TVR announced its return to the market back in 2017 with a brand-new sports car called the Griffith. Powered by a 5.0-liter V8 engine from the Ford Mustang GT, the Griffith sends 480 horsepower out to the rear wheels through an old-fashioned manual gearbox yielding a 0-60 mph time under four seconds and a top speed of around 200 mph. Sounds great, but it's now 2020 and TVR has yet to deliver a single car.
In 2018, TVR was dealt with regulatory issues that delayed production. After those issues were solved, the company was forced to make improvements to its aging factory in South Wales, delaying the car even further. TVR finally seemed on-track for 2020 deliveries but in an email sent out by company owner Les Edgar and obtained by CarBuzz, we learned of yet another delay.
In the email sent to Griffith deposit owners, Edgar says that progress on the Ebbw Vale is going "slower than hoped" but promises that the company is "working hard with the Welsh government to resolve those issues and get the work underway." The 180,000 square foot factory reportedly needs a new roof, which could be a timely and expensive issue to resolve. In the meantime, it doesn't look like TVR will be able to build any cars earmarked for customers.
In some positive news, the original Griffith that was shown back in 2017 and assumed to be the only one the factory has built so far, has been registered to drive on the public road. It will likely be used for testing and to display at media events, in the hope of getting more deposits from customers.
Edgar also announced that TVR has hired Jim Berriman as CEO. "We hired him because he brings incredibly valuable [and] end-to-end experience of getting new cars off the drawing board, into production, and out into market," he said. Berriman's resume includes working for the Rover Group on the Land Rover Freelander and third-generation Range Rover before helping to relaunch Rolls-Royce in 2003. TVR desperately needs deposits on its new sports car but if the delays keep piling up, this awesome project may never get off the ground.