TVR Vixen
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The TVR Vixen is a hand-built
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 ...
which was produced by TVR and in
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,
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from 1967 until 1973. Ford-engined in most of its configurations, it succeeded the MGB-engined TVR Grantura 1800S. It is also the basis for the high-performance TVR Tuscan which was available in both V6 and V8 configurations.


Design

The body was made of
glass fibre Glass fiber ( or glass fibre) is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass. Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the inventio ...
, which was fitted to a tubular-frame chassis. The chassis was the same as that used in the Mk4 1800S, a model which was discontinued just before Vixen production began. The chassis used
double wishbone suspension A double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design for automobiles using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckle ...
at both ends, and
disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...
s at the front (with drums at the back.) The car was significantly lighter than mainstream competitors such as the MG MGB GT, and offered correspondingly class leading performance and fuel economy.


Variants

The Vixen Series 1 was introduced in 1967 as an evolution of the discontinued 1800S. Although it used the same chassis as the outgoing car, the significant change was the use of the 1599 cc
Ford Kent engine The Ford Kent is an internal combustion engine from Ford of Europe. Originally developed in 1959 for the Ford Anglia, it is an in-line four-cylinder pushrod engine with a cast-iron cylinder head and block. The Kent family can be divided into t ...
(as found in the
Ford Cortina The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s. The Cortina was produced in fi ...
GT), developing 88 bhp. The engine change was necessitated by the problems TVR were having with receiving MG engine deliveries, and also in an effort to lower the price of the car. To use up remaining supplies, the first twelve Vixens built still received the MGB engine. The bodywork was also slightly revised, with the bonnet having a broad flat air intake scoop. The rear of the car with fitted with the round Cortina Mark I tail lamps. *Total S1 production: 117 The 1968 S2 was built with the longer (90 inch) wheelbase chassis, introduced on the Tuscan V8 but which TVR had now standardized to address complaints about difficulty of ingress. The bonnet was restyled again, with some early cars having a prominent central bulge, and later cars having twin intake ducts at the front corners of the bonnet. The tail lamps were updated from the round Cortina Mark I style to the newer wraparound Mark II style. Also very significant was the fact that the body was bolted (rather than bonded) to the chassis, meaning that it could be easily removed for repairs. The interior was improved, with a leather-skinned steering wheel mounted much lower than before. In a further attempt to improve the quality feel, the body was thicker and panel fit was improved. In December 1968, TVR announced that two more models, the S.2 Sport and S.2 Super Sports would be available as standard. These models came with an uprated engine from Speedwell including fully balanced bottom end, ported cylinder head and two twin choke Weber carburettors with the Sports producing 100 bhp and the Super Sports 115 bhp. Both of these models came with seat belts and leather steering wheel as standard with both models designated an S.2.S. *Total S2 production: 438 The S3 continued to improve the car with a number of detail changes. The heat extraction vents on the flanks behind the front wheels were decorated with "Aeroflow" grilles borrowed from the c-pillars of the Ford Zodiac Mark IV, and the Ford four-cylinder engine was now in the same tune as in the
Ford Capri The Ford Capri is a fastback coupé built by Ford of Europe, designed by Philip T. Clark, who was also involved in the design of the Ford Mustang. It used the mechanical components from the Mk2 Ford Cortina and was intended as the Euro ...
, producing 92 bhp. Instead of wire wheels, cast alloy wheels were fitted as standard. *Total S3 production: 165 Finally, the S4 cars were an interim model that used the TVR M Series chassis with the Vixen body shell. Apart from the chassis, there were no significant mechanical or cosmetic changes between the S3 and S4. Twenty-two were built in 1972 and one in 1973. *Total S4 production: 23 The 1300 model arrived in late 1971 and was built in an attempt to fill an "economy" market segment for sports cars. It was powered by a 1296 cc Standard SC engine from the
Triumph Spitfire The Triumph Spitfire is a British sports car and manufactured over five production iterations between 1962-1980. Styled for Standard-Triumph in 1957 by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti, the Spitfire was introduced at the London Motor Show in ...
engine making 63 bhp, and its lackluster performance limited its sales success. Top speed was barely . Heseltine, p. 135 Only fifteen were built, all in 1972. The final six of these cars were built on a M Series chassis, and the very last 1300 was also built with M Series bodywork, although it never received a "1300M" designation. *Total 1300 production: 15 Not to be confused with the later 2500M, the 2500 (marketed as the Vixen 2500 in the United States) was built between 1971 and 1972, and was designed to take advantage of the fact that the Triumph 2.5L inline-six engine had already been certified for US emissions standards (although only in 105 bhp form.) The final production run of the 2500 (comprising 96 cars) used the M Series chassis with Vixen-style bodywork. *Total 2500 production: 385


Tuscan

A more powerful range of cars was also built using the Tuscan nameplate. These took over after the earlier
TVR Griffith The TVR Griffith, later models being referred to as the Griffith 500, is a sports car 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 re ...
and were originally available only with a V8 engine, although later a lower-priced V6-engined alternative appeared. The Tuscan was built from 1967 until 1971.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tvr Vixen
Vixen Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
Sports cars Cars introduced in 1967 1970s cars