TVR Car Club - TVR Tuscan Details

Tuscan

In production: 1967-1971
Models: V8 SWB, V8 LWB, V8 MAL, V6

History

When Arthur and Martin Lilley bought TVR at the end of 1965 they no longer had a US market outlet in Jack Griffith's company, so Gerry Sagerman's TVR Cars of America became the US importer. The Griffith had a poor reputation in the US, the first step in restoring that reputation was the TVR Tuscan.

1967 - The Tuscan V8 SWB was basically a Griffith with a new name, the main distinguishing features were a new interior with a revised dash board and the door windows had no quaterlights. Some of the cars had the Mk 2 Cortina tail lights in place of the Mk 1 lights. The engine, transmission and differential were the same as the UK Griffith 200 and the US Griffith 400. Approximatly 24 SWB Tuscans were built following on the chassis number sequence from the 10 Martin Lilley built Griffiths.

1967 - The LWB Tuscan used a stretched Griffith/SWB Tuscan chassis which was originally used on the Trident prototypes and was 4.5 inches longer. The extra length was added to the centre section making the cabin and doors longer with the benefit of making the car easier to get in to. It also improved the looks of the car.

The LWB cars had a new bonnet with a longer central bulge, and all cars had the Mk 2 Cortina tail lights fitted. The cars were given a new chassis number sequence of LWxxx. Cars 001 to 008 had the small side vents and opening footwell vents behind the front wheels, where as cars from 009 had the later larger side vent as on the Vixen S2 and no footwell vents.

Some of the cars were designated 'SE' which had a more powerful V8 rated at 303bhp along with other various extras.

1968 - A second series of LWB Tuscans were produced which were given a MAL xxx chassis number. A lot of parts on these cars were commonised with the Vixen including the chassis. the bonnet and the interior. The Vixen S2/S3 chassis was slightly different from the previous LWB chassis and the bonnet had a pair of air scoops and vents.

The first few of these cars followed the traditional TVR method of bonding the body to the chassis, but the later cars adopted a new method of bolting the body to the chassis.

TVR Tuscan

Technical Specifications

TVR Tuscan V8 SWB
Engine: Ford V8 289
Capacity: 4727cc
Top Speed: 155mph

TVR Tuscan V8 LWB & V8 MAL
Engine: Ford V8 289
Capacity: 4727cc
or
Engine: Ford V8 302
Capacity: 4942cc

TVR Tuscan V6
Engine: Ford Essex V6
Capacity: 2994cc
Power: 138bhp
Torque: 183lbft
Top Speed: 125mph

Production Numbers:
TVR Tuscan V8 SWB - 24
TVR Tuscan V8 LWB - approx 26
TVR Tuscan V8 MAL - approx 15
TVR Tuscan V8 MAL LWB - approx 7
TVR Tuscan V6 - 101

1969 - A mid range model was produced using the Ford Essex V6 engine usually fitted to the Ford Zodiac and Capri. It used the Vixen body shell and a modified Vixen chassis with a Salisbury LSD. As this engine did not meet the strict US emissions standards it was not offered for export like the V8 model so most of these stayed in the UK market.

1970 - A wide bodied LWB Tuscan V8 was produced, using a restyled body shell which was the forerunner to the later M-series TVRs. These cars followed on using the MAL chassis number sequence and there were only about seven built by the factory. Three specials were built after the factory production run was ended. The first was built in the USA in 1971 by Joe Bishop, David Hives and Gerry Sagerman. The second a very special four wheel drive car was built by Liam Churchill of the Barnett Motor company. A third car turned up with a V6 engine and registered as a 3000M. It has been rebuilt with the correct V8 engine.

The majority of Tuscan V8 models went to the US market as did the previous Griffth models. The Tuscan range ended production in 1971 when the TVR Vixen 2500 was produced.