TVR Teases New Sports Car

Britain's TVR Manufacturing Ltd. has released the first image of the sports car it plans to launch in 2017. The company says it has taken £5,000 ($7,400) deposits for the entire allotment of the first-year production run of 250 cars.

TVR, which started in 1947 as Trevcar Motors, hasn't produced a vehicle since it fell into receivership in 2006. The new model was developed with Gordon Murray Design (GMD), which is headed by former McLaren Formula One team technical director Gordon Murray.

GMD describes the new TVR car as the first to feature an “affordable” high-volume carbon-fiber chassis. The body panels are expected to be made from a combination of aluminum and composite materials. TVR plans to use GMD’s unique iSTream production process to simplify assembly, improve chassis stiffness, enhance crash protection and provide greater interior design flexibility.

The yet-to-be-named model will be powered by a Cosworth-tuned V-8 engine—likely based on an existing Ford or Chevrolet mill—mated with a 6-speed automatic transmission. Previous reports have estimated that the engine will generate 450-500 hp.

TVR says it also plans to launch a second model in 2017. Both cars will be available in coupe and convertible configurations. The company intends to build the new vehicles in the U.K.

TVR’s new ownership consists of about a dozen people—all with previous automotive experience—who purchased TVR from Russian oligarch Nikolai Smolenski in 2013.