Friday, October 29, 2021

TVR Griffith Specifications, Photos and Videos

October 29, 2021 Posted By Daniel Johnson

The TVR Griffith, later models being referred to as the Griffith 500, is a sports car designed and built by TVR starting production in 1991 and ending production in 2002 with production beginning again in 2018 under a revived TVR brand.

Like its forerunner namesakes, the Griffith 200 and Griffith 400, the modern Griffith was a lightweight (1,060 kg (2,337 lb)) fiberglass-bodied, 2-door, 2-seat sports car with a V8 engine. Originally, it used a 4.0 L 240 hp (179 kW; 243 PS) Rover V8 engine, but that could be optionally increased to 4.3 L 280 hp (209 kW; 284 PS) in 1992 with a further option of big-valve cylinder heads. In 1993, with a TVR-developed 5.0 L 340 hp (254 kW; 345 PS) version of the Rover V8 became available. All versions of the Griffith use the Lucas 14CUX engine management system. All models use a five-speed manual transmission.

Although the Griffith was almost mechanically identical to its sister car, the Chimaera, it had a different body design and was produced in much smaller numbers.

The Griffith was a lightweight, high-power, and well-balanced car. A low-cost speed six Griffith proposal never became a production reality; by the time it was launched alongside the Griffith in 1999, it had morphed into the Tuscan Speed Six.

A special edition Griffith 500 was made dubbed the Blackpool B340. This car was featured in Gran Turismo and Gran Turismo 2 (in the former as the Griffith 4.0 in the NTSC and PAL versions). The car was similar to a normal Griffith 500 with some bespoke options available.

In 2000, TVR announced that the Griffith production was going to end. A limited edition run of 100 Special Edition (SE) cars were to be built to mark the end of production. Although still very similar to the previous Griffith 500 model, the SE had a hybrid interior using the Chimaera dashboard and Cerbera seats. Noticeably, the rear lights were different along with different door mirrors, higher powered headlights and clear indicator lenses. Some also came with 16-inch wheels. Each car came with a numbered plaque in the glove box including the build number and a Special Edition Badge on its boot. All cars also had a unique signature in the boot under the carpet. The SEs were built between 2000 and 2002, with the last registered in 2003.

Every year, to celebrate the TVR Griffith, their owners have a meet called "The Griff Growl."

In 2008, Al Melling Sports Cars unveiled the Melling Wildcat, a roadster heavily based on the Griffith but powered by a variant of TVR's later AJP8 engine.