The TVR Sagaris debuted in 2003 and then the production model followed in 2005 while the company was under its new owner, the Russian Oligarch Nikolay Smolensky. It started production in 2005 and was suitably bananas. Its front-mid mounted 4.0-liter straight-six made 406 hp, and first gear got the Sagaris to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds. It would then hit 100 mph in second gear.
The Sagaris weighed around 2,370 pounds, rode on stiff Bilstein suspension, and TVR saw fit to put on a substantial set of brakes. However, the engineers and bean counter still eschewed safety systems like ABS, traction control, and airbags. TVR built the Sagaris for little over a year and just 211 were made. The fact that only around half of them are still on the roads tells its own story.
Smolensky sold TVR in 2013 to a UK company run by Les Edgar and John Chasey. TVR promptly announced the TVR Genuine Parts initiative to keep the classics on the road. In 2015, TVR announced the development of a new car with Gordon Murray and Cosworth as partners. It was codenamed T37, which is Murray’s project naming convention and tells us how much input he has while Cosworth develops the 5.0-liter Ford Coyote engine lifted from the Ford Mustang GT. Despite delays, the new TVR Griffith is inching forward to a release date. The best bit? It’s looking likely that we’ll see the new TVR here in the US.