti-sway bar, sway bar, stabilizer bar) is a part of many automobile suspensions that helps reduce the body roll of a vehicle during fast cornering or over road irregularities. It connects opposite (left/right) whee ...
s
Rear: Independent, double wishbones, coil-over gas dampers, sway bars
Brakes
Front: ventilated
disc brakes
Rear: ventilated disc brakes
Wheels
Front: 15 in
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
alloy
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductilit ...
Rear: 16 in
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
alloy
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductilit ...
Chassis/body
Body Panels:
Glass fibre
Fuel Capacity: 57 Litres (12.5
Imp. gallons, 15.0
U.S. gal)
Weight: 1,060 kg (2,336 lb) (dry)
Length:
Height:
Width:
Wheelbase:
Front track:
Rear track:
Ground clearance:
File:TVR Griffith 400 - 003.jpg, Rear third quarter view
File:W1401-TVR Griffith500 V8-5L-340hp 1995 TableauBord 82311.JPG, Interior
File:TVR Griffith 400 - 007.jpg, 4.0 L V8 engine
Second generation (2023–)
On 8 September 2017, to coincide with the marque's 70th anniversary year at the
Goodwood Revival
The Goodwood Revival is a three-day festival held each September at Goodwood Circuit since 1998 for the types of racing cars and motorcycles that would have competed during the circuit's original period—1948–1966.
History
The first Revival t ...
, a new Griffith was revealed under the now resurrected TVR marque, featuring design work by
Gordon Murray
Ian Gordon Murray (born 18 June 1946 in Durban, Union of South Africa), is a South African-born British designer of Formula One racing cars and the McLaren F1 road car. He is the founder and CEO of Gordon Murray Automotive.
Early life
Born t ...
. It features a
Cosworth modified
Ford Coyote 5.0-litre V8 engine
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...
producing , double wishbone suspension with adjustable coilover dampers, a
carbon fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
ground effect chassis. It can accelerate from 0 to in approximately 4 seconds, and can achieve a top speed in excess of . The new Griffith retains the manual transmission as used in the previous TVR models, to keep the driving experience, but includes
ABS,
power steering, and
traction control
A traction control system (TCS), also known as ASR (from german: Antriebsschlupfregelung, lit=drive slippage regulation), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicle ...
as standard, in order to handle the high power output and keep the car stable at high speeds. The extensive use of carbon fibre helps save weight, and as a result, it weighs less than , with a 50:50
weight distribution
Weight distribution is the apportioning of weight within a vehicle, especially cars, airplanes, and trains. Typically, it is written in the form ''x''/''y'', where ''x'' is the percentage of weight in the front, and ''y'' is the percentage in the ...
achieved through the Griffith's architecture of aluminium and carbon fibre components, which improves handling. Design elements, such as large front air intakes, front splitter, active spoiler and rear integrated diffuser help in increasing aero dynamics. The car's interior follows the driving focused theme as well. Air conditioning, leather interior trim, and multimedia system come as standard as well. The Griffith was expected to start production in 2019, with an initial run of 500 Launch Edition (LE) cars and a price tag of £89,995. In November of 2021, EVO magazine reported that the new Griffith was yet to enter production and deliveries of completed vehicles were not expected until at least the end of 2023. EVO cited the COVID 19 pandemic, funding problems and damage to production facilities had caused development of the vehicle to stall. A new partnership between TVR and Ensorcia Automotive, has provided additional funds for development of the new Griffith.
Production by year
* 1992: 602
* 1993: 230 (169 2DR + 61 500)
* 1994: 292
* 1995: 284
* 1996: 288
* 1997: 232
* 1998: 231
* 1999: 187
* 2000: 90
* 2001: 82
* 2002: 64
* 2023: To be started
Notes
References
External links
TVR Griffith official websiteTVR Griffith at PistonHeads.comTVR Griffith Info and Owners RegisterTVR Griffith 500 SE RegisterTVR Car ClubGriffith MotorCar Club International
{{TVR road car timeline
Griffith
Sports cars
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Coupés
Roadsters
2000s cars
Cars introduced in 1991