New TVR Griffith lives! Car brand that won't die plans V8 sports car, and EVs
New owners Charge Holdings planning to bring “a new generation of TVR vehicles to market"
Hollywood would have you believe it’s only mummies and zombies that can rise from the dead again and again, but TVR also deserves a spot on that list. Not for the first time, the British brand is coming back! Better still, the ill-fated sports car maker is still determined to finish the new V8 Griffith that it unveiled all the way back in 2017.
TVR Automotive is to become a subsidiary of Charge Holdings, which you won’t have heard of. However, the name Charge Cars might ring a bell. It created an electric reimagining of the iconic 1967 Ford Mustang and collapsed in July 2024, before being revived by its new owners.
Charge Holdings says “a multi-phased restructuring of TVR” is planned, and this merger is part of its efforts to build “a multi-brand, low-volume integrated automotive group”.
The brands within this group will collaborate on engineering, design and manufacturing, plus share technical capabilities, facilities and funding, in the hopes of “laying the groundwork for a new generation of high-performance British luxury vehicles,” according to Charge Holdings.
We’re told TVR will be “expanding into electrified platforms in the future”, but for now it remains focused on finally delivering the new Griffith to customers and “continuing its legacy of high-performance, internal-combustion sports cars”. How close the second-generation TVR Griffith planned to hit the streets will be to the car revealed nearly a decade ago is unclear at the moment.
It shouldn’t be too hard getting hold of the 5.0-litre V8 engine from Ford that was part of the previous Griffith plan. However, the car was supposed to use Gordon Murray’s iStream chassis technology, and the rights to that are now owned by Forseven – another automotive start-up that recently merged with McLaren. Meaning TVR may have to source a new platform.
Paul Abercrombie, CEO of Charge Holdings, promised more details will be announced in early 2026. But for now, he said “Charge Holdings’ mission is to bring together iconic performance brands and world-class manufacturing expertise.
“This strategic merger with TVR is set to unite heritage with innovation, creating a new leader in the low-volume luxury automotive sector.”
About the TVR Griffith design
The existing TVR Griffith design is for a sports coupe that measures 4,314mm long, 1,850mm wide and 1,239mm tall, making it roughly the same size as the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, but more compact than the Porsche 911 and Jaguar F-Type. Unlike these models, however, the Griffith was based around a carbon composite structure and said to weigh less than 1,250kg.
The plan was for it to feature a naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8 and a traditional six-speed manual gearbox, sourced from Ford. The unit develops 500bhp – enough for a 0–62mph time of less than four seconds and a top speed of 200mph. TVR was also aiming for a power-to-weight ratio of 400bhp per tonne.
As the engine is located behind the front axle, TVR said it was able to achieve a perfect 50:50 weight distribution with the Griffith. The sports car featured double wishbone suspension with adjustable coil-over dampers front and rear.
TVR also applied some clever engineering to the way the car carves up the air. Instead of fitting the Griffith with an enormous rear wing or a massive front splitter, the firm relied on ground effect aerodynamics - a completely flat floor which helps generate downforce at speed.
To further boost agility, larger and wider (20-inch) wheels were fitted at the rear than those at the front (19-inch). TVR also claimed that the Griffith uses “intelligent engineering over electronic driver aids,” although the car does feature ABS and traction control. It's unknown how much of the design will be carried over by TVR's new owners.
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