TVR Tasmin / 280i 1980-1989

[Coventrysucks]

there is absolutely no resemblance to todays TVR range

Fast and lairy two seat convertibles and coupes, with large displacement 6 and 8 cylinder engines, lightweight GRP bodies, no driver aids, bits out of Fords, dubious reliability records and a precarious financial situations.

As compared to the "modern" line up of fast and lairy two seat convertibles and coupes, with large displacement 6 and 8 cylinder engines, lightweight GRP bodies, no driver aids, bits out of Fords, dubious reliability records and fatal financial situations.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I'm pretty confident it will all straighten out. I'd never expect their whole range to just disappear and change.

Evo reports this month that Bertone is about to close down...

Enough of that.

Wedges are awesome.

The Tasmin was the first of the line, introduced in 1980 under the Lilley's ownership, it was available in coupe and convertible form with either the 2.8 Ford Cologne V6 (280) or 2.0 Pinto 4 cyl.

The car did not sell that well, and with TVR in difficulty, Peter Wheeler took over deciding to replace the underpowered Ford engines with the Rover V8, initially in 3.5-litre, 190bhp guise, to create the 350.

Alongside the 350, a range of SE cars was developed; the 350SE with 280bhp, 390SE with 275 (3.9-litre).

In 1985 the series 2 350 was introduced, and the SE line continued with first the 1986 420SE (4.2-litre, 300bhp), then 1988 400SE (4-litre, 275bhp) and 1989 450SE (4.5-litre, 320bhp).

The most potent cars of the Wedge series were the SEACs; Special Edition Aramid Composite (kevlar), although in reality kevlar proved too difficult to manufacture, and apart from 20 or so of the 55 built, they were bodied in GRP.

The 1986 420SEAC, in addition to the 91kg saved by the single-piece bodywork, have a 4.2-litre V8 with 300bhp, whilst the 1988 450SEAC gained 213ccs and 24bhp.

The SEACs were amongst the fastest cars of their time, despatching 60 in 4.7 seconds, and hitting 165mph - very respectable figures for a mid-eighties convertible.

In all over 2500 Wedges were built, making them one of TVR's most successful models, with c.1300 cars being V8s.

[2ndclasscitizen]

I second that. how hard is it for the british to keep tradition in the car industry.

Tradition doesn't build cars or make money.

The most potent cars of the Wedge series were the SEACs; Special Edition Aramid Composite (kevlar), although in reality kevlar proved too difficult to manufacture, and apart from 20 or so of the 55 built, they were bodied in GRP.

Best name for bodywork ever. Also, I remember reading in an EVO article on older TVRs that most of the SEAC-bodied cars wound up being redone in normal TVR GRP.

[Ferrer]

The car did not sell that well, and with TVR in difficulty, Peter Wheeler took over deciding to replace the underpowered Ford engines with the Rover V8, initially in 3.5-litre, 190bhp guise, to create the 350.

IIRC the Rover V8 was introduced because some middle-eastern people were interested in it, but didn't want to buy a car with a Ford engine in it, wasn't it?

[Coventrysucks]

IIRC the Rover V8 was introduced because some middle-eastern people were interested in it, but didn't want to buy a car with a Ford engine in it, wasn't it?

True, they were trying to export to Saudi Arabia, and the USA was not hugely popular at the time, so the Ford engines were a non-starter - in some cases literally.

I doubt that Wheeler would have been particularly tortured over the decision to find a new, bigger, more powerful engine though.

[The_Canuck]

This TVR looks great. I think I have seen one in town actually.

[Duell]

TVR 350i

[Man of Steel]

The TVR Tasmin (later known as the TVR 280i) is a sports car designed by Oliver Winterbottom (coach) and Ian Jones (chassis) for TVR and built in the United Kingdom by that company from 1980 to 1989. It was the first of TVR's "Wedge"-series which formed the basis of its 1980's model range. The Tasmin/280i was available as a 2-seater coupé, as a 2+2 coupé and as a 2-seater convertible.

History
The Tasmin was the first production car in the world to have both a bonded windscreen and also to incorporate the aerial in the rear screen heater element. As with all TVRs, the running gear was located in a tubular spaceframe steel chassis which was powder coated for extra corrosion resistance. Much of the running gear was sourced from Fords of the period. The suspension and steering was sourced from the Ford Cortina, with TVR engineered trailing arms at the rear, similar to designs previously used on Lotus models including the early Esprit. Gearboxes were from the Cortina, Granada, and Sierra. Brakes were discs all round, with the front units from the Granada. The differential (and rear brakes) was from the Jaguar XJ-S. Ancillary components were sourced from a variety of mainstream manufacturers so it is possible to identify, for example, Ford Cortina external door handles; Triumph TR7 or Austin Metro internal handles; front side/indicator lamps by Lucas with those on later models taken from the Renault 12 and the Peugeot 505; rear lamp clusters from the Ford Capri, Rover SD1 or the Renault Fuego; boot lid hinges from the Hillman Imp and ex-Jaguar ashtrays (or on later cars the ashtray from the DeLorean DMC-12). The radiator was taken variously from the Ford Granada Mk2 and the Range Rover; front brakes could be ex-Granada in solid- or vented-disc form or the 4-piston calipers from the BL Princess (also a 'wedge' shaped car). The steering column and its associated switchgear changed over the years too: starting with the TR7 and proceeding through the Rover SD1, very late cars used the installation from the Ford Granada Mk3. The handbrake mechanism was that used on the Lotus Esprit. The headlamp pods were powered by individual motors lifted from the TR7/ Esprit. The original wheel design was specific to the Tasmin, being produced by Telcast in Telford. Later cars sported wheels from various makers including OZ. The seats were made by Callow & Maddox Brothers in Coventry, who also supplied other British car makers, hence the Tasmin seats appear similar to those used elsewhere but are in fact vehicle-specific, having a narrow but long base bolster.

The engine was the Ford 2.8 Cologne V6 with Bosch fuel injection producing 160 bhp (119 kW; 162 PS). An automatic gearbox was available, making it the first TVR to have this as an option. While the styling of the car was by Oliver Winterbottom who had previously styled the Lotus Elite S2. Beside the Cologne V6 engine the Tasmin was also available with a 2.0 litre Ford Pinto. This car, presented in late 1981, was called the Tasmin 200 and was an attempt to make a car cheaper than the standard Tasmin 280i. It was priced at under £10,000, but with an engine producing only about 100 bhp (75 kW; 101 PS) it wasn't a big success. Only 16 Tasmin 200 coupes and 45 convertibles were made in total.

In 1981 a series II car appeared, incorporating various improvements or modifications to the series I. These included a front suspension redesign, returning the tie-rods to the tension mode used by Ford rather than the compression mode into which TVR had initially installed them. This addressed frequent complaints of bump-steer. A bodyshell restyle also altered the proportions of the car (largely by tilting the previously-vertical glass tail panel) so it appeared shorter in the nose and longer at the rear; this coincided with the launch of the convertible/drophead version. In 1984 the Tasmin name was dropped and the car was renamed TVR 280i, although the name remained in use within the TVR factory. Early 350i's were also referred to as the "Tasmin 350i". TVR's consistently inconsistent badging policy resulted in the cars appearing as Tasmins, Tasmin 280is or just plain 280is as the Tasmin name was dropped.

The 2.8-litre "Cologne" V6 had already been certified for US sales, and thus TVR returned to the US market after a six-year hiatus. The Tasmin was the last TVR to be exported to the United States, with the last car brought over in 1987, this being a series II 280i. A number of reasons are cited for TVR's withdrawal from the US. These allegedly include a deteriorating relationship with the import agents and the distribution network, warranty problems and liability insurance premiums rising from $160K to over $1M.

The Tasmin did not start out very strongly, with TVR production reaching a low of 121 in 1982. By 1985, yearly production had increased to 472. In total, 1,167 V6 cars were produced.

Source: Wikipedia

[Man of Steel]

TVR Tasmin / 280i #4

[Man of Steel]

TVR Tasmin / 280i #5

[Man of Steel]

TVR Tasmin / 280i #6

[Man of Steel]

TVR Tasmin / 280i #7