TVR Tasmin

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TVR
TVR Tasmin
TVR Tasmin
Tasmin
Sales designation: Tasmin 200
Tasmin 280i
280i
Production period: 1980-1988
Class : Sports car
Body versions : Coupé , roadster
Engines:
Petrol engines : 2.0-2.8 liters
(75-118 kW)
Length: 4015 mm
Width: 1730 mm
Height: 1195 mm
Wheelbase : 2387 mm
Empty weight : 971-1074 kg
Previous model M series ,
3000 S.
successor TVR S

The TVR Tasmin is a sports car , the TVR in Blackpool ( England produced) 1980-1988. He was the first member of a family of models known in the English-speaking world as TVR Wedges . The Tasmin was available as a Coupé with a hatchback body (Fixed Head Coupé) and as a Cabriolet. From 1984 the model name Tasmin was dropped; since then the car has been marketed as the TVR 280i . A less motorized variant was finally called the Tasmin 200 .

History of origin

After the Grantura , the Vixen and the M series , the fourth generation of TVR models began with the Tasmin introduced in 1979. The vehicles belonging to it are unofficially referred to as TVR Wedges . The series was developed from 1977 under the direction of Martin Lilley , who took over TVR in 1965. A new series had become necessary because many of the high-volume parts that TVR obtained for the M series from Ford of Britain and British Leyland were no longer produced in the second half of the 1970s. With the new models, Martin Lilley wanted to position TVR in a higher market niche. Potential competitors were Lotus and Porsche . The cost of developing the new model and preparing it for production totaled £ 550,000 by 1980. They overstrained the capabilities of the owners and ultimately led to the company being sold to Peter Wheeler in 1980. Over the years, Wheeler expanded the Wedge into a diverse family of models.

With the introduction of the 350i in 1983, the (Tasmin) 280i became the base model in the TVR range. While it was still being produced for the export markets until 1988, the right-hand drive version of the 280i, which sold significantly less than the 350i in Great Britain, was no longer available in the summer of 1986. The role of the entry-level model was then taken over by the newly developed S series , which was comparable was motorized.

Model name

When they were introduced in 1979, the cars had the model name Tasmin, which, depending on the source, can be traced back to the first name of a friend Martin Lilley's, the Australian - New Zealand Tasman racing series or a combination of these or a term found by chance in a lexicon. For further differentiation, the numbers 200 and 280i were appended to the term Tasmin, which referred to the respective cubic capacity (2.0 and 2.8). From the summer of 1984 the name Tasmin was dropped; Since then, TVR has only used three-digit numerical codes to differentiate between the individual vehicles (200 and 280i).

Model description

technology

Like all TVRs, the Tasmin had a tubular steel lattice frame, but it was longer and stiffer than that of the M series. Most of the drive parts are from contemporary Fords . The suspension and steering came from the Ford Cortina , only the rear suspension was a TVR construction. The transmissions came from Ford and were used there in the Cortina, Taunus and later in the Ford Sierra . There were disc brakes all around, the front ones from the Ford Granada . The engine was supplied by Ford-Cologne, a 2.8 liter V6 with Bosch injection system that delivered 150-160 bhp (112-119 kW). For the first time at TVR there was also an automatic transmission on request.

Body design

The design of the plastic body goes back to Oliver Winterbottom , who designed the wedge-shaped bodies of the Lotus Elite and Éclat models in the early 1970s . On the one hand, Winterbottom tried to adopt the proportions of earlier TVR models: a long bonnet, a tightly cut passenger compartment and a short rear overhang that had become a TVR trademark since the Grantura. On the other hand, the Tasmin sets itself apart from its predecessors with its deliberately smooth design and acute angles. The wedge-shaped TVR body is in this respect a further development of Winterbottom's Lotus designs. The front section tapers to a point and ends in plastic-clad bumpers, which in the first few years contrasted with the rest of the body in color, but have mostly been painted in the body color since around 1984. For the first time at TVR, pop-up headlights are found that were necessary to ensure the prescribed minimum height of the front lighting. In the closed versions, the roof line slopes down to the rear end immediately behind the B-pillar. The rear window can be opened; it enables access to the cargo space. At the rear, above the taillights, there is a vertical glass pane that extends over the entire width of the car and is intended to make it easier to see to the rear.

TVR took over many add-on parts from large-scale manufacturers. The door handles, for example, come from Ford, the taillights initially from the Rover SD1 or from the range of accessories from Lucas . In all convertibles produced from 1985 onwards, the rear lights of the Renault Fuego are used, which were installed rotated by 180 degrees. They're rare, so getting replacements is a bigger problem today. The housing and the motor of the pop-up headlights come from the Triumph TR7 , as does the gearshift lever. The vehicle electrical system was at British Leyland bought, the seats are from the Triumph 2500 S .

Body versions

TVR Tasmin Fixed Head Coupé Series 1 with short tail (1980)
TVR 280i Convertible

The Tasmin was available in three body versions, the 280i in two body versions.

  • The core model was a two-seater Fixed Head Coupé with a hatchback body and a large rear window that could be opened and also served as a tailgate. The Fixed Head Coupé was produced as Series 1 from 1979 to 1981. From October 1981, the two-seater model took over the modified body structure of the 2 + 2-seater Tasmin + 2. This version, which was in the program until 1988, was called Series 2 in the factory .
  • The 2 + 2-seater coupe known as Tasmin +2 appeared in October 1980. New body. With the chassis unchanged, the proportions of the body have been changed: the bonnet is shorter, the rear overhang is longer, and the C-pillar is flatter, so that the body looks more “balanced” overall. TVR also replaced the two small tanks with a large one. Critics complained that the rear seats, despite the significant changes to the structure, were only suitable for small children; They could only be used if the driver and front passenger seats were pushed forward as far as possible. The 2 + 2 seat version of the Wedge was not a success. Production was largely limited to 1980 and 1981, when a total of 41 Tasmin + 2 were built. From 1982 to 1984 six more vehicles were added.
  • A third variant was the two-seater Tasmin Convertible , which was offered from 1980.

TVR Tasmin 200

1982 appeared as the base model, which was positioned under the Tasmin 280i, the Tasmin 200. It had the Ford inline four-cylinder engine with overhead camshaft , which was also called Pinto engine after the American Ford Pinto , but was built in Europe. It gradually replaced the older V4 engine designs. TVR used a 1993 cc version, as it was installed in British versions of the Ford Capri and the Ford Cortina . It is equipped with two carburetors. the engine output is 101 bhp. A manual four-speed gearbox from Ford serves as the power transmission. In order to be able to achieve a purchase price of less than £ 10,000, TVR dispensed with standard electric windows and a cassette radio in contrast to the larger Tasmin. Because of the poor engine performance, the Tasmin 200 was not particularly successful. By 1984 only 16 coupés and 45 convertibles of this type were built. Most of them were shipped to East Asia. 50 vehicles went to Singapore alone .

Tasmin 350i

In 1983 TVR introduced a more powerfully motorized variant of the Wedge series, which had an eight-cylinder V-engine from Rover and was positioned in the TVR model range above the Tasmin 280i. The first copies of these eight-cylinder models were called Tasmin 350i at the factory; At the beginning of 1984 - and thus before the 2.8-liter versions - the model name Tasmin was dropped. The eight-cylinder wedges were then referred to as TVR 350i until their end of production in 1990 .

Prototype: TVR Tasmin Turbo

In 1981 and 1982 TVR developed a turbo version of the Tasmin 280, which should take over the position of the now discontinued 3000M Turbo. The Ford Cologne engine was equipped with a turbocharger and, at 228 bhp, was twice as powerful as the standard naturally aspirated version. TVR built two prototypes, one as a convertible, the other as a fixed head coupé . Series production did not materialize. Instead, TVR decided to develop a model with the Rover eight-cylinder engine. This became the TVR 350i.

TVR dealer David Haughin from Barrow-in-Furness offered similarly designed 350i convertibles with turbocharging from 1987 to 1989. The engine output increased to 201 kW (273 hp). Nine of these vehicles, designated as SX350, were built.

Prices and Production

On its debut, the Fixed Head Coupe cost £ 10,274. It was 42 percent more expensive than the 3000M TVR had last offered for £ 7244. For the Tasmin Convertible, TVR was asking for £ 12,744 in the first year.

Tasmin / 280i was the last TVR to be exported to the US . The Tasmin 280i received type approval for the USA in the summer of 1983. A 280i Series II was last exported in 1987. Four years later, TVR withdrew from the US for a number of reasons. This includes a confusing relationship with the TVR agents and sales network there, warranty issues, and insurance premiums for a reliability insurance that went from $ 160,000 to over $ 1,000,000

From 1979 to 1988 a total of 1167 Tasmin 280i and TVR 280i vehicles were built. 862 of them were convertibles , 41 were 2 + 2-seater. TVR built a total of 258 cars of the two-seater Fixed Head Coupé , 118 of which were in the first series with a short rear end. There were also 61 Tasmin 200 vehicles.

Data

Tasmin 200 Tasmin 280i
engine 4-row (Ford) 6-V (Ford-Cologne)
Displacement 1993 cc 2792 cc
power 101 bhp (75 kW) S1: 160 bhp (118 kW)
S2: 150 bhp (110 kW)
Torque 152 Nm 220 Nm
transmission 4/5 gear manual 4/5 speed manual
3-speed automatic
Suspension front: double wishbones,
rear: drawn trailing arms 		front: double wishbones,
rear: drawn trailing arms
Brakes 4 disc brakes
chassis Lattice frame made of steel tubes
Top speed 176 km / h S1: 208 km / h
S2: 194 km / h
Acceleration,
0-100 km / h 		9.0 s Manual switch: 8.0 s
Automatic: 8.2 s
Weight 971 kg 1074 kg

literature

  • Alastair Clements: Blackpool Peers. In: Classic & Sports Car. Issue, history of the TVR brand in 1/2007.
  • 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, Ramsburg 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 .

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Matthew Vale: TVR 1946-1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years. The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1-78500-351-6 , p. 140.
  2. ^ John Tipler: TVR. Sutton Publishing, Strout 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 77.
  3. ^ Matthew Vale: TVR 1946-1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years. The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1-78500-351-6 , p. 56.
  4. ^ Rainer W. Schlegelmilch, Hartmut Lehbrink: English sports car . Könemann, Cologne 2001, ISBN 3-8290-7449-2 , p. 396.
  5. ^ A b John Tipler: TVR. Sutton Publishing, Strout 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 76.
  6. ↑ Oliver Winterbottom: A Life in Car Design: Jaguar, Lotus, TVR. Veloce Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-1-78711-035-9 , p. 87.
  7. ↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era. The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1-84797-997-1 , p. 25.
  8. ↑ Oliver Winterbottom: A Life in Car Design: Jaguar, Lotus, TVR. Veloce Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-1-78711-035-9 , p. 79.
  9. ↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era. The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1-84797-997-1 , p. 143.
  10. ^ John Tipler: TVR. Sutton Publishing, Strout 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 94.
  11. ^ John Tipler: TVR. Sutton Publishing, Strout 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 94.
  12. ↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era. The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1-84797-997-1 , p. 26.
  13. ^ Rainer W. Schlegelmilch, Hartmut Lehbrink: English sports car . Könemann, Cologne 2001, ISBN 3-8290-7449-2 , p. 397.
  14. ^ John Tipler: TVR. Sutton Publishing, Strout 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 83.
  15. ^ Rainer W. Schlegelmilch, Hartmut Lehbrink: English sports car . Könemann, Cologne 2001, ISBN 3-8290-7449-2 , p. 398.
  16. ^ John Tipler: TVR. Sutton Publishing, Strout 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 80.
  17. ↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era. The Crowood Press, Ramsburg 2015, ISBN 978-1-84797-997-1 , p. 35.
  18. ↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era. The Crowood Press, Ramsburg 2015, ISBN 978-1-84797-997-1 , p. 35.
  19. ↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era. The Crowood Press, Ramsburg 2015, ISBN 978-1-84797-997-1 , p. 167.
  20. ↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era. The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1-84797-997-1 , p. 28.
  21. ↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era. The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2015, ISBN 978-1-84797-997-1 , p. 35.