More than a decade after its demise, much-loved British sports car manufacturer TVR has released the first image of what its new V8-powered return to form could look like.
Famous for building cars as fragile as they were fast, TVR’s as-yet unnamed new coupe will debut in 2017, and the manufacturer released a teaser image based on a mockup created by Autocar.
Details are still scant, but what’s known is that the first new TVR in eleven years will be a front-engined, rear-wheel drive two-seater with a manual gearbox and a naturally aspirated Cosworth V8.
The car is being developed in collaboration with famed Formula One designer Gordon Murray, who also notably designed the McLaren F1 hypercar, in its time the fastest production car in the world.
Last year, businessman Les Edgar, who bought TVR from previous owner Nikolay Smolensky in 2013, said: “We know that a new TVR needs to be better than just good – it needs to be outstanding.
“From the outset we only wanted to work with the best partners in the business, and both Gordon Murray’s and Cosworth’s track records within motorsport and high performance car design speak for themselves.”
According to TVR, the project is quite far along after having been in development for over a year, and order books are already open with the first year’s production run of 250 models already sold out.
Customers are able to put down a £5,000 deposit for the new coupe, despite the fact that official details and pricing have yet to be announced, though it’s expected to start from around £50,000.
Given TVR’s troubled history, there’s also no guarantee that the resurrected brand will be a success, but the marque says that it’s planning to release four new models by the end of the decade.
Edgar stressed that the company is fully committed, with a “well-funded, well-supported organisation” and a “vastly experienced management system”.
He added: “We have a fully evolved 10-year plan for business and product development and are here to stay.”
