TVR Tuscan Speed Six | Spotted

It’s 2024 and there’s still no sign of the ‘new’ TVR Griffith landing any time soon. Or ever, at this rate. Despite opening an experience centre at Thruxton late last year, the revived British sports car maker abandoned plans to build the Griffith at a new factory in Wales and, if last week’s reports are anything to go by, it’ll potentially cost the taxpayer millions in wasted public funds. TVR hasn’t given up the Griffith just yet (whether it should or not is hotly debated), with production set to be relocated to Hampshire, but it’s been seven years since the reboot’s debut with seemingly no end in sight.

Mind you, all this hoo-ha surrounding the marque’s revival hasn’t made TVRs of old any less appealing. Quite the opposite, in fact. There are plenty of Griffiths you can actually buy to scratch the V8 bruiser itch, such as this 1992 example with bits and pieces pinched from newer models for £52,995, while the company’s final production model, the Sagaris, was arguably its most well-rounded car of the 21st century and a good one like this 2005 example can be had for £79,995. For many though, the Tuscan remains the definitive modern-day TVR, and they don’t come much better than the Grigio Titanio car you see here.

The Tuscan Speed Six wasn’t the greatest TVR ever to drive, nor the quickest or the rarest, but there’s still something about its hyper-futuristic shape that’s just as enchanting today as it was in 1999. The Cerbera, Chimaera and Griffith all had striking yet sleek silhouettes that were way ahead of their time, but the Damian McTaggart-designed Tuscan looked to have come from another planet. After decades of boxy shapes with sharp edges, there wasn’t a single straight line on the Tuscan’s glass fibre bodywork. Pre-facelift cars were especially sci-fi, with headlights split into four individual pods on each side while the rears were positioned low to not clutter the back end. It was, and still very much is, a real head-turner. 

Step inside and you’ll find a cabin that’s somehow even more bonkers than the Cerbera’s. Rulers were strictly prohibited in the TVR design office (probably) with the curvy cabin looking like the command bridge of an alien starfighter. The company did away with conventional dials, too, instead featuring a large analogue speedo with a digital rev counter plonked right in the middle. Incredibly, most of the switchgear was bespoke, with rotary dials used in places where others would use conventional switches, and to get out you’d need to press small, unmarked buttons placed either side of the radio. It was brilliantly bizarre in every way.

Just as ludicrous was the 3.6-litre straight-six, designed in-house by Al Melling. Most British sports car builders, even the really big ones, go for off-the-shelf engines because designing a powertrain is expensive. The upside, of course, is the kind of character and excitement that no regular engine could muster.  With 350hp, 290lb ft of torque and an unmistakably wonderful exhaust note unlike any other. No traction control or ABS, either, though the floor-hinged pedals include an extra-long throttle to help manage the power. It’ll be worth whatever it costs to maintain. 

Tuscans in particular are known for wild flip-flop colours and wacky interior combinations, but this 20,500-mile example is perfectly specced for someone after a more subtle spec. Just goes to show how versatile the Tuscan is, because it looks every bit as striking in grey as it does Reflex Purple. Now its one and only owner is looking to pass it on, with Hilton and Moss, who sold it to said owner brand new when the company was a TVR main dealer back in 2003, naming the price £34,995. With that, you’re getting a Tuscan that, for most of its life, has been maintained by the company that originally sold it. This updated 2005 car can be had for a smidgen less, but the pre-facelift Tuscan is arguably TVR at its absolute finest.

Engine: 3,605cc straight-six
Transmission: five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 350@7,200rpm
Torque (lb ft): 287@5,500rpm
MPG: Not a lot
CO2: Quite a lot
Year registered: 2003
Recorded mileage: 20,500
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £34,995