I want to cover two more cars in this part. The first will be the TVR S3..?? ..yeah…me too! The second will the Caterham Seven.
TVR S3 was put up against the Triumph TR4 and frankly there is nothing I know about a TVR S3..so here we go.
TVR S3 C
TVR engineering started back in England in 1947 with the first TVR being produced in 1949. Here’s the 2nd TVR built:
#2 TVR
Through out its history it used all types of engines include the Ford Kent engines and even a Buick engine (3.5 litre Rover V8).
The S series was produced between 1986 – 1994. The TVR in this article had steel spaceframe chassis and a fiberglass body. The engine was an iron, overhead valve, 2936cc 12v V6 with electronic fuel injection. This power plant cranked out 168 hp and 170 lbft of torque. The suspension was an independent double wishbone with rack and pinion steering. This all combined to let the car reach its top speed of 135 mph.
In the comparison, the TVR S3 beat out the Triumph TR4 in Driving, Practicality, Character, Value and Usability 42 to 32. The price of the TVR S3 is about 4000 Euros with the Triumph at 13,000 Euros.
The company was sold to a Russian buyer in 2004 and after a not so great start the company halted production.
For a full history on the TVR – check out http://www.tvrsseries.com/
Next up is the Caterham 7:
Caterham Seven
The Caterham Seven is a kit car – you can still buy and build them today. Interesting enough it started out as the Lotus Six. The next version was the Lotus Seven, however Lotus dropped the production and Catherham purchased the rights to build the kits. The components are flexible with such pieces as Ford axles and de Dion-axles being used. The engines used is very expansive from the Lotus Twin Cam engine to Ford’s cross flow engines. Even Cosworth BDRs appeared around 1983, in 1600 cc 140 bhp (104 kW) form, followed by 1700 cc 150 bhp (112 kW) versions three years later. In the ’90’s the common engine had become the 2 litre Vauxhall HPC, as fitted to the Vauxhall Calibra, putting out 165—175 bhp. Motor cycle engines have been also used with the likes of the GSXR1300 engine used in the Suzuki and the Honda CBR1100 engine.
These are favorites for the SCCA and other grass-roots racing.
Thanks for reading.
Tim.
