TVR Vixen

TVR Vixen
Production period:	1967-1973
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Coupe
Previous model:	TVR Grantura
Successor:	TVR M series

The TVR Vixen is a two-seater sports coupe that TVR manufactured in Blackpool ( England ) from 1967 to 1973 in six different versions. The Vixen equipped with British four- and six-cylinder engines replaced the Grantura , which had been produced since 1959 . It was developed over the years and gradually moved into the M series , with which TVR was successful in the 1970s.

History of origin

First new model of the Martin Lilley era: TVR Vixen

Between 1959 and 1965, between 700 and 800 TVR Grantura Coupés were built in Blackpool. Conceptually, they go back to the Jomar sports car , which TVR founder Trevor Wilkinson developed in the 1950s. They all had a lattice frame made of steel tubes and a body made of glass fiber reinforced plastic that was glued to it . The Grantura, available in Great Britain either as a complete vehicle or as a kit, was powered by BMC , Coventry-Climax or Ford engines. Over the years there have been some detail changes - including a new, somewhat longer frame by John Thurner was introduced in 1962 - but these did not affect the basic concept. The Grantura also survived several bankruptcies and takeovers of the manufacturing company. The last major turning point was the bankruptcy of Grantura Engineering in September 1965.

After that, Martin Lilley took over the production rights to the Grantura and from November 1965 continued production by the newly founded company TVR Engineering. The company stabilized under Lilley's leadership. Lilley enabled efficient further development of the car and achieved economic consolidation. His main focus was on improving the manufacturing quality, which reduced the costs for complaints and warranty work. In addition, Lilley reduced its purchasing costs, as from 1967 TVR no longer obtained its engines and drive components from BMC, but from Ford of Britain. While TVR had to buy the BMC components from local dealers, the Ford parts could be obtained directly from the factory (through the Ford Industrial Power Division ). This reduced the purchase prices.

In this way, in January 1967, the Grantura Mark IV became the TVR Vixen S1. A parallel model of the Vixen was the Tuscan V8 , which was primarily intended for the North American market and was powered by American eight-cylinder engines that were more than twice as powerful. He succeeded the series Griffith 200 / 400 at.

Vixen S1 to S4

Vixen S1

Vixen
Image does not exist
Production period:	1967-1968
Body versions :	Coupe
Engines:	Gasoline engine : 1.6–1.8 liters
Length:	3594 mm
Width:	1626 mm
Height:	1220 mm
Wheelbase :	2172 mm
Empty weight :	737 kg

The first Vixen, which is retrospectively referred to as S1, debuted in September 1967. It was a technically slightly revised Grantura Mark IV, with which it is largely identical on the outside. With the new model name (German: Füchsin) TVR wanted to differentiate the car from the defects that were often associated with the established name Grantura.

The plastic body of the Grantura Mark IV was adopted almost unchanged. The Vixen S1 has the same Manx -Heck and the round Ban-the-Bomb taillights that the Ford Cortina Mark I came. The bonnet was redesigned in details. This included a newly shaped air inlet.

The chassis of the Vixen was unchanged from that of the Grantura Mark IV.

The first twelve copies of the Vixen still had the 1.8 liter four-cylinder engine from the MGB (BMC B-Series), which had 98 bhp, which was already used in the Grantura Mark IV . They were transitional models that were used to clear stocks.

TVR then switched to drive technology from Ford of Britain. A variant of the so-called Kent engine was used, the displacement of which was 1599 cm³. It was mated to a Ford four-speed gearbox. The engine version used by TVR had been on the market since July 1967. She had a cross-flow cylinder head ( Cross Flow ) and was at Ford especially in the sedan Cortina Mark II GT used. The mixture was prepared using a Weber downdraft twin carburetor . The engine output was given as 88 bhp. Thus the TVR Vixen was nominally 10 bhp weaker than the Grantura Mark IV with MGB engine. On the other hand, Ford's engine-gearbox unit was lighter than the BMC components, so that the total weight of the Vixen at 737 kg was a total of 75 kg below that of the Grantura Mark IV. The reduction in weight largely made up for the Vixen's lower engine power in practice. The Vixen's top speed is 175 km / h, just 2 km / h below that of the Grantura Mark IV, and the Vixen only needed 0.5 seconds more than the Grantura Mark IV to accelerate from 0 to 96 km / h.

The Vixen was sold as a complete vehicle in 1968 at a price of £ 1,387. It was £ 150 more expensive than a factory-assembled Grantura Mark IV. On the other hand, since TVR was able to buy Ford components for less than previous BMC parts, the company's profit margin increased. By October 1968, 117 copies of the Vixen S1 had been built, 12 of them with MGB engines and 105 with Ford engines.

Vixen S2

Vixen S2
TVR Vixen
Production period:	1968-1970
Body versions :	Coupe
Engines:	Petrol engines : 1.6 liters (63–65 kW)
Length:	3683 mm
Width:	1626 mm
Height:	1220 mm
Wheelbase :	2286 mm
Empty weight :	732-758 kg

The second series of the Vixen appeared in October 1968.

The most significant innovation was the chassis, which was 11.5 cm (4.5 inches) longer than the S1. This chassis had already been introduced in the Tuscan V8 LWB ( Long Wheelbase ) a few months earlier . Some sources assume that it was originally designed for the TVR Trident sports car, which was sold as a clipper by Trident Cars with Austin-Healey technology from 1967 onwards . As a result, the wheelbase of the S2 grew from 2137 mm to 2250 mm. The increase in length benefited the interior of the coupé. At the same time, the car got longer doors, so that the difficult access, which was often criticized so far, was made somewhat easier. The connection between chassis and body was also new: while the plastic body was glued to the chassis on all previous TVR models, the body was now screwed to the chassis in eight places. This improved the repair options. Outwardly, the S2 differed from the S1 by a newly designed rear section. Instead of the round Ban-The-Bomb rear lights, the rectangular units of the Cortina Mark 2 protruding into the sides of the car were used. TVR installed them the wrong way round and rotated 180 degrees. From April 1969, servo-assisted brakes were part of the standard equipment.

The drive technology remained unchanged. Furthermore, the Vixen S2 from the Ford was Kent -Motor of Cortina driven II whose power 88 hp (65 kW) at 5400 min ^-1 was. The top speed increased to 175 km / h thanks to a longer rear axle ratio, and consumption fell to 10.7 l / 100 km.

The Vixen S2 remained in the range until late summer 1970. During this time 438 vehicles were built.

Vixen S3

Vixen S3
TVR Vixen S3
Production period:	1970-1972
Body versions :	Coupe
Engines:	Petrol engines : 1.6 liters (65 kW)
Length:	3683 mm
Width:	1626 mm
Height:	1220 mm
Wheelbase :	2286 mm
Empty weight :	732-758 kg

The third series of the Vixen appeared in the fall of 1970 and was manufactured until April 1972. It was the first Vixen to be built in the new facility on Bristol Avenue in Blackpool.

Outwardly there were only a few changes. The framework of the S3 is the same as that of the S2. The S3 was the last Vixen to be based on the tubular frame designed by John Thurner, which debuted in 1962 with the Grantura Mark III. The plastic body of the S3 is also largely identical to that of the S2. New were larger side vents in the front fenders, the trim of which comes from the Ford Zodiac Mark IV ; there it was installed on the C-pillar. There was a revision to the rear suspension. Instead of the double shock absorbers that were installed on Series 1 and 2, the Vixen S3 had a single shock absorber. There were no changes to the drive. Furthermore, the British Ford-Kent engine with 1599 cm³ was the only motorization. This engine was no longer available from the Ford factory in the Cortina sedan, but only in the Capri 1600 GT . His power was now 86 bhp.

During this time, the company's focus was on the Vixen 2500. TVR produced only 165 vehicles of the S3 in two years, all of them in kit form. In the same time, more than twice as many copies of the Vixen 2500 (385 vehicles) were made. The purchase price for a Vixen S3 kit was £ 1,310 in 1971.

Vixen S4

Vixen S4
TVR Vixen S4
Production period:	1972-1973
Body versions :	Coupe
Engines:	Petrol engines : 1.6 liters (65 kW)
Length:	3683 mm
Width:	1626 mm
Height:	1220 mm
Wheelbase :	2286 mm
Empty weight :	732-758 kg

The fourth and final series of the Vixen appeared in the spring of 1972. It was a gap filler that accompanied the transition from the Vixen family to the M series . In 1972 the new chassis designed by Mike Bigland, which was to become the basis of the M family, was ready for use and went into series production. Since not all bodies of the Vixen series had been sold at that time, the first chassis of the M series still received the bodies of the Vixen. These mixed versions were called the Vixen S4. TVR proceeded similarly with the larger Vixen 2500: Here, too, the vehicles built in 1972 - a total of 96 units - were already equipped with the M-series chassis. Apart from the new chassis, the Vixen S4 was externally and technically identical to the previous S3. A total of 23 Vixen S4s were made. It was not until the spring of 1973 that these vehicles were sold. The successor was the TVR 1600M.

Special Vixen models

In 1970 and 1971 TVR introduced special Vixen models that complemented the series of regular Vixen S1 to S4 upwards and downwards. The Vixen 1300 was introduced as the basic model; The Vixen 2500 had already appeared a year earlier and had a more powerful engine than the regular models. Unlike the Vixen S1 to S4, they did not have Ford technology, but used Triumph engines and transmissions .

Vixen 2500

The reason for the development of the Vixen 2500: The TVR Tuscan V6

The Vixen 2500 is a special model produced from 1970 to 1972 within the Vixen family. It combines the Vixen chassis with a six-cylinder British Leyland engine . The Vixen 2500 was developed to complement the Tuscan V6 . The Tuscan V6 with its 3.0 liter Ford Essex six-cylinder V engine was positioned between the regular Vixen S3 and the up to 271 bhp Tuscan V8. With 101 copies sold, the Tuscan V6 was successful in Great Britain; However, it could not be exported to the USA because its Essex engine did not meet American emission regulations.

TVR then built a version called the Vixen 2500 with the 2498 cm³ in-line six-cylinder of the Triumph TR6 especially for the North American market . However, the 150 bhp injection version was not used here, which also did not comply with the American emissions regulations; instead, TVR used a variant with two Stromberg carburetors , which was already used in the Triumph TR250 and in the US version of the TR6. It made only 106 bhp, which is a third weaker than the injection version. The increase in performance compared to the Vixen S3 with the 1.6 liter Ford four-cylinder engine is only about 18 bhp. The Tuscan V6 with the Ford Essex engine was significantly more powerful at 136 bhp. Many American customers privately upgraded the engine of the Vixen 2500 to the injection version. The top speed of the Vixen 2500 was 179 or 190 km / h, depending on the source. The Vixen 2500 took over the body of the Vixen S3 and the Tuscan V6. He initially used the chassis of the Vixen S3. From 1972, on the other hand, he built on the newly developed frame of the M series, but kept the Vixen body.

From 1970 to 1972 a total of around 385 copies of the car were made, the last 96 of them with the M-series chassis. The vast majority was exported; however, some cars were also sold in Great Britain under the designation TVR 2500 (without the addition of Vixen). Its successor was the TVR 2500M .

Vixen 1300

From August 1971 to December 1972 there was also the Vixen 1300 (often alternatively referred to as TVR 1300), which was equipped with the smaller four-cylinder in-line engine of the Triumph Spitfire Mk. IV . This machine had a displacement of 1296 cm³, was equipped with two SU carburettors and made 63 bhp. The factory stated the maximum speed “depending on the specific conditions” at 160 km / h, other sources assume only 145 km / h. The Vixen 1300 was a failure. Only 15 copies were made in a year and a half. Nine vehicles used the chassis of the Vixen S3, while five more already used the chassis of the M series. In these cases the body corresponded to the Vixen S3. The last copy had the Spitfire engine, as well as the chassis and body of the M-series. This variant remained a one-off. A special feature of all Vixen 1300s was the positioning of the spare wheel in front of the engine. The Vixen 1300 anticipated a design element of the M series.

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, Ramsburg 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 .
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 : TVR Vixen - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

History of the TVR Vixen on the website of the TVR Car Club Deutschland eV

Individual evidence

↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsburg 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 13.
^ Matthew Vale: TVR 1946−1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 19.
↑ ^a ^b Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsburg 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 15.
^ ^A ^b John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 37.
^ ^A ^b John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 27.
^ ^A ^b ^c Matthew Vale: TVR 1946−1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 75.
↑ ^a ^b History of the TVR Vixen on the website of the TVR Car Club Germany (accessed on April 24, 2019).
^ ^A ^b Matthew Vale: TVR 1946−1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 74.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Mark Hughes: TVR Grantura, Griffith, Vixen & Tuscan . Classic & Sportscar, issue 12/1989, p. 45.
^ John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 46.
^ History of the TVR Vixen on the website of the TVR Car Club Deutschland eV (accessed on April 28, 2019).
↑ Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsburg 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 16.
↑ With the introduction of the third series of the Cortina, Ford switched to a 1.6 liter four-cylinder engine from the Pinto series . See Des Hammill: How to Build and Power Tune Ford Pinto Engines (Including Cosworth) . Veloce Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1903706107 .
^ Matthew Vale: TVR 1946−1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 79.
^ John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 42.
^ John Tipler: TVR, Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 54.
^ Illustration of a works brochure by Matthew Vale: TVR 1946−1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 81.
^ Richard Heseltine: Specialist Sports Cars: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of a Very British Breed , Haynes Publishing 2001, ISBN 1-85960-690-3 , p. 135.
^ Matthew Vale: TVR 1946−1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , pp. 81, 84.

[Dodds_13-1] Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsburg 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 13.

[2] Matthew Vale: TVR 1946−1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 19.

[Dodds_15-3] Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsburg 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 15.

[Tipler_37-4] A ^b John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 37.

[Tipler_27-5] A ^b John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 27.

[Vale_75-6] A ^b ^c Matthew Vale: TVR 1946−1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 75.

[Club_D-7] History of the TVR Vixen on the website of the TVR Car Club Germany (accessed on April 24, 2019).

[Vale_74-8] A ^b Matthew Vale: TVR 1946−1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 74.

[Hughes_45-9] Mark Hughes: TVR Grantura, Griffith, Vixen & Tuscan . Classic & Sportscar, issue 12/1989, p. 45.

[10] John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 46.

[Club-11] History of the TVR Vixen on the website of the TVR Car Club Deutschland eV (accessed on April 28, 2019).

[12] Ralph Dodds: TVR. Cars Of The Peter Wheeler Era , The Crowood Press, Ramsburg 2015, ISBN 978-1847979971 , p. 16.

[13] With the introduction of the third series of the Cortina, Ford switched to a 1.6 liter four-cylinder engine from the Pinto series . See Des Hammill: How to Build and Power Tune Ford Pinto Engines (Including Cosworth) . Veloce Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1903706107 .

[14] Matthew Vale: TVR 1946−1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 79.

[Tipler_42-15] John Tipler: TVR , Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 42.

[Tipler_54-16] John Tipler: TVR, Sutton Publishing Ltd., Strout, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1766-0 , p. 54.

[17] Illustration of a works brochure by Matthew Vale: TVR 1946−1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , p. 81.

[18] Richard Heseltine: Specialist Sports Cars: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of a Very British Breed , Haynes Publishing 2001, ISBN 1-85960-690-3 , p. 135.

[19] Matthew Vale: TVR 1946−1982. The Trevor Wilkinson and Martin Lilley Years , The Crowood Press, Ramsbury 2017, ISBN 978-1785003516 , pp. 81, 84.