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| Specials
When it comes to Wedges,
'special' is a bit of a misnoma. Many of the cars were produced in low
volume with varying specifications. Here are some of the more interesting
TVR produced or owner modified specials.... Tasmin "High Speed Tracker"
This is a wedge modified for use as a camera car. It was used on the set of the James Bond film "Tomorrow Never Dies" for the chase sequence in a multi-story car park. It has seating for two camera operators and an additional seat in the front. Scaffolding bolted to the car allows for a variety of cameras, lights etc to be used. Cameras can face forwards or to the rear by adding or adjusting the mounting hardware. Tasmin Turbo
1982 saw the unveiling
of the 2.8 litre Tasmin Turbo at the Motor Show. A follow up to a prototype
drop-head shown the year before. Producing 228bhp and 249lbs/ft of torque
from the Ford V6 was a respectable feat. However Peter Wheeler was appearing
on the scene around this time and it was his influence that lead to the
development of the more popular V8 models. The Tasmin Turbo never made
it into full production. 350
SX A non-factory model,
this was a dealer special. At the former TVR dealership "Northern
TVR Centre" in Barrow-in-Furness, Dave Haughins worked with Yeovil
based DPR Forced Induction Systems and took nine 350i wedges and two 400SE's
and added Sprintex supercharger units. Various power and torque outputs
have been quoted over the years, with the best I've found being 260 bhp
at 5100rpm and 294 lbs/ft from only 3000rpm, giving excellant mid range
acceleration. It was claimed that the supercharged unit was a more driveable
engine than the similarly powered 390. The cost of the conversion
was £3967.50 for the engine work and £1200 for the suspension
package. An uprated clutch was also an option. This would have been on
top of the price of the basic 350 which was £18,015 at the time. 430
SE Only three 430 models
were produced by the factory, one of them being used for the Motorshow
in 1991. They used the 4.3 V8 from the newly launched Griffith 500
SE It isn't known how
'official' this model is. It's believed there's only one or two in existance.
It is possible that the cars started out as 'standard' 400SE's and were
later made into 500's by TVR Power. 660
Wedge Special The Tasmin 660 Special was made for a mystery foreign Banker in March 1987. At the time it was reported to cost £49,000 and was a 187 mph version of the SEAC drophead Coupé. Among the requirements to be fitted was a £3,500 stereo system which could be heard at 125 mph. The engine was a specially ordered £15,000 Donovan built 6.6 litre V8 race tuned engine based on a Chervorlet block and is claimed to put out 580bhp at 5,500 revs. The car was a LHD model and was finished in Blue with a striking rear Airofoil which can be adjusted to the required position. The 'White Elephant' Holden Prototype The car was used by Peter Wheeler as a rolling test bed for the Holden 5-litre V8 engine which TVR were considering using during the late eighties. The Holden engine was never adopted by TVR even though performance tests saw the car reach speeds of up to 180mph. The White Elephant was subsequently shelved, before being condemned to the 'graveyard' at the back of the TVR factory.
West Lancs TVR Car Club member Howard Bryan has purchased Peter Wheeler’s Tasmin Holden prototype the ‘White Elephant’ from TVR and has started a 2 year restoration project to get the car back to its former glory. |
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