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History1964 - The story of the TVR Griffith is now stuff of legend. Supposedly, or so the story goes, North American racing driver and TVR USA importer Gerry Sagerman was having his personal race car, a MkIII Grantura, fettled in the workshop run by Jack Griffith at the same time as former TVR racer Mark Donohue was having his AC Cobra serviced there. Allegedly, Griffith’s mechanics swapped the engines “because they could” and although the transplant didn’t quite work, Griffith liked the idea and he then made it work with a fully engineered version. The original TVR Griffith was born.
The vast majority of the 300 or so Griffiths ever built (in two variants, the earlier Griffith 200 with the Mk III Grantura rear end and the later Griffith 400 with the 1800S based “Manx” tail) were for the US export market. Probably less than 20 were sold in the UK The Griffith 400 was fitted with the more powerful Ford 289 HiPo, a larger radiator, twin electric fans, redesigned rear suspension and a Salisbury limited slip differential. As it weighed less than an AC Cobra it became a legendary racing car. |
Technical SpecificationsTVR Griffith 200
Engine: Ford V8 289 Capacity (cc): 4740cc Power: 271bhp Performance: 3.9secs Top Speed: 150mph TVR Griffith 400
Engine: Ford V8 289 HiPo Capacity (cc): 4722cc Power: 271bhp Performance: 3.9secs Top Speed: 155mph Production Numbers:
Griffith 200 - 192 Griffith 400 - 59 Griffith 600 - 10 |
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