CarBrandLogos archive · TVR · 1980
A wedge too far: the car that nearly finished the firm, and set up its revival.
Discover the storyPhoto: Tony Harrison from Farnborough, UK;cropped and plates cleared by uploader Mr.cho · CC BY-SA 2.0
The story
Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the TVR Tasmin, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.
01
The Tasmin of 1980 was TVR's first clean-sheet design in years and, on paper, its most professional. Oliver Winterbottom, who had drawn the Lotus Elite, gave it a sharply creased wedge body; underneath sat a new tubular backbone chassis with Ford Cortina and Granada suspension components, and Ford's Cologne V6 in 2.8-litre form with a 2.0-litre four for a cheaper entry.
Tvr.280i.arp
02
It arrived into a recession, priced against far better-known cars, and sold appallingly. Only 61 of the original Tasmins found buyers before the model was renamed the 280i, under which badge it did rather better. The failure was serious enough to put the company up for sale, and in 1981 it was bought by Peter Wheeler, a chemical engineer who had been a customer.
TVR Tasmin Front · Crwpitman · CC BY-SA 4.0
03
Wheeler's first significant act was to fit the aluminium Rover V8, creating the 350i and establishing the formula — big, cheap, torquey V8 in a light glassfibre body — that TVR followed until the end. The wedge shape stayed in production until 1991, by which time it was carrying engines of up to 4.5 litres and the company was profitable again.
TVR Tasmin Rear · Crwpitman · CC BY-SA 4.0
At a glance
Produced
1980–1984Units built
980Engine
2.0 Designer
Oliver WinterbottomTechnical specification
Badge at launch
This is the marque emblem that accompanied the Tasmin's era. The full identity timeline is documented in the brand archive.
Explore the logo history →Contemporaries from the 1980s
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