This may be one of the coolest cars I’ve seen on Facebook Marketplace in some time. And while I have placed myself in project car purgatory for the time being, I would love to find the spare $20,000 necessary to bring this RHD muscle car home. The 1992 TVR Griffith 4.3 listed here on Facebook Marketplace is a favorite of British sports car enthusiasts, and possibly one of the most sought-after cars TVR has built. The seller has listed it on behalf of the owner’s estate, and doesn’t seem to want to deviate much from the asking price due to the rarity and condition.
The Griffith is a pleasingly simple car. A tubular chassis, fiberglass body, and a 4.3L V8 paired to a 5-speed manual. The body will always be in good shape owing to its construction, and this looks even better thanks to getting a respray not that long ago. This model was highly regarded when new, showcasing TVR’s ability to tap into its corporate nostalgia without gagging on it. The nameplate certainly calls out the company’s long-term love of sports cars, and its lightweight construction with a big V8 up front pays tribute to many legendary sports cars that came before it.
The inside is classically British, with woodgrain trim on the dash, leather seating surfaces, and coordinating door panels and center console. The seller reports that the TVR was running and driving when it went into storage with 86,679 miles on the clock and while it still runs today, some light recommissioning is going to be needed. It does appear that the interior has seen better days, and the leather seats could definitely stand a refresh. The aftermarket stereo and speaker components look out of place to me, but since TVR was such a small outfit, it may have installed these components at the factory.
The 4.3L engine found in this Griffith is often called out as the one to have, with 280 b.h.p. and performance that could easily take down significantly more expensive sports cars of the same era. The engine bay appears clean and orderly, but we’d still like to know what’s happened to the car since it was imported in 2017. If you want a sure fire way to own a rare model everyone will love, find a loud, V8-powered roadster like this, suitably wonky and that isn’t a domestic muscle car, with performance you’ll find entertaining every day of the year. While it will need some work, this looks like the cheapest entry point into a 90s British performance car that no one else stateside will have at Cars & Coffee.
That’s quite the solution for routing the exhaust.
The previous owner of this car had purchased 77 different TVR’s with many of them still for sale. I know because I purchased a 1974 TVR 2500M from the collection. Many of the cars are going back to England, but there are still some good deals, so if this car is not what you want, check with Bill on what is left.
TVR “was” such a small outfit? I’m pretty sure it’s still a going concern, Jeff…😉