Of all the “wedge” shaped cars to come out of Britain, the TVR 280i (or Tasmin) is my favorite. It’s the perfect balance of odd shapes and comes across as being something truly exotic. I might also be a bit biased since we revived one a few years back and really enjoyed wrenching on it. Plus, it was fun to drive a car that most people had never heard of or seen. If you’ve been thinking about buying one of these unique sports cars, this one appears to be a very nice example and the current bid of $6,250 seems like a steal of a deal. Of course, the bidding could take off, but the fact that it’s being offered without a reserve means it will go for what the market values it at. You can find it here on eBay in Rome, New York.
With just a little over a thousand 280is and Tasmins being built, you’d think parts would be about impossible to find, but for the most part that isn’t the case. TVR hasn’t ever a big brand (but has managed to weather the years and is still going) and often had to resort to borrowing parts from other manufacturers. The 2.8 liter V6 that powers this car is directly from the Ford parts bin, although it wasn’t ever in volume here in the States. In our experience, the hardest to find parts were bits for the interior and the convertible top. Thankfully, it looks like parts supply has actually improved since we owned ours.
We’ve been lucky enough to experience a wide range of cars and surprisingly the V6 in our Tasmin had one of the best exhaust notes of any British car we’ve ever driven. It has a raspiness that you don’t get from a 4-cylinder or an inline 6. Honestly, it sounded like a much larger and more exotic engine but was easy to work on and get parts for since it’s just a Ford engine. Its 160-horsepower might not sound like much, but it’s a fairly lightweight car. This example is said to run well but needs a new battery to be daily driver ready. It’s currently showing 53k miles on the odometer and if that’s accurate then it should be in decent mechanical condition.
While it does look like parts are getting easier to come by, this is the kind of car that we recommend buying the nicest example that you can find and afford. This one looks like it could be a very nice condition, but an in-person inspection is recommended. You will want to check the fiberglass body for signs of damage and poor-quality repairs. Also, be sure to inspect the convertible top, all the glass, and the points where the body mounts to the tube frame chassis. If this car were nearby, we would already be on our way over to take a closer look at it! How about you?
If the power isn’t enough, there are plenty of performance parts for the Cologne V6 engine as it was used stateside in many Ford pickups.
TVR has always produced interesting, cool, niche cars. This is no exception. It was / is in most ways underappreciated / undervalued in the market. Hope the price comes up. Otherwise; someone will have a very well bought example.
Why on earth would anyone hope for a price increase? Aside from that, English design and interior coupled to a German engine, what´s there not to like?
Love the wedge shape. Seems like fair money for what this car offers.
They also made a 350i with the Buick 215 aluminum V8 that GM sold to Rover.
Very nice, i think a black interior would be better, i laugh when sellers post 4 close up photos of each wheel, but then have no engine photos.
Semi-agree. Replacing a wheel with OEM prob much harder than finding engine parts, as mentioned by a previous post…
This car is worth substantially more in Europe than the US, although increased shipping costs have limited that market. The wedge TVRs have a targa panel that stows above luggage in the trunk and a top that flops down and doesn’t require extra storage space, extraordinary legroom with footwells for the driver’s left leg and passenger’s right leg, terrific handling, steering feedback, seat comfort, and ride. When I compared my ’86 TVR 280i against a new ’00 Porsche Boxter, I found the TVR to be even more exhilarating and to have a better driving position, more legroom, and significantly more luggage space. I average 23 mpg on 93 octane, and the Ford and Jaguar parts used on the car are readily available. The ’88 -’91 Mazda RX7 convertibles are patterned on the ’80-’91 TVR wedges.