Jump to content
The mkiv Supra Owners Club

TVR Speed 12 "Road Car"


GazB

Recommended Posts

I'm pretty sure i read about that car a couple of years ago in Evo; the story was about how the then owner came to buy it - IIRC it was largely made up of bits of various defunct race examples - the MoT-ing bit was funny. :)

 

Here we go...

http://www.evo.co.uk/news/evonews/55575/this_months_evo.html

Meanwhile, John Barker foregoes the appetiser and instead tracks down the only road-registered TVR Speed 12 in the world. This is the car even ex-TVR boss Peter Wheeler described as 'too fast for the road' and with 880bhp he probably had a point. In a world exclusive, Barker experiences its fearsome power on Silverstone race circuit and then heads out onto the road, just to make sure...

 

I've got a better memory for number plates than I thought! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For anybody that can't find details on Pistonheads, this is the sales pitch :)

TVR Speed 12 "Road Car"

 

With its awe-inspiring looks and astonishing performance, the Speed 12 is one of the most memorable hyper cars ever produced.

 

Four racecars were built, whilst the road car was always evolving in the background. There were supposed to be a number of road cars built to homologate the racecars and also to sell to the public however this never happened as the car was felt to be far too fast to sell to the general public and hence only one road car was ever built.

 

The car was used very sparingly by TVR as a major PR device (i.e. Goodwood Festival of Speed, etc.), then sold to the current owner in Sept 2003 who then spent 3 years further developing it with TVR. The last iteration of the engine used heads developed by Dallara, full carbon-fibre body work, a brand new latest-spec Hollinger sequential flat-shift gearbox and the whole rear end of the car was rebuilt using all titanium parts.

 

The car has been used about 5 times - The drive through London (where it made the 6 O'clock ITN National news) on the way to the Sony (Polyphony) Gran Turismo 4 launch (Sony based all of the visuals and sound of the car on this Speed 12), the test that was done by EVO magazine, the drive up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed with Tiff Needal driving.

 

It is believed that there is one racecar that went directly from the factory to Japan but without an engine. The other three racecars were destroyed. That means there are two cars left, one racecar in Japan and the only road car, which is offered here.

 

Weight 950kg. An under stressed 820bhp and 650 ft lbs of torque. Twice the power to weight ratio of a Bugatti Veyron! British Beef at its best.

 

Only used 5 times :) like new them for 80k :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sorry, I could have sworn you just said it's easy to get 1000bhp per ton?

 

ahh just re read it.....

 

Yes it would have around 1000 bhp per ton as it weighs around 750kg

 

And yes thats pretty hard to do lol

 

Saw them run in the british GT at castle combe, they just went around everyone else like they were in a seperate class

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes it would have around 1000 bhp per ton as it weighs around 750kg

 

Wikipedia suggests 1000kg; so 820bhp/tonne using the BHP figure from that advert.

 

Saw them run in the british GT at castle combe, they just went around everyone else like they were in a seperate class

The race versions only had 675bhp too :D

 

 

THAT car has it's own website:

http://www.speed12.info

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

anyone considering the speed 12 is a pure loon. awesome to behold, but not something you'd want to own. try getting in it and driving it, and youll know what I mean.

 

on the public road? definite wish for discomfort, to the extent of having to open up the door and keep it open at red traffic lights to let heat out, and possibly death when it spits you into a lamppost because of 3mm too much on the throttle haha

 

keith flint did have a cerbera, as did david beckham, dawn french (?!) etc

 

here's mine, if anyone with a very nice mkiv fancies a swap

 

LINK REMOVED: If you want to advertise then pay the membership fee.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has one ever actually finished a race? The engine's made up of fabricated plate as they couldn't afford the tooling to have a cast block made. I don't believe there have ever been any independent dyno figures for it either, so any BHP quoted is probably fanciful. If you want a Meccano engine, this is for you ;) Are six and eight cylinder TVR's not unreliable enough for you without doubling your trouble :)?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. You might also be interested in our Guidelines, Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.