The cars : TVR Tasmin development story

The TVR Tasmin arrived in a flurry of hype at the beginning of 1980, but only really bloomed much later in the decade once its Ford engines had been replaced by some very interesting tuned Rover V8 units…

Keith Adams tells the story of the car that pretty much defined the term, ‘Indian Summer’…


TVR Tasmin: the wedge that made it big

The mid- to late-1970s were an exciting time for the British specialist car industry. A general feeling of optimism enveloped the industry, and exciting new models began to take shape. This recovery followed a slump in sales and manufacturing in the aftermath of the imposition of VAT on all kit cars and an Energy Crisis that affected the entire automotive sector.

Over at Lotus, Colin Chapman had transformed the company from kit-car maker and builder of low-cost (and weight) sports cars into a more serious company.

The advanced-looking – and far more expensive – Giugiaro/Oliver Winterbottom triumvirate of Lotus Esprit, Eclat and Elite were in the process of transforming the fortunes of the Norfolk-based firm. Up in Blackpool, TVR owner, Martin Lilley, wanted to affect the same reboot on his company’s model lineup and profitability.

Dial M for Martin

Throughout the 1970s, the M (for Martin) Series cars had performed excellently for TVR. Introduced at Earls Court in 1971, the M-Series cars were visually similar to their Grantura/Vixen predecessors, but they were better engineered, more useable and more effectively screwed together.

The cars were revealed on the Motor Show stand (alongside those memorably nude models) alongside the SM Zante prototype, a car that looked to an even more exciting future for TVR – and which hinted at a wedgier design language for the company.

Intriguingly, in its contemporary motor show report, CAR magazine commented: ‘Its shape is perhaps a little rectangular in plan, and there is an unhappiness about the triangular rear quarter windows, but altogether I was struck by the professionalism of the design both inside and out – so much so that I pressed Lilley hard in an effort to find out who was responsible.

‘”A friend” was all he would say, implying that the friend actually worked for a rival manufacturer. He did reveal however, that the moulds were made by Specialised Mouldings, the Huntingdon firm which was also responsible for Harris Mann’s one-off Leyland Zanda prototype two years ago. Now I come to think of it…’

TVR Tasmin’s unlikely predecessors?

TVR's SM Zante prototype, first revealed at the 1971 Earls Court Motor Show in London. Contemporary hints that Harris Mann was behind the design, which certainly is understandable, given a similarity with his 1969 Zanda (below).
TVR’s SM Zante prototype, first revealed at the 1971 Earls Court Motor Show in London. There were contemporary  suggestions that Harris Mann was behind the design – that was certainly understandable, given a similarity with his 1969 Zanda (below)
Austin Zanda, penned by Harris Mann
The BL Zanda of 1969: Was this the long-distant ancestor of the TVR Tasmin?
TVR Trident by Trevor Fiore
Or was the Tasmin’s DNA first established in the TVR Trident of 1964?

The appearance of the Zante at Earls Court was a clear statement of intent: Martin Lilley wanted to take TVR upmarket. At the show, hints were dropped that it was about to happen, with CAR stating: ‘Be that as it may, the new TVR is scheduled for production, initially as a supplement to the present range, powered by the fuel-injected Triumph six-cylinder engine and selling for about the price of an Elan Plus Two.’

As it happened, world events and the slow build-up of the M-Series cars were enough to scupper those upward plans, which was probably no bad thing. The M-Series cars would prove popular, and funded a period of modest but sustained growth at TVR’s Bristol Avenue factory during the mid-1970s.

The end of the kit car era

First to go on sale was the Triumph-powered 2500M in 1972, but it was soon followed by the Ford-engined 1600M and 3000M. They also finally saw the end of the kit-car era as, from 1973, it was no longer possible to buy your TVR unless it was fully assembled. The star of the range would prove to be the Ford Essex-engined 3000M, combining smooth performance and excellent dynamics.

The range expanded, too. First came the Taimar, which boasted improved practicality thanks to its opening tailgate, and then the Broadspeed-engineered Turbo of 1975 was added to the range. It was quick and capable, although not in the same ballistic league as the previous Griffith 200/400 and Tuscan V8 – performance figures of the 230bhp car were a 0-60mph time of 7.2 seconds and a top speed of 139mph – importantly, rather quicker than the Lotus Esprit.

The final and most significant M-Series evolution took place in 1978, when it lost the roof to become the 3000S convertible. It was this car – the first open-topped series-production TVR – that was the company’s best-seller as the 1970s drew to a close.

The 1970s end on a high

TVR Taimar
Taimar was TVR’s best-selling mainstay during the late-’70s

With reasonable sales in the UK and overseas, and a loyal customer base, as well as financial strength – a situation TVR didn’t find itself in very often – Lilley once again turned his attention to the important matter of taking the company upmarket with a much more modern-looking car.

The arrival at TVR of Stuart Halstead from Jaguar added impetus to Lilley’s plan to produce something more expensive – he was a talented driver/engineer with bags of enthusiasm for the company. And in August 1977, he and Lilley drew up plans for the brand new car. The name Martin Lilley chose was Tasmin – a combination of Maserati ‘Khamsin’, and a very pretty girl he knew at the time, Tamsin.

The styling and body

Oliver Winterbottom was chosen as the Designer to pen the 3000M/Taimar’s replacement. Like Halstead, he was ex-Jaguar, having worked on the XJ6, the stillborn XJ21 and XJ-S, following on from his engineering apprenticeship. After leaving Coventry in 1971, Winterbottom moved to Lotus and became instrumental in Hethel’s new design direction.

 He initially cut off the fins from the Europa, then penned the Elite and Eclat, before working with Giorgetto Giugiaro as the Liaison Engineer between Norfolk and Turin on the Esprit. In 1976, Winterbottom went freelance, and it was then that the relationship with TVR was struck-up… or maybe re-established, as he was also cited as a possible stylist for the SM Zante (above).

Within a year of starting work on the Tasmin’s styling, Winterbottom moved to Lancashire to establish a brand-new Design and Engineering Department at TVR. This was a considerable amount of work on top of overseeing the new car’s styling but, by late-1978, the styling was emerging as exciting, and a complete break from what came before.

Bringing the 3000M up to date

Lilley and Halstead briefed Winterbottom simply: to produce a modern version of the 3000M – a coupe that could also spawn a convertible should the market conditions prevail – leaving the talented stylist to really exercise his creative impulses. Given his work at Lotus, and a long-established love of the wedge, it was clear that the new car would be similarly influenced.

CAR commented about the Tasmin’s styling: ‘It is different. Light-looking, sharp, modern and excellent from some angles, terribly awkward from others; but when you run an eye and a hand around it, and subject it to close scrutiny, always impressive in the design rather than the styling sense.

‘The pillars, for instance, are thin, even fine and so is the rear body outline. In profile and from the rear, it does little more than enclose glass. Yes, that glass rear panel is inspired by the Espada and the Khamsin. In the TVR it serves to enhance the looks greatly and make vision extremely good.’

Tasmin styling works wonders

The awkward styling had one advantage, though. It was aerodynamic (for its day), with a drag coefficient of 0.36. Job done for Oliver Winterbottom.

The body itself was moulded in two parts, Lotus style. The screen and cant rails were boxed using closed cell foam sections, and marine ply impact beams were integrally moulded into the front and rear.

Windscreen, side and rear glass were directly moulded to the body, and the doors were fitted with side-impact beams. And considerable attention was paid to strength in the sills and box sections.

Under the skin

TVR Tasmin's tubular backbone chassis was surprisingly sophisticated
TVR Tasmin’s tubular backbone chassis was surprisingly sophisticated

Once again Lilley and Halstead’s brief was simple – the new car would have outstanding ride, handling and road holding. More importantly, it should be reliable to assist with sales in those all-important export markets. Like the M-Series cars, it would have a glass fibre body and would be underpinned by a welded-up tubular steel chassis.

After all, this was a production method that worked well at Bristol Avenue, so why interfere with a winning system? There were no questions over the engine and gearbox either – it was back to Ford, although with the long-lived Essex 3.0-litre V6 on its way out (the common wisdom was that it had two- or three-years left, and so it proved), the fuel injected 2.8-litre Cologne V6 took its place.

CAR stated at the launch of the Tasmin: ‘A Rover V8? Nothing like the service network available to the Ford V6 in Europe.’ Ironic, given what was to come.

Racing heritage abounds

The chassis was designed by Ian Jones, a former Engineer at Team Lotus, who was also partially responsible for the backbone of the Lotus Elan – a model of efficient, stiff design. In the Tasmin, it was a welded up tubular steel backbone that forked out at the front to enclose the engine – and, at the rear, to accommodate the suspension pick-ups.

At its centre, the backbone was effectively a box-section, with pressed steel covering the lower face. Twin perimeter frames span out from the central backbone to support the sills, the hinge-structures and the roll-over bar.

At the front, there was a fabricated sheet metal yoke to carry the suspension, while at the rear there was a triangular frame welded up from square steel tube which supported the differential and the lower suspension links. Like the earlier Lotus, the TVR Tasmin was clearly a considered piece of engineering.

Clever suspension

The suspension is a clever mix of off-the-shelf and proprietary engineering. At the front, the uprights, hubs and discs are lifted straight from the Ford Granada, while the lower links and wishbones are from the Cortina, as is the steering rack and spring/damper units (suitably modified by Armstrong for TVR).

At the rear things were considerably more exotic, thanks to an arrangement that TVR claimed cost £1000 per car to put together. The Jaguar differential was paired up with a Lotus-esque box-section. Inboard discs were fitted, and assisted reducing sprung masses.

‘You look at all this and think it’s so very different from the old TVR and wonder if it might just work like a Jaguar-Lotus cross and just how wonderful that might be,’ an unusually effusive CAR commented. Clearly, this was the most thoroughly developed TVR ever produced.

To the TVR Tasmin’s launch!

Rear view of the Tasmin is as good as it gets...

The first production cars rolled out of Bristol Avenue in November 1979, with the official launch at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1980. The Tasmin was the first significant UK car launch of the 1980s, and certainly attracted its fair share of headlines. Again, CAR made the running, with the headline that screamed from the cover of its February 1980 issue, ‘All-new! The TVR to make you buy British… and why it outshines even Porsche’s brilliant 924 Turbo.’

On the road, the magazine certainly believed it was a class-leading sports car. In terms of handling, it fizzed: ‘This is a car of tremendous capability, and it gives you so much of its capability so that you can motor so very quickly so very close to its ultimate limits for such a lot of time.’

In conclusion, CAR continued on the same theme. ‘And there is no doubt in our minds that TVR has achieved something worth shouting very loudly about in this new £12,800 car. It goes and handles like a pure sports car; it has the aplomb and the comfort of a grand tourer. And that, in our estimation, is a highly desirable combination.’ High praise indeed.

Refreshingly familiar inside

The interior looked more inviting than the outgoing M-Series car, too – no doubt to please the US market, for which this car was so clearly aimed at. But inside, AROnline readers will be glad to hear that there was a huge amount of BL and Ford parts-bin fixtures and fittings. Steering column and stalks were straight from the Princess, while the exterior door handles and rear lamp clusters were from the Capri MkIII.

The problem was that performance expectations were rapidly rising on the market, and the 160bhp Tasmin wasn’t as quick as its price rivals. The fuel-injected Cologne V6  might have facilitated pan-European servicing, but it wasn’t really capable of delivering scorching figures. The 0-60mph time of 8.0 seconds and 125mph maximum speed were acceptable but hardly earth shattering.

‘What you end up with is another element of seemingly imperturbable character,’ is how CAR politely described it. Hardly the stuff of dreams, and not what TVR owners and enthusiasts were expecting.

The removal of the roof further improved the Tasmin's good looks

TVR Tasmin +2 added practicality and was more conventionally proportioned, if less handsome

Tasmin range opens up

Ten months later, the convertible and 2+2 models were announced at the NEC Motor Show in Birmingham. Although these derivatives were developed in parallel with the coupe, their introduction was delayed while the 100-strong workforce fully familiarised itself with the production of the new car.

When it appeared, the 2+2 model was the most interesting because, although it sat on the same wheelbase as the two-seater car, there was more room at the rear, thanks to a shorter nose and longer tail, shuffling the interior room accordingly thanks to a re-located petrol tank and re-profiled roof. Style-wise, it ‘benefited’ from the addition of flared arches and skirts.

However, it was the convertible model  which truly captured the buyers’ imaginations – in a roadster-starved market. It was – and is – disarmingly handsome, with one of the most elegant hood mechanisms yet devised. There’s stiff targa roof panel, which was held in place by a folding rear hood.

Unfortunately, in the wake of the 1979 oil shock and spiralling fuel prices that severely stunted the sales of all luxury and performance cars, the Tasmin’s sales proved disappointing, despite the addition of these new models. In the USA, where the Tasmin was expected to do well, there had been an import problem which saw a consignment of cars to be snatched by the Feds before they ever reached their customers – and the combination of both factors, along with the high development costs of the Tasmin, proved too much for Lilley.

Out with Lilley, in with Wheeler… and the V8s

TVR 350i
Peter Wheeler’s arrival at TVR heralded the arrival of the Rover V8 era…

Troubles lead to bail-out

The creditors began to close in, as bills went unpaid, and just before he was forced to throw in the towel, Lilley handed the company to Peter Wheeler, a TVR fan and existing customer with more than enough money in hand to turn around the company’s fortunes.

Few people remember this, but the first car to be launched after Wheeler took control in 1981 was the Tasmin 200, a two-litre Ford Pinto-powered version, punching out 100bhp. It might have seemed like the ideal car for a post-fuel shock economy, but the Tasmin 200 failed to find popularity, selling a mere 61 copies before being phased out in 1984.

All that was to change, though. Wheeler wanted more performance and was soon looking at ways of making the Tasmin go quicker. After trying a turbocharged V6 (two prototypes were built), he settled on Rover’s all-aluminum 3.5-litre V8,  which had performed so well for Morgan as well as BL’s Rover and Land Rover products.

A massive transformation

In fuel-injected form, the ex-Buick power unit pushed out a far more agreeable 190bhp at 5280rpm and, when installed in the lightweight TVR, it was capable of delivering electrifying performance. There was a political undertone for the decision to go with Rover, too –  Middle Eastern markets were resistant to using US-badged engines, ironic given the heritage of Rover’s power unit.

Despite limited visual changes, the Tasmin underwent significant changes under the skin in its transformation into the V8 powered 350i. The spaceframe was widened by 1.5in, a change overseen by Chief Development Engineer, John Box. Alongside this, the anti-roll bar was relocated, and the suspension was stiffened considerably.

When the 350i hit the market in August 1983, the now renamed 280i continued to be sold alongside, but it didn’t remain in production for long – UK and European demand died-up almost immediately as the world fell in love with the new more powerful sports car.

Rave reviews for the V8

Roger Bell, writing for CAR’s September 1983 issue, was suitably impressed. He said, ‘Acceleration is fierce, if not supercar fierce – though maybe it would be with full house power. With its experimental exhaust, the test car not only sounded like a dragster, it also took off like one.’

He continued: ‘There are quicker accelerating rivals like the Lotus Esprit Turbo for instance, but few get the adrenaline flowing quite so freely. Off the line, the Blackpool Bomber is sheer dynamite. Figures alone tell half the story.’ But it was also the flexibility that impressed, ‘Floor the throttle when waffling in fifth at 700rpm, and the rumbling growl of the exhaust hardens but doesn’t falter. As the pace quickens, more rapidly than the lazy beat suggests, there’s nothing so rude as snatch or vibration to deter such apparent abuse.’

Bell concluded, ‘Imperfect it may be, the £14,800 350i gave me more undiluted motoring entertainment than any car I’ve driven since a Ferrari 275GTB/4 over a decade ago. Kinked wings? Who cares?’

The power race

TVR SE
TVR 400SE’s smooth restyle

In late 1984, the 390SE with 275bhp was unveiled, and the supercar establishment really did begin to look inwards. With a price tag of around £20,000, it was little more than the cost of a fully-specced Porsche 944, and yet with its new Andy Rouse-tuned 3905cc V8, the 390SE was capable of 0-60mph in 5.0secs and could top out (if you were brave) at around 150mph.

The TorSen differential and uprated four-pot calipers did their best to harness the surfeit of power, as did the new sticky Yokohama rubber, but this was a car for skilled drivers – and limited sales clearly proved this.

However, the 390SE was the mere entree because, less than two years on, the 420SEAC took the TVR maxim for ultimate power and excitement to new heights. The car, which was so specialist in nature it had its own area of the factory, was developed in-house during 1986 by TVR Development Engineer, Chris Schirle.

In case you’re wondering, SEAC means ‘Special Edition Aramid Composite’, and denotes that this car has a composite for additional lightness and strength, even if the first 20 cars were made from Kevlar, with the final 20 being made from regular glass fibre.

SEAC and ye shall find

CAR‘s Steve Cropley described the SEAC’s styling politely: ‘To our eyes it looks tasteless and overdressed, yet it doesn’t miss being stylish by very much. Without the awful rear wing and more subtle, better integrated side skirts, the car could look very good indeed.

‘Even beautiful. It certainly improves on the angularities of the standard wedge body. The TVR is certainly noticed and most people you meet are glad it’s British. But many don’t consider it grown up enough to justify its £30,000 tag.’

TVR 420SEAC
The 1986-1988 TVR 420SEAC was clearly not going to be mistaken for anything else

That said, it was actually the way it went that really created the headlines for TVR. Cropley again: ‘The sheer thrust of the engine is breathtaking. You want to overtake someone? You just do it. Almost any gap is enough. As long as the engine is turning over 2500rpm, any gear is fine. Just 2000rpm is enough if you’re in any gear below fourth. Accelerate with 4000rpm on the clock and your spine is thrust so far back into the seat that it threatens to fuse the sponge rubber solid.

‘The SEAC, which has very good traction rushes way past 40mph in first, powers to nearly 70mph in second (having shattered 5.0secs for 0-60mph) reaches precisely 100mph in third, will show 140mph in fourth and (TVR says) can do 165mph in top. That bit we must take on trust – this is a privately-owned car. Zero to 100mph times of 12.0sec (not much slower than the AC Cobra 427’s time of 10.8secs) seem within this car’s province. But it delivers Ferrari speed and performance in a truly relaxed fashion.’

Missed opportunities

At the same time the SEAC made its first public appearance in 1986, TVR unveiled the 420 Sports Saloon prototype. It was a clear development of the Tasmin but extended into a 2+2 tourer – with rather unhappy styling. Peter Wheeler was never one not to listen to his customers, so when they gave it a thumbs down at the Birmingham Motor Show, he left the car as a one-off…

TVR 420 Sports Saloon
The 1986 Motor Show concept the TVR 420 Sports Saloon was thankfully a one-off
TVR White elephant
Peter Wheeler’s own TVR, the Holden V8-powered White Elephant.

The Tasmin Wedge wasn’t finished yet, even if the SEAC was too fast to race, and Peter Wheeler’s own White Elephant prototype one-off showed that there was life in the body. And even if the Holden-powered monster never made it into production, many of the styling tweaks that were introduced on it did as part of the 400SE/450SE restyle from 1988.

Under the freshly rounded nose, its V8 was increased in size to 3948cc, and performance was just as vivid as before, but with improved high-speed stability.

To the end…

In 1989, the larger-engined 450SE appeared, boasting an extra 45bhp to take the total up to 320bhp for supercar slaying acceleration. It was these later high-powered V8s that truly filled the gap left by those Griffiths and Tuscans from the 1960s, but also establishing the unfortunate ‘widowmaker’ reputation that would dog TVR to the end…

These were truly legendary cars – and, although the Tasmin line would end in 1991, to be replaced by the retro-powered S roadster, and then the Griffith (undoubtedly the best-looking British sports car ever made), its standing among TVR enthusiasts remains undimmed.

Indeed, even though it looked distinctly rocky following the promising launch, Peter Wheeler’s astute creation of the V8-engined car, rates alongside the creation of the AC Cobra as one of those truly special moments in British sports car history.

Pinto-engined TVR Tasmins were not a great success
Keith Adams
Latest posts by Keith Adams (see all)

11 Comments

  1. i think the wedge is a great lookin car head of its time i had a 2.8 couple years ago sold it and now just bought another wedge the baby one with 2 litre pinto think its 82 model reely pleased cos no only few was made many thanks john

  2. The article brings back memories of living in Johnstown, PA, where a very good friend of mine was, I believe, the largest supplier of TVR parts in the US. As well as having a small showroom, big enough to hold two new cars. I still regret not picking up that 2.8 roadster he offered me at a rather decent price. Unfortunately, my mind was more aimed towards my Triumph Bonneville.

  3. Looking at the TVR “White Elephant”, it is a shame they did not further develop a version of the TVR Tasmin without pop-up headlights by drawing inspiration from the front-end of something like a Renault Alpine GTA (to make it look attractive) or built a 2-seater Tasmin Coupe in place of the Tasmin +2.

  4. I have previously restored Sa 1989 “s”type and I run a 1992 Griffith 400 as my every day car.
    I am in the process of restoring a 1988 350i wedge and having a whale of a time (learning along the way)
    I will probably post the before/after pics. Later, if anyone is interested
    Dave

  5. Personally I can’t see anything wrong with the 420SS although it might have looked better with chromed rear window surrounds. Faired in upright headlights on the WE best of both worlds, good aero & you can actually see a hazard before it comes through windscreen.

  6. I remember seeing the TVR 420 SEAC on display at Motorfair ’87 held at Earl’s Court and instantly falling for it, tea-tray and all! And this was despite the fact that other manufacturers such as Panther and Alfa Romeo, to name but a few, had allowed this impressionable young school boy to sit in their cars.

    For me the 420 SEAC’s slightly rounded off lines over those of the older 350i and its flared wheel arches were more appealing. TVR had also managed to convey a more glamorous presence for the wedge generation of sports cars in their publicity shots. I’m guessing they had ditched the office Instamatic in preference to employing the skills of a professional photographer.

    The 420 SEAC was actually the car that sparked off my liking for TVRs so it is lovely to rekindle this trip down Memory Lane.

    A question – Does anyone know the origins of those wheels featured on the Tasmin? Are they a TVR specific design or borrowed from another car company? I rather like them.

    • TVR at the time made one off prototypes and tested the market by showing them at car shows. The Speed 8 was shown in 1989 as a two seater, then in 1990 as a four seater (abliet two kiddy seats), which I remember seeing at the Motors how. However they also showed the Griffith, which proved to gain bigger popularity with the public so the Speed Eight was dropped. I think the Speed Eight was a good looking car, but not the step TVR needed for their next evolution, the Griffith was as it lead to the brands revival in the 90s with an influential style that was further realised in the Chimera, Cerbera and Co.

      • Would have to agree regarding the Griffith, the Speed Eight prototype was a missed opportunity in the sense it could have worked as a mid-80s rounding off the Wedge (that is carried over to the likes of the 420 Sports Saloon and White Elephant) before it is gradually replaced by the next generation of TVRs.

        • The SEAC was the closest the wedge became rounded, though the S cars adapted the Tasmin base with a tradional M car style body.

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