What's all this about?
As you may or may not know, TVR is coming back from the dead, and the British marque is working on a new sports car that should be with us in 2018. So, ahead of its world debut at September's Goodwood Revival, TVR made with the bolshie pre-fight talk - and, believe us, it has already got in a BIG early verbal blow.
Which is...?
The fact the new TVR will have the best power-to-weight ratio (PWR) in its class. Its 5.0-litre V8, fettled by Cosworth, will be installed in a body that has the emphasis on being light, mainly down to Gordon Murray's (yes, THAT Gordon Murray) iStream carbon fibre architecture. TVR gives us the weight of the car (1,200kg) and the PWR, which is a colossal 406hp-per-tonne, which - if our GCSE maths hasn't failed us (again...) - means the motor should kick out around 487hp.
Crikey! And what are the cars that the TVR beats?
Some astonishing names. Like the Porsche 911 Turbo S (369hp-per-tonne), the Jaguar F-Type SVR Coupe (344hp-per-tonne), the Aston Martin Vantage GT8 (297hp-per-tonne) and the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale (261hp-per-tonne). Not only that, but TVR also says its sports car is the most compact in the segment, measuring 4,300mm long (199mm shorter than a 911) and 1,271mm tall (fully 43mm lower than an F-Type). Although TVR also says the interior will 'offer levels of comfort and practicality that clearly reflect the manufacturer's intention that this will be a suitable car for everyday use'.
So it's a Goodwood Revival reveal for the car - but what does TVR say about this latest claim?
Over to John Chasey, of TVR Manufacturing, who said: "We have been ambitious and rigorous in establishing performance benchmarks for our new car. Our intentions for power-to-weight, size, practicality and quality standards were set high from the very start. We know that the new TVR must be able to compete at the very highest levels, and I'm delighted to say that the car has met or exceeded all of our own very exacting requirements, hands down."
Matt Robinson - 24 Jul 2017