The TVR Comeback Fans Have Waited For Since 2006

All at once, it finally feels like TVR may actually be coming back now, and the news isn’t as if we were fantasizing it away. The company has committed t,o merge with Charge Holdings, providing the long-dormant British brand with the first real stability it has experienced in almost two decades.

If you’ve heard TVR one or another time, you understand why people still talk about it like an old friend who moved away. These cars were wild. They looked dramatic, they were super light, and they didn’t flinch from things like traction control or fancy electronics.

Models like the Tuscan, Cerbera, and Sagaris gained a cult following as a result of the sort of raw and unpredictable excitement they promised. They weren’t perfect. They broke often, they rattled, and comfort certainly wasn’t a priority. This is precisely why owners loved them. It all remained manual and naturally aspirated; it was character-driven. Only the very last TVRs even had ABS. When the brand died out in 2006, it left a pretty big hole for those who liked cars with a little personality.

The most earnest effort to bring the brand back was in 2017, when the new Griffith was unveiled. On paper, it was everything fans wanted. Gordon Murray, whose heady work formed the basis of the McLaren F1, helped shape it. Up front, there was a naturally aspirated five-liter V8 and a lightweight chassis underneath. Production was intended to begin in 2019, but delayed production, financial woes, and the pandemic pushed the whole thing to the brink.

This is where Charge Holdings comes in. They actually built low-volume performance cars, and, as such, TVR is already poised in a better way than it ever has been in years. The Griffith shows up on TVR’s official website in both a V8 and an electric model. Piston Heads said the plan is to produce the combustion model first so the brand can reintroduce itself as the kind of personality people want to see.

Of course, there’s nothing guaranteed. TVR has never had the smoothest path, and its history reminds us that plans can fall apart quickly. So far, that leaves it as still the best case it has appeared since the company shut down. If things go along for the best, we may well see TVR returning with the same untamed, impish spirit that brought forth its cars.