Conceived in the early 2000s at the height of TVR’s ambition to conquer endurance racing, the T440R was born of a desire to see the marque return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans after a 40 year absence. The late 1990s saw the project begin under the codename Tuscan R, the R denoting ‘Racing’, with GT1-class homologation as the goal. TVR embarked on one of the most technically advanced engineering projects in its history building the T440R entirely by hand  in their in-house race department in Blackpool and developed using cutting-edge CAD/CAM software.

CHASSIS

Hand-fabricated from seamless tubular steel, it featured a fully integrated, leather-trimmed roll cage and was constructed on the same jigs used to create the factory GT cars that competed at Spa, Sebring and Le Mans. To this, TVR bonded a resin-filled aluminium honeycomb floor, a separate carbon fibre tub, and finally the sculpted carbon-fibre bodywork. The result was a structure of immense stiffness and lightness, tipping the scales at just over 1,100kg and importantly, one that rivalled everything being developed by Ferrari or Porsche at the time.

440 HP “DETUNED”

Unlike its Typhon sister cars that were envisioned to have 4-litre supercharged engines and sequential gearboxes, the T440R was built with a naturally aspirated, race-derived 4.2-litre dry-sump straight-six mated to a 5-speed gearbox. It featured a gas-flowed cylinder head, steel crank and rods, a carbon fibre air box with six upper injectors (12 in total for the six cylinders), and bespoke exhaust headers.

215 MPH (CLAIMED)

The car’s performance is remarkable with 0–60mph despatched in under four seconds on its way to over 200mph (215mph has been discussed) however, in true TVR fashion there is nothing to assist the driver other than the driver’s right foot and bravery levels. There is no traction-control, stability-control, ABS, airbags or electronic assistance – you’re on your own – and the on-road experience is visceral to say the least, as one would expect from a road-legal, wholeheartedly race-bred machine.

Full description on Iconic Auctioneers

Like all TVR Tuscans it’s equipped with several amenities: air conditioning, electric windows and mirrors, Xenon lights and power steering. As all we TVR fellows know door opening is power assisted through the magnificent button under the side mirrors

According to some important details the owner had about the car this is one of 23 Tuscan S units ever built in Blackpool with Left Hand Drive. Furthermore it seems this is one of only ten units with EVO lightweight trim: weight is reduced by 80 kilos.

For European fellows the ad is here. I must be sincere: if the car would come to Italy I’d be very happy.

“I bought a kitcar (Spartan) from England in 2002, which I then rebuilt over several years. My interest has always been in a TVR, especially the Tuscan which has always fascinated me by its shape and design. Here everything is just right; the design and the engine is absolutely timeless and perfect.

Now I am slowly in an age (67) in which I have to decide to buy a sports car again while it is still possible or just leave it.
Now to the car: the engine was already overhauled by a north German owner in England. Königseder did not tune the engine, but only converted the car from right to left-hand drive.
The power of 400PS is perfectly sufficient for me. I come from the engine development industry and do not think much of subsequent tuning measures.

Slowly I’m getting used to her and I have already invested a lot of work, time and money: new clutch, gearbox overhauled. Then I optimized axle geometry. At the moment I am busy replacing the throttle cable and repairing the air filter box. I hope to get the car ready by our annual meeting in September, so that I can attend it reliably.

Saturday May 31st

The program will include a visit to TVR 101 headquarters, tour the workshops and meet the staff for exciting dialogues and conversations.

Then the group of beasts will set off for a ride along the exciting British roads and a passage through the Hinhead Tunnel; here the gatherers will be welcome in opening the exhausts of their specimens, destroying eardrums but warming everyone’s hearts. The Group will then go to Goodwood for lunch and some photos. Then a drive over to a hotel (tbc but will have security) meal and drinks at the hotel.

Sunday 1st June

Breakfast at the hotel and then cruise over and join the big TVR southern gathering at fliching manor.

For info and applying: Martin Shaw, 07949 629529

The Cerbera was one of the pivotal models in the brand’s story as it was a genuine GT with a tubular chassis, 8-cylinder V-shaped engine with a flat crankshaft and 4 seats, capable of reaching more than 180mph. Approximately 1,700 units were produced. In the second half of 1996 Peter Wheeler thought about the opportunity to build a racing Cerbera for European GT championships and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

AMBITIOUS PROJECT

According to the program the car would have its power provided from a mighty in-house designed V12 engine to compare with the sports cars of the period and aspire to surpass the technological masterpiece that is the McLaren F1. It would have competed in GT1 aiming to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, due to changing regulations for the category, and limited success it had hoped for it became obslete for racing. A road going version of the race cars was put together at the factory and Peter Wheeler judged the car to be“unrideable” due to its too-high performance. Eventualy only one complete road unit was built in 2003.

MORE DEVELOPMENT NEEDED FOR THE ENGINE

It’s fair to say that the Cerbera Speed 12 road legal were actively sold and the company took a number of deposits. These were returned to customers after the car was judeged to be too powerful for the road. A more likely explanation is that the engine needed much more development and the cost outweighed the prospective sales margin which could be generated by selling the cars. That is they would have had to sell a large number of cars to make this particular venture viable.

THREE ENGINES PRODUCED

In total, the factory built three twelve-cylinder engines, two of which were installed in as many examples. These have particularly refined technology for the time and anticipate the Speed-6 inline six-cylinder 3.6 and 4.0 unit. But that ferocious beast has now carved a furrow and become the classic touchstone. In the years following TVR’s bankruptcy, three more Cerbera Speed 12s were born, developed by former engineers, who oversaw their further development. Here is a profile of each.

THE CERBERA SPEED 12 ROAD CAR.

The only 100 percent original example, the most mindless TVR in history (no doubt with few competitors in terms of insanity), has its roots in 1996 when the first 7/12 Project concept was unveiled at the Birmingham Auto Show. In Peter Wheeler’s mind it was aimed to a faster car thaan the McLaren F1 which could be competitive in GT1 (in Europe, the BPR championship was enjoying success and the official presence of the manufacturers was growing). TVR was a small brand, but its success with road models and sporting activity prompted a more intense commitment to high goals.

THE ENGINE BENCH EXPLODED

The centerpiece of the 7/12 program was the engine. It was a colossal V-twelve-cylinder, four valves per cylinder and 7.7 liters of displacement. It is confirmed that in early dyno testing (capable of withstanding power in the range of 1,000 horsepower) this exploded from being too vehement. A subsequent dyno test on each bank estimated 960 horsepower, later reduced to 800 in the official announcement. The 7/12 competed in some races in 1998 FIA GT and in 2000 it received an update with new body design. Regulations and restrictors restrict the output to about 600 horsepower but, in reality, the competition Cerbera Speed 12 only participates in a few rounds of the British GT calendar. It missed the participation to Le Mans 24. The company meanwhile went on in developing the road car.

ROAD VERSION: FAR TOO WILD

At the turn of the new millennium, the ultimate demonstration of “what the Cerbera Speed 12 was” Peter Wheeler himself received one evening when he decided to drive a prototype from the Blackpool factory to his home. Later describing it as an “animal” too powerful and too difficult to handle on normal roads he decided to cancel the project. Customers who had already made a down payment are turned away and the prototypes dismantled for spare parts.

1) W112BHG: UNIQUE AND FULLY ORIGINAL

A complete road-going example was set up in 2003; this was registered with British license plate W112 BHG and used a “mixed” carbon fiber and steel chassis from the race car. The aerodynamics were developed drawing on experience gained in racing and was configured by the technical staff engaged on the racing field. The engine was tuned to 840 horsepower and the weight was less than 1,000 kg. This was sold to Graham Abbott in around 2010 who then sold this at auction in June 2023.

2) W312BFV

This Speed 12, originally silver in color, was later repainted in a flashy purple but returned metallic gray. It was built by an enthusiast named Graham Abbott. Graham also owned W112 BHG), later sold at auction in 2023. This example is based on a correct chassis with the “correct” registration number. The main difference is that it used The Aston Martin 6.0 V12 vantage engine, since creating a new TVR 12-cylinder would have involved redesigning it from a blank sheet of paper. The engine was modified to make it as TVR like as possible, with ITB’s individual throttle bodies, dry sump, increased compression, lots of uprated parts and running on a MOTEC ecu. Graham put this project together by purchasing all the original remaining parts held by TVR back in about 2009. Graham worked with Lawfield Engineering’s Brian Hosfield to rebuild this car, which was a long project, taking several years to complete.

PETER WHEELER’S IMPORTANT ADVICE

It took several years to reach the goal. Abbott purchased all the parts directly from TVR in 2009. The car was built by Lawfield Engineering, a company that worked directly for Peter Wheeler and managed the parent company’s race cars. It was the best partner because it has a wide culture in racing and knows all the issues in terms of the engine and dynamics of a car like this, which is so fast and extreme. In addition, the owner worked in the factory and had access to many components abandoned there after the 2006 bankruptcy closure. W312BFV is less powerful than ‘W112 BHG’ but, Abbott says, in terms of road and track drivability it fears no comparison.

3) TBR 612 TEMPEST

“W112BHG” is not the only Speed 12 road car built. A second car (painted orange) is outfitted in 2015 by Helical Technology and is known by the nickname “Car1” (according to traditional British humor, any car receives a nickname that gives it a specific identity). It is considered in large part to be a perfect TVR Cerbera Speed 12 mechanically and was built by four former employees of the company, who used the original chassis design. Even for the production of the body panels the original molds were used so the shape of “Car1” is exactly that of the original Speed12 born in Blackpool. The main difference from the conforming car is the presence under its gigantic hood of a 12-cylinder six-liter Aston Martin unit. This one possesses license plate “P015 TYG.” However, this is not a TVR and it was built in homage to the original cars by a completely different company (Helical Engineering).

TVR? NO: “TBR”

However, due to copyrights and the presence of the registered trademark, it could not be named “TVR Cerbera Speed 12” when applying for the license plate for circulation. In an astute move, therefore, this car was registered as TBR 612 Tempest. The car is configured as a race car and, at present, uses an Aston Martin V12 vantage engine, essentially something simliar to what Graham Abbott did with BFV.

TR V12 BITURBO

Since the orange-bodied example the project has undergone a major evolution: an ex-novo unit has been built and it benefited from major all-round evolutions. First, the chassis is completely different and was intended to be made more robust to cope with even greater stresses. In addition, the Aston Martin V12 received a twin turbocharger upgrade and reached 1,000 horsepower. Finally, the bodywork received a new design that defined an even more muscular and extreme but sleeker shape. Thus was born the twin-turbo TR V12 which demonstrates the further evolutionary capabilities of the design. In 2017, a second example (“Car2”) was built that was even more refined by design. This one, moreover, participated in the 2019 edition of the Goodwood Festival of Speed and was taken to the Bruntingthorpe test facility where it exceeded 200 mph (320 km/h) even on wet. A third example (“Car3”) is currently under construction using additional carbon fibre in the chassis design.

Consulence: Graham Abbott, Helical Engineering

Copyrights: Graham Abbott, Iconic Auctioneers, Helical Engineering

They were cars with racing mechanics and striking design, car radios, chrome and leather seats. But with just the addition of the race number they became race cars.

Then came the Jaguar E-Type, the Alfa Romeo 2600, the Lamborghini 350 GT, The Lancia Flaminia, the Maserati 3500 GT and the Porsche 911. And the concept became more “bourgeois.” Today Grand Touring cars almost do not exist anymore. But there is one brand that has much of that heritage: TVR.
What could be better than a TVR? A racing TVR, of course. But there is a step down and that is a racing TVR made road-going with a few accessories. the T440 R is a typical exponent of that now increasingly rare way of making cars. A well-known British dealer has one for sale: here’s the ad.

“Our stunning 440R is now for sale and attracting a lot of interest. If you know your TVR history you will understand the significance of this car.
The T440R was originally called the TuscanR and then T400. It was intended as a road going, homologation version of what was to be TVR’s Tuscan-based GT1-class challenger.

Then the branding changed, and TVR ultimately offered two road going versions of this car the T440R, with a 4.0-liter 440BHP engine and the Typhon which was intended to run a sequential gearbox and a supercharger. The first of the T440s (PN02 ZNG) is coming up for sale now at TVR101.
PN02 was the second prototype, the first, a purple (or sometimes silver) car, was cut up at the factory. PN02 was used as the press car and can be seen being driven by Jeremy Clarkson if you search on YouTube for Clarkson Tuscan R.

The car was converted to a replica of the Le Mans factory car in about 2004/5 to promote TVR in the racing series. It was sold to a private customer from Racing Green and has been with us at TVR101 since 2014. It is now being fully restored by us before we offer it for sale and is fitted with a brand new 4.4ltr speed six engine built by Dom Trickett at Powers Performance. It also has a new clutch, diff, shocks, close ratio gearbox, sucspension and many other parts bespoke to the car. The exhaust was built by the hugely talented Ryan Edwards, and we even have had the drop glass re-made by the original manufacturers in Italy!

The car has been superbly repainted in its stunning original Candy Apple Red and has a full, new, leather interior. A comprehensive photo file of the rebuild and pictures of the car in original form at the factory have been put together to record this historic build. The car was very advanced for its day, featuring a carbon fibre mono shell bonded around the entire chassis. The chassis itself is tubular steel space frame with aluminium/carbon fibre reinforcement and integral steel roll cage.

There is lots of information on the internet regarding these cars but tread carefully, it is not all correct. These cars are extremely rare and TVR were never good at keeping records! However, PN02’s provenance is genuine and can be traced. David Hothersall (TVR CC) is an expert on these cars and can vouch for its authenticity. One of the rarest (but entirely usable) cars in TVRs history could be yours, and with the TVR Griffith still not in production – what an opportunity!”

Images: TVR 101

but on the weekend it is a festival of gatherings with brands from all over the world. Of course, our beloved TVRs were there too. Among the many groups present was this stunning TVR Tuscan MK1 brought to the lawns of Le Mans. Besides being painted in a beautiful, gloomy and exciting black color (with black rims and leather interior) it was a beautiful left-hand drive example. So I am very happy because we have example number 68 in the TVR Tuscan left-hand drive registry (you can find it here: https://bit.ly/43mCPn9).

The French license plate of this curvaceous coupe/Targa tells us that it came from Department 73, which corresponds to Savoy.

This magnificent Gran Turismo with a 6-cylinder engine (its curvy, edgeless tail always leaves me breathless for the perfection of its shape) has a magnificent twist that makes it even more beautiful and original. In fact, please note the red TVR badge on the trunk door

Since the department is at the base of the Alps, it is easy to imagine the owner’s emotions during the fantastic “hill-climbs” behind the wheel of this masterpiece. I imagine him exiting hairpins strictly in oversteering with its tail dancing

Source: TVR Photos

I love everything about this car, I have said it many times: it is a monstrous creature, born without the use of expensive technology that was conceived bt Peter Wheeler and was design and built only by fantastic British minds and hands.

But at 12:20 on the video something begins that I cannot describe in any other way than “atomic lust.” The journalists presses the start button and the twelve cylinders of this behemoth come to life It begins a sound that is both frightening and wonderful at the same time: deep, mighty, round, perfect.

The second part is equally exciting: Graham Abbott, the owner of this gem, explains the differences between W112BHG and its “almost twin” sister. Frankly, I would recommend starting to enjoy this video from minute number 12 an feel the emotions I’m sure so few cars can give.

I am an “old-fashioned” enthusiast: when I heard the sound of that engine I shed a tear of emotion. And I think I am even more proud of this blog because such an amazing car, in this age full of technology and so much (too much) marketing, a better car than the Speed 12 I am not sure will ever be produced

Source: Drivetribe.com

I already wrote in the past about this wonderful TVR speaking about its definition “the silly” idea by the boss himself.

SUMMARY

The only one Cerbera Speed 12 built by TVR specifically for road use, the defining example. An opportunity to own an exceptional and unique motor car, fully sanctioned by the marque and coming from diligent enthusiast-ownership.

DESCRIPTION

Fully prepared by TVR engineers over two years, this road-going GT1 car is uniquely fitted with the correct race-bred 7.7-litre, 840bhp V12 engine and the final evolution of the race car carbon-fibre/Kevlar bodywork. Originally offered for sale directly by TVR’s Peter Wheeler, and widely featured in the motoring press, this is one of the rarest and most revered supercars of the last 25 years.

Car with chassis number SDLCC14A0YB001521 takes origin from a robust tubular chassis made with steel. Engine is formed basically with two Speed-6 engines that have been coupled to create a mighty DOHC V12.

some friends, who in the early 2000s were the TVR importers in Italy told me about seeing the V12 engine running on the dyno and recalled the enormous power of this incredible unit that was capable of generating so much torque that it made the dyno shudder.

The base price of the beast is 300,000 pounds. Personally, I would hope that this masterpiece of English automotive passion would come to Italy, but I hope at least that the new owner will treat it diligently and not let it molder in a shed

Images from Silverstone Auctions

He gets alsorts from prewar Bentley to Peugeots 205 GTI, triumph Stags to McLaren 720S mclearns. It’s all for the love for the metal.

His TVR Sagaris? It’s spectacular. This units express one more time the huge personality of a TVR with the Speed6 engine. Here’s some words about her (Gabriele d’Annunzio, one of the most esteemed Italian scholars, sait the car is feminine).

“I’ve had the car for 3yrs, and put through a mild resto. Body off, chassis powder coated and entirely rebuilt, painted laser blue and drapped from stem to stern in ppf. The orginal 4ltr engine now on 62k miles has just sailed through a 6k mile service, and pulls as well as ever. Tuscan S/sparco seats holding me in place, gaz pro gold suspension gluing the car to the read, its a wicked combination.

She’s not a garage queen, last summer going to classic le mans and getting involved in a couple of parade laps before Saturdays racing, an incredible moment for me having my right foot pinned as we went over the start/finish line. The only thing I might part with her for would be a racing green on tan mk1 tuscan with a 4.5ltr. But until that comes along she stays.