The TVR Tuscan Challenge is a one-make series dedicated to the second incarnation of the
TVR Tuscan 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 ...
(Initially developed as a road car and then built for the race series), and takes place throughout the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
. Inaugurated in 1989, its high
power-to-weight ratio
Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measuremen ...
, capability of reaching and loud engine noise, combined with close racing in a field consisting of over 30 cars at its peak, made the series become, at the time, the premier
one-make series in the UK with an extensive TV coverage; over the years, many drivers who competed in the series moved on in major championship series and many notable drivers have guest driven in a race. The company underwent management changes in 2005, and the TVR Tuscan Challenge was merged with its
owner club's series, which has been reformatted to allow for all TVR models.
History
With the success of the
S Series S series or Series-S or ''variation'', may refer to:
Transportation
* Bedford S series, trucks
* Chevrolet S-series, pickup trucks
* GMC S-Series, school bus
* International S series, trucks
* International S series (bus chassis)
* S series (To ...
, TVR began development of the ''ES,
[TVR Car Club, About TVR: Past and Present]
an S series sports car with a 4.4-litre
Rover V8 engine
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 ...
.
[Tuscan Racer History]
/ref> The car was unveiled in prototype form at the 1988 British Motorshow with plans for it to be developed for road use,[Glynnsport :: The TVR Challenge Series]
but in order to attract public interests and stimulate sales, TVR resurrected the Tuscan name and at the same time instigated the one-make TVR Tuscan Challenge series.
In order to attract more customers, TVR offered the first batch at a discount of £16,000 plus VAT for entrants with a condition that they commit themselves to compete at least six of the twelve races in the championship. Should that fail, the purchaser would agree to pay the discounted amount at the end of the season.
With the instant success of the series in its first year in 1989, plans for a road car were cancelled as TVR was busy with the 'S' and the older wedge models as well as with the design and development work for the forthcoming Griffith and Chimaera
Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes , known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish, spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last three names are not to be confused with rattails, Opisthoproctidae, or Siganidae, respectively.
At ...
models.
The road car never went beyond the motor show prototype stage, and the Tuscans continued to be produced in small volumes as racing cars.[PetrolTed reports on Shane Antill's road-legal TVR Tuscan]
/ref>
The S based chassis had to be developed to cope with the large power output of the tuned Rover V8 engine; by the end of its development, it ended up being a completely new chassis with a wider track, increased wheelbase and much strengthening.
From the debut race in 1989, Tuscan Challenge racers were powered by a TVR Power developed 4.5 litre variant of the Rover V8 with a power output of over . This was transmitted through a Borg Warner
BorgWarner Inc. is an American automotive supplier headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company maintains production facilities and technical systems at 93 sites (as of June 6, 2022) in 22 countries worldwide and has around 49,000 employ ...
T5 gearbox to its nine-inch (229 mm) wide sixteen-inch (406 mm) O.Z. split-rim wheels with Dunlop cross-ply racing tyres. In the early 1990, as the aging Rover V8 was getting beyond its development limits and Rover
Rover may refer to:
People
* Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian
* Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer
* Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist
Places
* Rover, Arkansas, US
* Rover, Missouri, US
...
's takeover by BMW, plus the then company owner Peter Wheeler's rumoured refusal of having German engines in his cars, Wheeler commissioned engine designer Al Melling
Alwyn "Al" Melling is a British automobile engineer.
Fashion design
At the beginning of the 1980s he was involved in the fashion industry, and owned a company in London throughout the 1980s which designed ladies' fashion garments. As owner he ...
to develop the new AJPV8 engine, rated at a higher power output level than its Rover counterpart. With the new V8 engine, the car was capable accelerating to 97 km/h in over 3 seconds and 0-124 km/h in 6.9 seconds. The cars boasted of per tonne with a claimed top speed in excess of All engines were factory supplied sealed units to ensure a levelled playing field.[Andy Holden Racing]
/ref>
Dealers were usually encouraged to enter the series with company management including owner Peter Wheeler and managing director, Ben Samuelson also competing in the series. Wheeler used his expertise to develop the Speed 12. Many drivers who are now competing in the Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
, FIA GT Championship
The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...
and 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...
, such as Jamie Campbell-Walter, Bobby Verdon-Roe, Martin Short and Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
, developed their skills in the series.[jnjmotorsport.com]
Nigel Mansell was to compete for a one off race at Donington Park in 1993 but was unable to after he was hospitalised following a BTCC
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...
incident.[cerberaV8racing.co.uk - campaigning the Dunlop Tuscan Challenge Series 2007]
/ref> Other notable drivers who have guest driven in the series throughout its history include Colin McRae
Colin Steele McRae, (5 August 1968 – 15 September 2007) was a Scottish rally driver. He was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion, and in 1995 became the first British driver and the youngest person to win the World Rally Championship ...
, Andy Wallace, Tim Harvey
Tim Harvey (born 20 November 1961) is a British racing driver, best known for being the 1992 British Touring Car Champion, and the 2008 and 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain champion. A household name in the 1990s, Harvey won sixteen rac ...
, Anthony Reid, Tiff Needell
Timothy "Tiff" Needell (born 29 October 1951 in Havant, Hampshire) is a British racing driver and television presenter. He is a presenter of '' Lovecars'', and formerly served as co-presenter of ''Top Gear'' and ''Fifth Gear''.
Biography
Need ...
and John Cleland
John Cleland (c. 1709, baptised – 23 January 1789) was an English novelist best known for his fictional '' Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure'', whose eroticism led to his arrest. James Boswell called him "a sly, old malcont ...
.
Carlube sponsored the series between 2002 and 2004. The series was now renamed Dunlop TVR Challenge. At the end of 2003, a version of the T350 known as the Sagaris
The sagaris ( grc, Σάγαρις and Σάγαρι) is an ancient shafted weapon used by the horse-riding ancient Saka and Scythian peoples of the great Eurasian steppe. It was used also by Western and Central Asian peoples: the Medes, Persia ...
was introduced with an intention to run alongside the racing Tuscan and to eventually replace them. But when Peter Wheeler sold the company to Nikolay Smolensky, the new owner abruptly ended factory support before the 2005 season had begun. TVR's Motorsport Director acquired the rights and kept the series going but on a much smaller basis; by then, TVR had sold off all its racer cars. With waning entries, many of these cars had either been converted to road use or ended up in track day
A track day is an organised event in which non-members are allowed to drive or ride around established motor racing circuits, or alternatively (though far less common) on closed or disused airfields. Most race tracks around the world now provide t ...
s, the series would continue under a new format as it merged with the Toolsnstuff.co.uk/SIP TVRCC Challenge Cup, a smaller series that consists of a wide range of TVR models, meaning that the grid now featured a more diverse range of TVR models in one race and the series split into three categories.
In 2006, the series acquired a new sponsor, Dunlop Tyres
Dunlop Tyres is a brand of tyres which is managed by different companies around the world. It was founded by pneumatic tyre pioneer John Boyd Dunlop in Dublin, Ireland, in 1890.
The brand is operated by Goodyear in North America (passenger c ...
, which meant it provides the tyres, giving a leeway for drivers to decide if they want to compete on slicks, road or track tyres and not just restricted to TVR's; the series now had an Invitation Class for any make of sports car providing that it complies with the MSA regulations for the original championship it was built to race in.
Many of the race cars have found their way competing outside the series, and some of them have been converted into a Sagaris clone as they share similar parts and are the same dimensions. Driver Michel Mora used a Tuscan Challenge in the FFSA GT Championship
The FFSA GT Championship (''Championnat de France FFSA GT'') is a French Grand Touring-style sports car racing series that began in 1997. It is the main event of the ''Championnat de France des Circuits'' (formerly called ''Super Série FFSA'' a ...
from 1999 to 2001, before being joined by a second car from Massimo Cairati, developed by Fisconsult managed from Avv. Vito Gianfranco Truglia in order to promote the brand for road car sales on the Italian market. Cairati also ran Avv. Truglia's car in select rounds of the Italian GT Championship that year, winning both manches in Mugello race and finishing ninth in the overall drivers championship and second in his class.
Due to the Tuscan Challenge's participation in national grand tourer series in the 1990s, the cars were made eligible for the GT90s Revival Series, a historic racing series. Two Tuscan Challenges raced at the series' first round at Silverstone.Microsoft Word - 02 Silverstone Front Pages.doc
/ref>
Categories
Class position depends on the engine capacity, power output and car development. There were currently four categories:
* Class A+ (Super A) - Reserved for predominantly larger capacity TVR GT cars with aerodynamic aids (such as wings, splitters and flat floors) sequential gearboxes and traction control. Cars that don't fit into A, B, or C categories.
* Class A - Consists mainly of the AJPV8 powered Tuscans. Turbo cars up to 3.0 litres and more than normally aspirated cars with 5.0 litres or more than the above mentioned power output. No aerodynamic aids allowed.
* Class B - Consists mainly of the Rover V8 Tuscans and TVR road converted cars. Turbocharged cars up to 3.0 litres with less than , normally aspirated cars between 3.0-5.0 litres and less than . Aerodynamic aids currently allowed.
* Class C - Consists mainly of the production based converted road cars such as stock 4.0 L Rover V8 cars such as Chimearas/Griffiths and highly tuned V6 Race Tasmins. Normally aspirated cars up to 3.0 litres. Only the modified 4- or 6-cylinder and standard Rover V8 engine
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 ...
are eligible.
Road going versions
The Tuscan was originally intended as a road car, and two road cars were produced with sales brochures printed. However, with the development of the Griffith and the success of the race series, plans to put the road car into production ceased. Despite this there was still a demand for road going Tuscan race cars and a number of owners have converted race cars for road use.
Conversions includes installation of a speedometer (as racing cars do not have them), changes to the lighting system, having the chassis powder-coated, relocating the fuel tank from the original driver's side to the rear of the car to allow for a passenger seat and conversions to protect the fuel cell in an event of an accident. Also installation of 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 ...
is considered to be an option.[TVR Tuscan Road Legal Conversion]
/ref> However obtaining the car plus the prohibitive cost of conversion at £10,000 and the complication of the task makes finding such a model on a public road a rare find.
Many of the converted Tuscans which house the AJP8 engines have engines that are commonly sourced from accident damaged Cerberas as race engines are leased by the factories, though the Rover V8s of the earlier cars can be easily sourced.
References
External links
Official race organisers of the Dunlop TVR European Challenge
Official Website for the Dunlop TVR European Challenge
TVRCC Challenge Cup
TVR Monster
Black Cat Racing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tvr Tuscan Challenge
Sports car racing series
Auto racing series in the United Kingdom
Tuscan Challenge
One-make series