TVR Sagaris

Last updated

TVR Sagaris
TVR Sagaris (2006) - 9576422793.jpg
Overview
Manufacturer TVR Motor Company Limited
Production2005–2006
211 produced
AssemblyUnited Kingdom: Blackpool
Designer Graham Browne, Lee Hodgetts, Darren Hobbs, Martin Smith
Body and chassis
Class Sports car (S)
Body style 2-door coupe
Layout Longitudinal-mounted, front mid-engine, rear-wheel drive
Platform Fibreglass body over tubular steel chassis
Related TVR T350
Powertrain
Engine 4.0 L (3,996 cc) Speed Six I6
Power output406 bhp (412 PS; 303 kW) and 349 lb⋅ft (473 N⋅m) of torque
Transmission 5-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase 92.9 in (2,360 mm)
Length159.7 in (4,056 mm)
Width72.8 in (1,849 mm)
Height46.3 in (1,176 mm)
Kerb weight 2,376 lb (1,078 kg)
Chronology
Successor TVR Griffith (Second Generation)

The TVR Sagaris is a sports car designed and built by the British company TVR in their factory in Blackpool, Lancashire.

Contents

Overview

TVR Sagaris rear TVR Sagaris - Flickr - exfordy.jpg
TVR Sagaris rear
Front view in British racing green Lovely TVR Sagaris - Flickr - Supermac1961.jpg
Front view in British racing green

The Sagaris made its debut at the MPH03 Auto Show in 2003. The pre-production model was then shown at the 2004 Birmingham Motor Show. In 2005, the production model was released for public sale at TVR dealerships around the world. Based on the TVR T350, [1] the Sagaris was designed with endurance racing in mind. The multitude of air vents, intake openings, and other features on the bodywork allow the car to be driven for extended periods of time on race tracks with no modifications required for cooling and ventilation. The final production model came with several variations from the pre-production show models, e.g. the vents on the wings are not cut out, different wing mirrors, location of the fuel filler, and bonnet hinges (along with other variations).

As with all TVRs of the 1990s and early 2000s, the Sagaris ignores the European Union guideline that all new cars should be fitted with ABS and at least front airbags, because Peter Wheeler believed that such devices promote overconfidence and risk the life of a driver in the event of a rollover—which TVRs are engineered to resist. [2] It also eschews electronic driver's aids (such as traction control or electronic stability control), leading Malcolm Thorne of Classic & Sports Car magazine to observe that although "far less intimidating than you might expect, in the wet it sends a prickle of trepidation down your spine". [3] Thorne nonetheless summed up the TVR as "stunning".

The car's name comes from the sagaris, the Greek name of a lightweight battle-axe used by the Scythians, which was feared for its ability to penetrate the armour of their enemies. The car was designed by Graham Browne.

Daniel Boardman, the Chief Engineer involved in the Sagaris project, was frustrated with well-known TVR quality issues, such as water ingress, carpets coming unstuck, and tricky handling. Boardman spent considerable time ensuring the Sagaris was engineered properly from the start. The suspension was designed to eliminate bump-steer, the dampers were tuned with input from the Bilstein and Multimatic, the bonnet was redesigned to work as well as any conventional steel bonnet, and door seals were meticulously checked to ensure no water ingress. Motoring journalist Jeremy Clarkson described the resulting product as "the best TVR ever made". [4]

In 2008, TVR unveiled the Sagaris 2, which was designed to replace the original Sagaris. The prototype had minor changes to the original car, including a revised rear fascia and exhaust system, and modifications to the interior. [5]

A company called Grex Automotive acquired the forms and tools after TVR's bankruptcy. In 2018, they made the TVR Sagaris available to buy as a kit car. [6] Only ten examples were planned, and the engine and transmission choice were up to the buyers. [6]

Specifications

Engine Sagaris engine.jpg
Engine

Powerplant

Gearbox

Suspension

Brakes

Wheels and tires

Chassis/body

Performance

Racing

TVR Sagaris GTF01 launch at Silverstone 2006. GTF built 4 cars at the factory and with factory race shells. They also supply kits for teams to build to their Championships specification. This includes the Racesport cars. Racing Sagaris GTF01.jpg
TVR Sagaris GTF01 launch at Silverstone 2006. GTF built 4 cars at the factory and with factory race shells. They also supply kits for teams to build to their Championships specification. This includes the Racesport cars.
Racing TVR Sagaris Supersport after winning in the GT Cup Series at Oulton Park, UK Racing TVR Sagaris after winning in the British GT Cup series at Oulton Park.jpg
Racing TVR Sagaris Supersport after winning in the GT Cup Series at Oulton Park, UK
TVR Sagaris (race spec) TVR Sagaris 2007 Britcar 24h.jpg
TVR Sagaris (race spec)

A TVR Sagaris was entered in the 2011 British GT Cup by Team Winstanley, driven by Danny Winstanley. The car entered had a standard factory chassis, but was fitted with an upgraded 420 hp (426 PS; 313 kW) TVR Supersport Speed Six engine. In its first season it achieved two wins at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch. [10]

GTF Sagaris cars have won in the TVR Challenge (every race entered), GT Cup, Britcar and the Ardennes Challenge at Spa, as well as many club sport races. The GTF02 remains the most successful car with over 40 race wins and 3 Championship outright wins.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferrari F50</span> Italian flagship sports car produced by Ferrari from 1995–1997

The Ferrari F50 is a mid-engine sports car manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari from 1995 until 1997. Introduced in 1995, the car is a two-door, two seat targa top. The F50 is powered by a 4.7 L naturally aspirated Tipo F130B 60-valve V12 engine that was developed from the 3.5 L V12 used in the 1990 Ferrari 641 Formula One car. The car's design is an evolution of the 1989 Ferrari Mythos concept car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panoz Esperante</span> Motor vehicle

The Esperante is a sports car made by Panoz, an American car manufacturer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiat Dino</span> Motor vehicle

The Fiat Dino was a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car produced by Fiat from 1966 to 1973. The Dino name refers to the Ferrari Dino V6 engine, produced by Fiat and installed in the cars to achieve the production numbers sufficient for Ferrari to homologate the engine for Formula 2 racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TVR S series</span> Motor vehicle

The TVR S series is a line of sports cars manufactured by the British company TVR between 1986 and 1994. It was announced at the 1986 British International Motor Show. The car went into production in less than 12 months, with 150 pre-manufacture orders placed at the motor show before the moulds were even made.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nissan Fairlady Z (S30)</span> Japanese sports car produced 1969 to 1978

The Nissan S30, sold in Japan as the Nissan Fairlady Z and in other markets as the Datsun 240Z, then later as the 260Z and 280Z, is a grand tourer produced by Nissan from 1969 until 1978. The S30 was conceived of by Yutaka Katayama, the President of Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A., and designed by a team led by Yoshihiko Matsuo, the head of Nissan's Sports Car Styling Studio. It is the first car in Nissan's Z series of sports cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus Exige</span> Car model

The Lotus Exige is a sports car made by the British company Lotus Cars from 2000 until 2021. Originally a coupé version of the Lotus Elise roadster, since the Series 3 the Exige has been the larger-engined model of the family, featuring a V6 engine in place of the Elise's straight-four. Convertible versions of both models are available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)</span> Roadster which was produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1989 until 2001.

The Mercedes-Benz R129 SL is a roadster which was produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1988 until 2001. The R129 replaced the R107 in 1989 and was in its turn replaced by the R230 SL-Class in 2002 for the 2003 model year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TVR Chimaera</span> Grand Tourer produced by TVR

The TVR Chimaera is a two-seater sports car manufactured by TVR between 1992 and 2003. The name was derived from Chimera, the monstrous creature of Greek mythology, which was made of the parts of multiple animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audi RS 4</span> Motor vehicle

The Audi RS 4 is the high-performance variant of the Audi A4 range produced by Audi Sport GmbH for AUDI AG, a division of the Volkswagen Group. It sits above the Audi S4 as the fastest, most sports-focused car based on the A4's "B" automobile platform. The RS 4 was reintroduced in 2012, based on the A4 Avant instead of the sedan as did the original model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TVR Griffith</span> British car model

The TVR Griffith, later models being referred to as the Griffith 500, is a sports car designed and built by TVR, starting production in 1990, and ending production in 2002. The Griffith name appeared again on a sports car introduced under a revived TVR brand in 2017.

The San Storm is a two-seat Roadster from San Motors India LTD. of India that was introduced in 1998. It was designed by the French firm, Le Mans Group. It is powered by a 1149 cc Renault D7F engine driving the front wheels giving 60 bhp (45 kW) and a top speed of 144 km/h (89 mph). It has a double-skinned, fibreglass-reinforced tubular steel body and chassis, and the weight is only 760 kg (1,676 lb) giving it a quite satisfactory power-to-weight ratio. The time from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) is given as 13 seconds. The San Storm is assembled in Bangalore while the engine is mated to the bodywork in Goa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elfin MS8 Streamliner</span> Motor vehicle

The Elfin MS8 Streamliner is a sports car, successor to the Elfin MS7, a Repco-Holden V8 powered sports racing car in which Elfin founder Garrie Cooper won the 1975 Australian Sports Car Championship, and Stuart Kostera won the 1976 Australian Tourist Trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noble M15</span> Motor vehicle

The Noble M15 is a sports car designed and developed by Noble Automotive, a high-performance sports car manufacturer based in Leicestershire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TVR Tamora</span> Motor vehicle

The TVR Tamora is a 2-seater sports car built from 2002 by British company TVR, filling the gap left by the company's Chimaera and Griffith models. Introduced at the 2000 Birmingham Motor Show, the car is named after Tamora, a character in William Shakespeare's play Titus Andronicus and served as an entry-level model in the TVR range. Peter Wheeler was no longer directly responsible for design and the car was designed by a team led by Damian McTaggart, but Wheeler still had final approval.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaguar XJR-11</span> Motor vehicle

The Jaguar XJR-11 was a sports-prototype racing car introduced for the 1989 World Sports Prototype Championship, while its sister car the XJR-10 was introduced to compete in IMSA series races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TVR T350</span> Motor vehicle

The TVR T350 is a sports car manufactured by British company TVR from 2002 to 2006. It is based on the Tamora, and is powered by TVR's Speed Six engine displacing 3.6 litre form, rated at 350 hp (261 kW). The T350 was available in coupe and targa versions, the coupe version being known as the T350c, and the targa version the T350t. The T350 later formed the base of the Sagaris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TVR Typhon</span> Motor vehicle

The TVR Typhon is a sports car produced by the British company TVR in their factory in Blackpool between 2000 and 2006. It is the fastest production TVR ever built., which only three were ever built. All are currently in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TVR M series</span> Motor vehicle

The TVR M series is a line of sports cars built by automaker TVR between 1972 and 1979. The series replaced the outgoing TVR Vixen and Tuscan models, and is characterized by a common chassis and shared body style. As with other TVR models before and since, the M-series cars use a front mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout and body-on-frame construction. The bodies themselves were built from glass-reinforced plastic (GRP). The era of the M series is commonly associated with Martin Lilley who, together with his father, took ownership of the company on 30 November 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TVR Vixen</span> Motor vehicle

The TVR Vixen is a hand-built sports car which was produced by TVR in Blackpool, England from 1967 until 1973. Ford-engined in most of its configurations, it succeeded the MGB-engined TVR Grantura 1800S. It is also the basis for the high-performance TVR Tuscan which was available in both V6 and V8 configurations.

The Audi R8 LMS Cup was a one-make sports car racing series by Audi based in Asia. Audi R8 LMS Cup cars were based on the Audi R8 LMS (GT3).

References

  1. "TVR Sagaris | First Drives" March 2005, retrieved on 2009-05-08
  2. "The Wheeler Interview: Ted quizzes TVR's Chairman on ABS, airbags and safety" 18 April 2004, retrieved on 2009-01-31
  3. Classic & Sports Car, May 2017, p147
  4. Peter, Martin (5 May 2021). "10 British Sports Cars Nobody Has Ever Heard Of". HotCars. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  5. Wojdyla, Ben (11 July 2008). "TVR Reveals Sagaris 2 Prototype, Sending Fender Vent Futures Up Sharply on Early Morning Trading". Jalopnik.
  6. 1 2 Östlund, Daniel (10 September 2018). "Bygg din egen TVR Sagaris" [Build your own TVR Sagaris]. Bytbil (in Swedish). Schibsted. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020.
  7. "2003 TVR Sagaris". Carfolio.com. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  8. "TVR Sagaris" TVR 2005, retrieved on 9 October 2009
  9. "TVR Sagaris" AutoCar UK 24 May 2005, retrieved on 2009-05-08
  10. "Greatest Cars, TVR Sagaris". in 2 motorsports. Retrieved 18 May 2022.