TVR powered

In 1994, BMW bought Rover and, for many in the specialist sector, it looked like the venerable V8 engine had a limited lifespan ahead. For TVR, which was selling cars exclusively powered by the ex-Rover V8, it was clear that the company needed to find an alternative, especially as tougher EU emissions regulations were on the way. The obvious solution for TVR might have been to buy a newer engine off the shelf – but what happened next shows just how much capacity the company had for thinking outside the box.

TVR contracted engine designer Al Melling to design a brand new V8. It was planned to power the Griffith, Chimaera and Cerbera, but also to be sold to other performance car manufacturers who’d found themselves in the same position. Melling and John Ravenscroft designed a racing engine for the road under the codename AJP8. It featured a flat-plane crankshaft, a 75-degree vee angle and sequential fuel injection.

Claimed outputs for what became known as the Speed Eight were 360bhp for the 4.2-litre, and 420bhp for the 4.5-litre. Delays in its introduction meant the Griffith and Chimaera missed out, but it found its way under the Cerbera’s bonnet, which became one of the world’s fastest supercars.

Despite its effectiveness, the engine went out of production alongside the Cerbera in 2003 (with a respite for 2006’s anniversary-edition Cerbera). It was replaced by the Speed Six (above), which had first been shown in 1997 in prototype form before powering the Cerbera (alongside the Speed Eight) two years later. Again, it was an in-house design, and was favoured by TVR for its next-gen models, as it was easier to package in the front/mid-engine configuration that the T-cars (Tuscan, Tamora, T350) demanded.

Once again, Melling built the prototypes, and once again its DNA was very much race-inspired, with throttle-body fuel injection and dry-sump lubrication. The 24-valve all-alloy engine was extremely light and, just like the Speed Eight, had a very high specific power output (between 350 and 406bhp was claimed). There were significant reliability issues with the early engines: metallurgical failures and poor lubrication led to a number of blow-ups. Ultimately TVR’s brave attempt to become a fully fledged supercar manufacturer by making its own engines was compromised by the Speed Six’s problems.

Subsequent development work by TVR Power (which is still going strong as an independent concern) has produced a core-exchange 4.5-litre Speed Six with a reliable 392bhp at the wheels. It’s this development work by TVR Power that keeps many of the newer cars in top form, and has allowed the company’s mighty engines finally to release their potential.

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