TVR S series

TVR
	TVR S3C
S series
Sales designation:	TVR S ; TVR S2 ; TVR S3 / S3C ; TVR S4C ; TVR V8S
Production period:	1986-1994
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Roadster
Engines:	Petrol engines : 2.8-4.0 liters ; (118-176 kW)
Length:	3958 mm
Width:	1665 mm
Height:	1223 mm
Wheelbase :	2286 mm
Empty weight :	1070 kg
Previous model	TVR 280i

The TVR S-series is a family of open sports cars produced by the British manufacturer TVR in Blackpool from 1986 to 1994. The series, conceived as an entry-level model, was positioned below the high-performance sports cars of the Wedge series and its successor, Griffith , and, in contrast to them, had a design that followed traditional models. Over time, TVR offered six different versions of the S series and produced a total of 2666 vehicles.

History of origin

TVR has been building small sports coupés with lattice frames, plastic bodies and drive technology for mass-produced vehicles since 1959. The production of the debut Grantura model was still characterized by economic difficulties and several bankruptcies. It only stabilized after Martin Lilley took over the company in 1965. TVR was economically successful with the wide-ranging M series , which was introduced in 1971. It was replaced in 1979 by the Wedges series, which, although continuing the construction principle of earlier TVR models, broke stylistically with its predecessors with its pronounced wedge shape. Their basic version (Tasmin) 280i still had a six-cylinder engine from Ford like the previous models. Under Lilley's successor Peter Wheeler , however, TVR introduced numerous other versions of the wedges with eight-cylinder engines, which became more and more powerful and more and more expensive. As a result, the 280i was gradually displaced and was difficult to sell, especially in Great Britain. In 1986 sales of the eight-cylinder models exceeded those of the 280i by a factor of four. A major reason for this was the high price of the 280i, which in 1986 was only about £ 2500 less than the much more powerful 350i.

TVR finally designed the S series as a new base model, which replaced the 280i in Great Britain in 1986 and on the export markets from 1988. The S series was neither technically nor stylistically related to the wedges . It was designed in such a way that it was cheaper to manufacture and therefore also cheaper to sell than the large models. The car was first shown at the 1986 NEC Motor Show in Birmingham. Due to the strong response, the car went into production within a year, with 150 units already being pre-ordered. When it launched, the TVR S was around £ 2000 cheaper than the 280i it replaced. As is usual with TVR, several series of the S series were created one after the other, which differed from one another through technical and stylistic developments. Various six- and eight-cylinder engines from 2.0 to 4.0 liters displacement were also available. From 1986 to 1994, 2,604 S-series were built, 410 of them with an eight-cylinder engine.

Design features

Frame and chassis

Like all previous TVR models, the S series has a lattice frame made of welded steel tubes. The frame was conceptually similar to that of the Wegde models, but it was a new design.

Engines

2.9 liter V6 engine ( Ford Cologne )

The S-series was initially factory-fitted with a six-cylinder V-engine with electronically controlled single-point injection from Ford (Cologne). It initially had a displacement of 2.8 liters and developed 118 kW (160 hp). The Ford Cologne engine was also used in this form in the (Tasmin) 280i. With the introduction of the S2 in 1989, a version enlarged to 2.9 liters was used, which developed 125 kW (170 hp).

The decision to use the Ford engine was made shortly before the prototype was presented in October 1986. Alternatively, TVR had previously considered four-cylinder engines from Rover (2.0 liter displacement, M16 series) and Peugeot (2.2 liters). They were ultimately discarded because they were designed for use in front-wheel drive cars and would have had to be converted for rear-wheel drive with some effort. The Ford Cologne engine was in use from 1986 to 1994.

From 1991 to 1993 TVR also offered an eight-cylinder Rover engine that corresponded to the designs used in the Griffith.

body

Plastic body and taillights from the Ford Escort: TVR S series

In keeping with the company's tradition, the bodies of all variants of the S-series are made of glass fiber reinforced plastic . Their shape goes back to the specifications of the owner Peter Wheeler. Wheeler, who rejected the wedge shape of the wedges and was of the opinion that his predecessor Martin Lilley should have developed the previous M series instead of introducing the wedges , had the S series modeled on the M models that were successful in the 1970s . With it returned the round shapes that had been a characteristic feature of earlier TVR bodies. Regardless of the intended similarities, "with the exception of the door handles", no body part of the TVR S was identical to the M series. The S series is longer and wider than the M models. The S series was only available as a roadster; There were no closed versions like the M series and the Tasmin. The two-part roof construction basically corresponds to that of the wedges . It consists of a removable plastic part above the seats and a fold-down hood behind them. The cars can be completely closed, fully opened or driven as a Targa with the top up and the roof center section removed. As with other models, TVR used numerous parts that were purchased from high-volume manufacturers. The door handles came from Ford, the side mirrors from the Citroën CX , and the taillights were taken from the Ford Escort Mk. 4 .

The six-cylinder models of the S series

TVR S (280S)

TVR S1 (1988)

The TVR S, which is retrospectively referred to as S1, was "the original version of the S series". Alternatively, the designation 280S is used. Series production began at the beginning of 1987. Because the procurement of the purchased technical components was slow, delivery of the first vehicles was delayed until the summer of 1987. The S1 was in the range until the summer of 1988. During this time, 605 vehicles were built.

TVR S2 (290S)

The second version of the S series, introduced in autumn 1988, is alternatively referred to as TVR S2 or - with a view to the displacement - as 290S. In the S2, a version of the Ford Cologne six-cylinder engine, which was enlarged to 2.9 liters , was equipped with an L-Jetronic from Bosch and had modified cylinder heads. The output rose to 125 kW (170 hp), and the maximum torque also rose slightly. Compared to the previous engine, the maximum torque was achieved much earlier - at 3000 revolutions per minute. The 2.9-liter engine was also adopted for the later S3 and S4 versions. Externally there were only minimal stylistic changes. Electric windows were now part of the standard equipment, and a walnut-paneled dashboard was optionally available. The S2 cost £ 15,450 when it was launched. That made it 20 percent more expensive than last year's S1, but £ 9,500 cheaper than the 400SE , which at the time was the base of the much more powerful Wedge range . The S2 was the most successful version of the S series. 1443 vehicles were built within one year. TVR produced four times more S2 than Wedge models during this period .

TVR S3 and S3C

Longer doors: TVR S3

The S3 appeared in the summer of 1989. Outwardly, it differs from the first two series in that the doors are changed, which are now almost 13 cm (5 inches) longer and make access to the interior much easier. The design of the instrument panel was also new. Instead of the semicircular arrangement of the displays, which has often met with criticism, the instruments are conventionally sorted horizontally. Furthermore, a cladding with walnut wood was available as an option. The engine of the S3 corresponds to that of the S2. On request, it could be equipped with a catalytic converter - a novelty at TVR . This version is called the S3C. The S3 cost £ 17,699 when it was launched. It was £ 2,249 more expensive than the last of the S2. It stayed in the program until 1993. TVR produced a total of around 800 copies of the S3.

TVR S4C

The S4C, presented in 1993, was the last development stage of the six-cylinder S series. The S4C took over the exhaust-gas-cleaned engine of the S3C; the catalytic converter was now part of the standard equipment. The S4C received the revised chassis of the V8S and its redesigned bonnet.

The eight-cylinder models of the S series

V8S (400S)

TVR V8S

As with the wedges , customers of the S-series showed an early interest in more powerful versions. Parallel to the attempt to equip the wedges with an Australian eight-cylinder engine from Holden , TVR built a prototype of the S-series with a 3.8 liter Holden six-cylinder engine in 1987. The car, designated TVR ES, was shown publicly at the 1987 Earls Court Motor Show. A connection to Holden was ultimately not established. Instead, TVR developed a version of the S series with the (revised) Rover engines of the Wedges series in the early 1990s , which came on the market in 1991 and supplemented the 2.9 liter versions of the S series. The series is alternatively referred to as the V8S or - with a view to the displacement of the eight-cylinder - the 400S.

The 3905 cm³ engine of the V8S largely corresponds to that of the TVR 390SE, which was produced until 1986 . It is based on the originally 3.5 liter V8 engine from Rover, which TVR had initially developed by Andy Rouse and later by NCK (North Coventry Kawasaki) and TVR Power . In addition to the increased displacement, the TVR engine also has modified cylinder heads with optimized gas flow, new camshafts for larger valve lift, a higher compression of 10.5: 1, revised intake manifolds and exhaust manifolds, a modified chip for the engine control and a limited-slip differential. The output was 176 kW (239 hp) at 5,250 ^{rpm, -1} , and the torque was 366 Nm at 3000 min ^-1 . The car accelerated from 0–60 mph in 4.9 s and from 0–100 mph in 12.9 s. It was faster than an Aston Martin Virage , a Lotus Esprit Turbo SE or a Porsche Carrera 2 . The grid frame was taken over from the S3C; however, the V8S received a new wheel suspension. Its basic construction corresponds to that of the new Griffith, which replaced the Wegde series at TVR in 1992 . Stylistically, the V8S differs from the six-cylinder models produced up to that point in that it has a modified bonnet, which has a conspicuous curvature over the engine, but no longer contains an air intake. TVR later adopted this design for the S4C introduced in 1993. The standard equipment of the V8S included leather parts, walnut veneer, mohair covers and OZ aluminum wheels, window lifters and exterior mirrors were electrically operated.

When the TVR V8S was launched in the UK, it was £ 23,595. It was £ 4,500 more expensive than the SC3. In Germany the new price was around 90,000 DM. A total of 456 units of the V8S were built, a good 10% of which were left-hand drive.

200S

The TVR 200S was a version of the S series specially developed for the Italian market. The reason for this was the Italian tax legislation, which in the 1980s imposed a sales tax of 38 percent on automobiles with a cubic capacity of 2000 cm³ and more, while vehicles with a smaller cubic capacity were only taxed at 19 percent. According to Peter Wheeler, this regulation stood in the way of the widespread use of the S series with its 2.9 liter engines.

TVR therefore developed an eight-cylinder version with a displacement of 2.0 liters for Italy. Based on the standard Rover V8, the stroke has been reduced from 71.1 mm to 40.25 mm. With an unchanged bore (88.9 mm), this resulted in a displacement of 1998 cm³. In order to still be able to provide adequate power, the engine was charged with an Eaton compressor with charge air cooling. 3 vehicles of the 200S are known. The V8 has an electronic fuel injection system from Lucas , the compression is 8: 1. The engine output was 233 hp (171 kW) at 6,200 rpm and the maximum torque was 266 Nm at 3,700 rpm. The V8 200S accelerates from 0-100 km / h in 6.5 seconds and has a top speed of 232 km / h.

The production volume of the 200S is extremely low. One source assumes that only a prototype was created without series production; Other sources speak of “a certain number”. Brand forums contain references to three or four vehicles with the 2.0-liter engine.

literature

Alastair Clements: Blackpool Peers. (= Classic & Sports Car. Issue 1/2007). History of the TVR brand.
David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975. Veloce Publishing, Dorchester 1997, ISBN 1-874105-93-6 .
Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era. The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1-84797-997-1 .
John Tipler: TVR. Sutton Publishing, 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 978-1-78500-351-6 .
Oliver Winterbottom: A Life in Car Design: Jaguar, Lotus, TVR. Veloce Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-1-78711-035-9

Web links

Commons : TVR S Series - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 58.
^ ^A ^b ^c John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 104.
↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era, The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 59.
^ NN: TVR rushes to prepare new models . Autocar from October 15, 1986.
↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era, The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 56.
^ John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 105.
^ ^A ^b ^c ^d John Tipler: TVR, Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 108.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 60.
↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 61.
↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 63.
^ John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 106.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 172.
↑ ^a ^b The TVR SV8 on the website of the TVR Car Club Deutschland (accessed on June 11, 2019).
↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 66.
^ Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 65.
^ ^A ^b John Tipler: TVR, Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 109.

[Dodds_58-1] Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 58.

[Tipler_104-2] A ^b ^c John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 104.

[Dodds_59-3] Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era, The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 59.

[4] NN: TVR rushes to prepare new models . Autocar from October 15, 1986.

[Dodds_56-5] Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era, The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 56.

[Tipler_105-6] John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 105.

[Tipler_108-7] A ^b ^c ^d John Tipler: TVR, Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 108.

[Dodds_60-8] Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 60.

[9] Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 61.

[Dodds_63-10] Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 63.

[Tipler_106-11] John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 106.

[Dodds_172-12] Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 172.

[Club_V8-13] The TVR SV8 on the website of the TVR Car Club Deutschland (accessed on June 11, 2019).

[14] Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 66.

[15] Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 65.

[Tipler_109-16] A ^b John Tipler: TVR, Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 109.