TVR's show-stopping T350C

The best thing about TVR's show-stealing T350C, unveiled recently at the British Motor Show, is that is wasn't developed and built according to demographics, marketing data or any particular lifestyle niche.

It's refreshing to see small automakers building new cars based on what its customers are asking for.

Granted, this isn't so easy when you're selling 500,000 cars a year, but even so, this approach is less about meeting financial targets and more about the emotional connection between driver and car.

For TVR though, it can afford to build for the individual, and that's exactly how the stunning T350C came about.

According to TVR head honcho, Peter Wheeler, the prime reason the slinky new T350C was developed was because they had requests for a one-make race car.

While Wheeler will admit that the Tuscan is already available, it's a much more expensive proposition, and takes a lot longer to manufacture. As such, the new T350C can be made much more quickly, allowing them to supply large numbers at relatively short notice.

TVR's most cost effective car ever made - the recently released Tamora (click here for the article) - was used as a base for the TVR's new club racer.

In essence, TVR took the Tamora to a wind tunnel and sculpted bodywork that would provide minimal drag and optimum downforce.

While the new T305C is based on the Tamora - using the same chassis, engine and gearbox - the only body panels carried over are the doors.

Wheeler is honest when he mentions that it's lucky the car looks so good, as it was the aerodynamics that decided the car's appearance.

When the car was displayed for the first time at the 2002 Britsh Motor Show, almost 100 concrete orders were signed in the first hour.

Critics and enthusiasts alike were quick to sing the praises of the car its based on - the Tamora - which offered a more drivable experience than TVR's other, more potent sportscars. Unfortunately, no one really warmed to the styling...

Not so with the new TVR, however.

Based on the underpinnings of the Tamora, the T350C is an aerodynamic masterpiece. As you can tell from the photgraphy, the front-end has no central grille, allowing it to more efficiently slice through the air.

The gerenal look of the front end is one of smoothness, while two large air dams underneath the headlight cluster provide air for the engine and create downforce over the front axle.

The low-slung profile, specifically raked trailing roofline and blunt tail-section help reduce drag, and a rather tasty rear diffuser - located underneath the twin exhaust pipes - helps reduce lift at the rear.

The overall profile of the new TVR sportscar is rather spiffy: Short front and rear overhangs add aggression, while the large alloy wheels (18-inch?) with low-profile rubber give it road presence.

TVR's hand-built "Speed Six" engine, a 3.6-litre inline six-cylinder jobbie, with four valves per cyclinder and dual overhead camshafts, drives the rear wheels via a six-speed gearbox, also made by TVR.

The engine gets individual throttle butterflies per cylinder, making for extremely precise response when your foot stamps of the go pedal.

The 3.6-litre (220ci) mill makes a healthy 261kW @ 7200 rpm and will pull strongly from low in the rev range, with torque of 393Nm peaking @ 5500rpm.

But most telling is the car's weight: The Tamora hits the scales at a compact car-esque 1060kg, and word is that the T350C will weigh even less, which means it's power-to-weight ratio may exceed that of many higher-priced Porsche and Ferrari models.

While TVR is yet to release official performance specifications for its new car, expect it to punt along slightly faster than the Tamora it is based on, due largely to the improved aerodynamics and lower weight.

The Tamora hit 100km/h in 4.4 seconds, so it would be fair to say the new beast will arrive @ 100km/h in perhaps 4.2 seconds.

Top speed is said to exceed the Tamora's 175mph (260km/h) and TVR says that T350C will corner, brake, accelerate much better than the rag-top Tamora.

Inside, the new TVR looks identical to the Tamora - that's because it is. With firm, comfortable bucket seats, the T350C does offer a good amount of luggage space - at least for a 2-seater coupe.

You also get an array of readouts for speed and engine revs, which sit above a switchable multi-function display (see image above). This gives the driver a range of information from engine water and oil temperature, outside air temperature and battery volts to maximum and minimum values achieved (including speed). There's even a 'sports pack', which offers expanded telemetry, such as specific lap times and so forth.

At the end of the day, there's a lot to be said about TVR, and in particular its latest offering. Competing against the established exotic marques, TVR does an amazing job, producing almost all components of its vehicles in-house.

It's a well-known fact that TVR makes road-cars based on sportscars, which cater for the enthusiast, but the company has always stuck to its roots and, for the level of performance offered, the price of admission is amazingly competitive.

While the Tamora marked a new era in TVR's history, with an affordable asking price and not-quite-brown-undies levels of performance, the T350C takes that idea one step further. First and foremost, it looks amazing, while the improved aerodynamics make it a serious black-top warrior. What more needs to be said?

Priced at roughly £37,500 ($105,000) the T350C is built in England, which means it's a right-hand driver. Grey imports will more than likely be the best way to procure one, though TVR has a strong following in Japan. Maybe they'll offload a few Down Under? Here's hoping, anyway.