Griffith 200

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Griffith
Griffith 200
Griffith 200
Griffith 200
Sales designation: Griffith 200
Production period: 1963-1964
Class : Sports car
Body versions : Coupe
Engines: Gasoline engines :
4.7 liters
(143–199 kW)
Length: 3600 mm
Width: 1664 mm
Height: 1194 mm
Wheelbase : 2171 mm
Empty weight : 863 kg
successor Griffith 400

The Griffith 200 is a two-seater sports car that Grantura Engineering manufactured in the UK with Griffith Motors in the USA. The model based on the TVR Grantura was created in response to the success of the similarly designed AC Cobra sports car , with which it was to compete in the North American market. A version intended for the UK market was sold as the TVR Griffith 200 .

History of origin

The development of the Griffith 200 goes back to the American car dealers Jack Griffith and Dick Monnich. Monnich had been the North American importer of the British TVR Grantura coupés since 1961, which were first produced in Blackpool from 1959 by TVR Cars and - after its bankruptcy - from 1962 by Grantura Engineering. The small sports cars had a lattice frame and a tight plastic body and, according to customer requirements, were optionally equipped with four-cylinder engines from BMC , Coventry Climax or Ford of Britain . In this form, they competed in a similar market niche as the AC Ace , which was delivered from the factory with, among other things, Bristol engines . Since 1962, Carroll Shelby in the USA equipped the AC Ace with 4.7 liter eight-cylinder engines from Ford USA and sold the converted cars as the AC Cobra . Under the impression of the success that the Cobra had in the USA, Jack Griffith transferred its concept to the TVR Grantura in 1963. The aim of the project was to create a competitor to the Cobra.

Initially, three prototypes were made in the USA. The first used the Ford eight-cylinder engine from the AC Cobra of racing driver Mark Donohue . This showed the need for some changes to the chassis and the running gear. Production was split up for the series models: Grantura Engineering in Blackpool completed the vehicles including chassis, running gear and body, but without the engine and transmission. The cars were shipped to the USA in this form. Griffith Motors installed engines and transmissions there in Long Island ( New York ). Jack Griffith marketed the Griffith 200 independently in the USA without the participation of the official TVR representative Dick Monnich. In 1964, the Griffith 200 was replaced on the American market by the Griffith 400 , which was based on the stylistically modified Grantura 1800S or Grantura Mark IV . The main difference between the 400 and the 200 is the so-called Manx tail (based on the tailless cat breed ).

The vehicles for the British market can be distinguished from the North American Griffith 200. They were completely built in the Grantura factory in Blackpool, so they also received the engines there. Technically, they were almost completely identical to the US versions of Jack Griffith. However, they were marketed in the UK as the TVR Griffith 200. This also applies to the successor with the Manx rear.

Model description

The Griffith 200 is based on the TVR Grantura Mark III introduced in 1962 . The plastic body manufactured by Grantura Plastics is completely identical; The only difference is the bonnet with a large bulge in the middle, which was necessary because of the tall eight-cylinder engine. In technical terms, the Griffith also largely corresponds to the Grantura Mark III. However, the details of the chassis and suspension were changed and adapted to the larger engine. Regardless, the car was unbalanced. The heavy engine did not harmonize with the chassis, which was designed for much smaller and lighter four-cylinder engines, and the weight distribution was problematic.

Chassis and running gear

The Griffith 200 has a tubular frame that John Thurner designed for the Grantura Mark III in 1962. In terms of layout, it basically follows the chassis of the Grantura Mark I and II designed by Trevor Wilkinson , but is 4 cm longer and wider. The mounting points for the engine have been changed for the Griffith 200, and the distance between the upper chassis tubes has been increased. The front suspension, for which TVR - for the first time in the Grantura Mark III - used parts of the Triumph Herald , remained unchanged, but Griffith Motors reinforced numerous details of the rear suspension.

The brakes were taken over unchanged from the Grantura Mark III. Front came disc , rear drum brakes of Triumph used. They were not suitable for the high engine power and quickly wore out. Some copies received disc brakes all around.

Motor and drive technology

Ford Windsor 289 HiPo

Griffith Motors installed an eight-cylinder Ford Windsor 289 engine with 4727 cc (289 cubic inches) displacement. Carroll Shelby built the same type of engine into the AC Cobra 289. Griffith Motors used the 289 small block engines in a factory configuration. There was no individual tuning, but numerous customers changed their engines afterwards. In accordance with the Ford factory program, two performance levels were available in the Griffith 200:

  • The basic version achieved 195 bhp at 4,400 revolutions per minute,
  • the performance-enhanced version, called HiPo (for high power ), achieved 271 bhp at 6,500 revolutions per minute thanks to higher compression, a modified air filter and a quadruple downdraft carburetor from Holley .

Some customers brought their engines up to 450 bhp through individual tuning.

Both engine variants offered by the factory were coupled with a manual four-speed transmission from Ford USA, which in the case of the HiPo was more closely graduated than in the basic version. This differentiated them from the regular Grantura Mark III, which usually used BMC gears .

Almost all Griffith 200s were - like the Grantura Mark III - equipped with a differential gear from BMC; Units were used that were designed for the MGB sports car . In practice it turned out that they were not up to the performance of the Ford Windsor engines. Griffith Motors initially tried to increase the stability of the differential by using thicker gear oil, but did not achieve the desired success. A number of Griffith 200 were then fitted with Salisbury differentials intended for Jaguar ; some cars also received differential gears from the Chevrolet Corvette C2 . This required further changes to the chassis and frame.

Performance

The Griffith 200, weighing just 863 kg, was a very fast car. With the basic engine it reached a top speed of 225 km / h and accelerated from 0 to 60 mph (approx. 97 km / h) in 6.0 seconds. According to the factory, the HiPo version achieved a top speed of 258 km / h and an acceleration of 5.0 seconds. The British journalist John Bolster achieved a top speed of 263 km / h in a test with a prototype equipped with a BorgWarner transmission in Great Britain , but found the car unsafe in the highest speed ranges.

Production and prices

The production of the Griffith 200 intended for the American market was split. Grantura Engineering built the cars while Griffith Motors in Long Island installed the engine and transmission. Grantura Engineering and Griffith Motors produced a total of around 190 vehicles for the US market in this way in 1963 and 1964.

The US $ 3995 retail price of the Griffith 200 was almost on par with a Chevrolet Corvette C2 . An AC Cobra, on the other hand, cost around US $ 6,500.

The Griffith 200 in the press

Press reports regularly praised the “breathtaking acceleration” of the Griffith 200 and highlighted that both versions clearly outperformed contemporary Ferraris in this discipline. On the other hand, critics criticized the driving behavior of the car. British journalist Mike Lawrence thought the Griffith 200 was unbalanced and "fundamentally unsafe," and for US writer Rich Taylor it was a killer car :

"Too light and filigree, overpowered, with vicious driving behavior ... there has never been a more dangerous production car."

- Rich Taylor

John Bolster, who tested a British version of a TVR Griffith 200 with a Manx tail, shared the impression of uncertainty:

"From 240 km / h, the car initially feels a bit unstable, then the driver's stomach."

- John Bolster

The British TVR Griffith 200

With Manx rear : British TVR Griffith 200, 2nd series; identical to the US Griffith 400

While Griffith Motors completed the sports cars intended for North America in the USA, Grantura Engineering in Blackpool produced some technically identical vehicles for the British market. The Ford engine was already installed in the TVR factory. The British cars were marketed as the TVR Griffith 200 (with the suffix TVR). Only a few copies were made of this version. One source speaks of around 20 vehicles. The variant with a Manx rear , marketed in the USA as Griffith 400 from 1964, continued to be sold in Great Britain as TVR Griffith 200. There is therefore no British TVR Griffith 400 (with the brand name TVR).

literature

  • David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975. Veloce Publishing plc., Dorchester 1997, ISBN 1-874105-93-6 .
  • Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971
  • Dieter Günther: Kraft-Wagen. History of TVR Griffith , in: Oldtimer Markt , issue 6/2008, p. 10 ff.
  • John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0
  • Matthew Vale: TVR 1946-1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516

Web links

Commons : Griffith 200  - collection of images, videos and audio files

References and comments

  1. ^ Matthew Vale: TVR 1946−1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 15.
  2. ^ Matthew Vale: TVR 1946-1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 90.
  3. ^ A b Mark Hughes: TVR Grantura, Griffith, Vixen & Tuscan . Classic & Sportscar, issue 1271989, p. 43.
  4. ↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 12.
  5. ^ A b John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 22.
  6. ↑ a b c N.N .: Classic Cars Spezial - Englische Sportwagen , Munich 1994, p. 110.
  7. ↑ a b c d Dieter Günther: Kraft-Wagen . History of TVR Griffith, in: Oldtimer Markt, issue 6/2008, p. 16.
  8. ^ Matthew Vale: TVR 1946-1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 94.
  9. ^ A b c Matthew Vale: TVR 1946–1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 96.
  10. ^ A b Dieter Günther: Kraft-Wagen . History of TVR Griffith, in: Oldtimer Markt, issue 6/2008, p. 14.
  11. ↑ Shown in a Ford Galaxie (1967)
  12. ^ Matthew Vale: TVR 1946-1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 95.
  13. ↑ Mike Mueller: American Horsepower , MotorBooks International, ISBN 9781610608060 , p. 107.
  14. ^ Matthew Vale: TVR 1946-1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 70.
  15. ^ Matthew Vale: TVR 1946-1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 107.
  16. ^ A b c Matthew Vale: TVR 1946–1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 93.
  17. ^ Auto Sport from October 1, 1965.
  18. ^ Matthew Vale: TVR 1946-1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 101.
  19. ↑ Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930–1980. New York (Beekman House) 1984. ISBN 0-517-42462-2 , pp. 180, 668.
  20. ↑ The Griffith 200 on the website of the TVR Car Club Deutschland (accessed on May 20, 2019).
  21. ↑ Quoted from Dieter Günther: Kraft-Wagen . History of TVR Griffith, in: Oldtimer Markt, issue 6/2008, p. 11.
  22. ↑ Rich Taylor: Modern Classics , Beekman House, 1988, ISBN 9780517660942
  23. ^ John Bolster in: Autosport from October 1, 1965