1987 TVR S1
Back in 1946, a 23 year old entrepreneur named Trevor Wilkinson began a motor car company which wanted to take on many owners and many different cars to production in its long history. In partnership with Ford, and VW, and other designers and owners like Lotus, Cosworth and Fissore of Italy. Also an innovator in body materials utilizing everything from steel to aluminum to fiberglass. I learned a new British term for this car: “pot” or cylinder count. This car has a V6 pot engine! Take a look for yourself, it’s under the bonnet, I say.
For consignment, a 1987 version of the TVR S1 with comprehensive service records dating up to 2005. This series was built under the auspices of Peter Wheeler who took control in 1981 and has become a rare model as a mere 224 were built and only 78 were licensed in the US. Our version came to the US in 2013 has a respray and sports the original interior. A few dents and dings throughout, but given its rarity could nearly be overlooked. A Ford 6 pot mill, 54,577 title verified miles and a convertible and we have a rare British bird in our Hallowed Halls.
Exterior
An amalgamation of styling taking its cues from the likes of Datsun, Mazda, (Miata), Porsche, (tail lighting), and at one point TVHR’s were seemingly the hardtop version of the Triumph TR6. This S1 is bathed in Nimbus Gray in reference to the cloud structure of its namesake, ( cumulonimbus!). It is a steel car, and has a convertible top. This version is a right hand driver and paint is overall good with just a few chips and faults throughout. The top presents as new and is in dark blue with a plastic rear window. It moves up and down effortlessly. The bonnet is a front hinged version allowing plenty of access to the Ford motor to wrench on. It has body matching neoprene bumpers with a black rubber strip in their center for front and rear. A darker gray stripe is just above the rocker and has TVR S badging in knockout style typeface on the front quarters. For the back, the Porsche 928 inspired tail light setup had a dual central exit exhaust between the split rear neoprene bumper. An interesting aspect of the trunk lid is it is completely framed with the body appearing as an inset panel for the lid. 15-inch TVR badged mag wheels are wrapped by 205/60R15’s from the 30th week of 2012.
Interior
Inside between the doors is a landscape of dark blue, utilizing a mix of smooth dark blue leather, some white piping as a delineation between the bolsters, and lighter blue suede inserts and edging of said bolsters. The seats are high back buckets and have round headrests. In the center is a wide console also covered in blue leather where it has a storage tray, shift lever and an AM/FM/CD stereo. This padded leather center console swoops upward and seamlessly morphs into the dash, which is also donned with the padded smooth blue leather. Here we see climate controls and an upward curve to match the steering wheel cascade of round gauges and warning lighting. This eventually reaches its crescendo with two round TVR black bezel gauges in front of the right hand driver and rally steering wheel also badged TVR. On the right are some toggles and knobs for more controls pertaining to this car’s functions. A bit of white fabric mixes with blue eventually covering the floors under the chairs and the rear storage area with no back seat. A white headliner covers the molded headliner inside the convertible top, giving the illusion of a hard top.
Drivetrain
Under the front hinged bonnet is revealed to us a Ford Cologne V6 2792cc capable of a stout 125mph top speed. It is fed by fuel injection, and has a 5 speed manual transmission on back. On the back it’s a 3.64 limited slip differential turning the tires. All clean and corrosion free for the many aluminum castings attached to this engine.
Undercarriage
As we carry on to the undercarriage we notice no rust in sight, plenty of black painted steel structure which is square tube and plenty of it. The suspension is independent coil springs for the front, and for the rear a semi trailing arm with coil springs. Disc braking is in front, and drums for the back. A shiny dual exhaust is in, and is totally rust free and appears as new.
Drive-Ability
As a lover of all British sports cars, slipping inside this one has a familiarity to the Triumphs of yore, particularly the TR6. The car performed swimmingly on the track with nice handling, smooth braking and quick sports car-like acceleration. All functions were working well, it just took a few minutes to acclimate myself to the RHD. A fine example and mechanically sound.
Somewhat a sorted history of this company throughout the years but always the innovator with various styling and chances taken in the look for each model often very successful. And when it won races it became ever more popular. This imported RHD examine is ready to go and turn heads with look its a.uhhhh? TVR knuckleheads!
Price: Auction
More info: Listing has ended. Click to search on eBay for similar 1987 TVR (Affiliate link)
Seller's other items: classicautomall
Location: Morgantown, Pennsylvania, United States
