What is the new TVR Griffith? Iconic British sports car to gain electric variant in 2024

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TVR has shocked the automotive world by deciding to sponsor the Formula E events in Monaco and London in April and July this year. 

The move comes with an announcement that the TVR Griffith will be available with a fully electric powertrain in 2024 that will accelerate the company’s future EV plans. 

While the combustion-engined version of the TVR Griffith has been delayed for some time, company chairman Les Edgar said that the sponsorships will “not only demonstrate our commitment to revolutionising the TVR brand, but to EVs, and becoming a sustainable, net-zero business”. 

The new TVR Griffith 

Initially announced back in 2017 at the Goodwood Revival festival, the ‘new’ TVR Griffith with a redesigned look and Ford V8 power wowed the masses, but has since been a production nightmare and is yet to deliver any examples to those who have ordered one. 

It’s the first time since 2002 that the Griffith name has featured on a TVR vehicle and includes new design work by Gordon Murray’s design firm. 

So what makes the TVR Griffith a special beast?

The Griffith will utilise a significantly reworked 5.0-litre Ford Coyote V8 engine also found in the Mustang GT coupe. 

But this will be no standard Coyote. Instead, the V8 will be tinkered with by engine specialist Cosworth who was also tasked with creating the GMA T.50’s naturally-aspirated V12 engine – one of the last naturally aspirated V12 engines in production. 

The Griffith will also feature a custom clutch, ECU, flywheel, a dry sump, six-speed manual transmission, double-wishbone suspension and a carbon-fibre ground-effect chassis. All together, this package will create a car with a power-to-weight ratio of 298kW/tonne, says TVR. The company claims the modified 5.0-litre Cosworth V8 will produce over 370kW of power. 

Gordon Murray Design has had significant input into the creation of the ‘new’ Griffith such as making the car extremely light, as well as working to improve the torsional rigidity and safety capacities of the model. 

TVR set out to make the best car possible – one that is, in their words, inherently British, V8-powered and a two-seat coupe or convertible. 

A brief history of the TVR Griffith

The first generation of the TVR Griffith was produced from 1991 up to 2002 and was a fibreglass-bodied two-door, two-seat sports car fitted with a V8 engine. 

Rover was the supplier of the V8 engine for the Griffith, which was available in capacities spanning 4.0-litres up to 5.0-litres over the duration of production. 

The Griffith was almost mechanically identical to its sister car, the Chimera, but had a different body design and was produced in much smaller numbers. 

Reliability wise, the Griffith was prone to electrical faults and getting replacement parts was certainly no easy task, but British journalists at the time loved the powerful feeling of the TVR Griffith.