Bit of a late one but a couple of weeks back I hired the dear girlfriend a TVR Tuscan for her birthday. Thought I'd share the experience with you lot seeing as most people I know glaze over when I start waffling.

Its always been her dream car and I've always promised 'one day' Being the obliging romantic I am, I forked out a load of cash to borrow one for a couple of days driving around the dales.

The difference between this car and the s2000 is just immense, and indeed between any other car I've driven. I've driven loads of powerful RWD cars before, I've hired Porsches, a AC Cobra replica, all sorts, this was different gravy. Everything about the car is just sexual, the curves defy any other styling, the interior is just amazing, its sculpted round the 2 seats and the clockwork speedometer is so bizarre, but makes perfect sense in a car so raw you don't have time to look how fas you are going.

As a driver, well its heavy, the brakes don't really have much to offer, the clutch is heavy and a nightmare in traffic, especially as I had sprained my left foot a couple of weeks before, but none of that detracted from the magnificence. Driving around the dales with the roof off, no stereo on all weekend, just listening to the gurgle of the V8 soaking up the admiring glances was heaven.

Not sure I could drive one every day, opening it up properly we stopped talking or looking anywhere but ahead, if the mrs wasn't pregnant I would have pushed it further but you could just tell it might bight and I didn't know the car well enough to test its limits, I've no doubt that rear end gets out without much effort and the £1200 excess is always in the back of your mind.

Still amazing fun, and in the full TVR experience we spent an hour sat in the sun waiting for the owner to bob over to give us a jump start, forgot to turn the lights off for 2 minutes and battery was dead. Whats a day in a TVR without breaking down?

All in all, an amazing piece of machinery that commands some serious respect, but repays you with raw power cloaked in sheer elegance.

 

They are fantastic cars to look at and I'd definitely have one if I had the money to not worry about it breaking!!
Ps it had a straight six

 

Nice one...

 

They were a great car, my uncle had the Tuscan R and that was an animal. Although i only had a small go in it i agree with what you say, do you not think it just feels 'Raw' at everything?, it is the only car that i was genuinely scared of, many a time my uncle booted it and i pressed my 'imaginary' brake and hung on what i could.

It was far too stift and just everywhere you went people wanted to race you - became a problem, still i thought (think it was £80k) was a lot to spend on a TVR but he had tasmins etc from day 1 so was a bit of TVR fan - I was and was always going to buy one but TVR was sold around when i was 18/19. Sadly he developed cancer of lymph nodes and lost all interest in fast cars. I think he actually sold it for more than he paid for it which was odd, some foreign fella bought it.

I have one of the last TVR factory tour guides from sometime around 2001 before they closed .

 

Yup Tuscans are definitely a six!

Which is the excuse you need to go rent a griffith/chimp or the AJP engined cerbera !

 

That's the MK1, isn't it? The MK11 S was a lot better.

I found the floor-hinged pedals reasonably weighted & they'd improved the handling by then - even if there is some chassis flex in high-speed corners that feels oddly like the S2000's RWS.

It's a great car to drive. And still people with struggle buggies that don't have 390 BHP per tonne try to tell you their pox box is fast!

 

... that's a proper blokes idea of a present for his g/f that is

 

haha, the great thing is it was a dream come true.

Shes not a bad un

 

Where did you hire it from if you don't mind me asking?

 

I drove around 500 miles last week looking at Tuscans and Tamoras. They are extremely rare and therefore very limited supply. Half the cars you see advertised are already sold.
I have not seen one without a sports exhaust. I hope the standard exhaust is significantly quieter, otherwise they are ruled out because they are just too fantastically loud, for my neighbors... which have been very good looking after my S for me. It would be rude to do the sound of war to them every morning... which could in turn currently friendly or indifferent tendencies into tendencies to vandalize.

Also, I'm starting to think the Tuscan is just too good looking if such a thing is possible, not sure I want that attention, whereas a Tamora is still very good looking but not as showy if you get what I mean... and better value, handling, and same engine.

I got a chance to drive a Griffith for a few miles in some back roads. I would describe it as a beast , a man's car, puts hair on your chest. Brutal torquey power. Felt very heavy despite being a fair bit lighter than a S2k. Steering lacked the involvement that I expected.

Because there is nothing available/good condition/near enough I'm currently swinging towards an Elise of the R or SC varieties. I LOVE driving them, nothing for me comes close to how that wee steering wheel feels, but I hate getting in and out of them, and the other livability issues. I am gradually convincing myself to just do it, even if only for a year, the depreciation factor on Lotus is very good so I don't feel too bad about spending more than I otherwise would.

My thing with the S2K is that I guess I got bored of it. Crave something special/different. Don't see myself ever getting a Porche/Z4M/370z because I think they are boring, more so than a s2k.