TVR Griffith 2019: Why EU rules are delaying British marque’s return

TVR, the British sports car company set to return to production after a 12-year hiatus, has been held up by EU funding regulations.

According to Autocar, the Welsh government owns a 3% stake in the carmaker and has loaned it £2m. This subjects TVR to the EU’s rules around state funding, the magazine says.

Construction work due to be carried out on the British marque’s “dilapidated” manufacturing plant in Ebbw Vale, South Wales, must now be offered to tenders “across the entire EU” rather than just local companies, says Autocar.

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As a result the company’s plans have been set back by around seven months. This makes the “early 2019” deadline for the Griffith – the firm’s first production car in over a decade – somewhat optimistic, says the magazine.

The motoring blog Pistonheads estimates that construction could begin at another on-site facility, which requires less renovation work, as early as March.

But TVR chief Les Edgar says that only 75% of the sports car’s parts have been sourced so far. Therefore, even if a facility were to be ready in the coming weeks, the company would not be ready to start production.

Unveiled at the Goodwood Revival in September 2017, the TVR Griffith takes the form of a front-engined sports car powered by a 500bhp 5.0-litre V8 motor developed by the motorsport giant Cosworth, says Auto Express.

The name, which mimics that of the TVR Griffith sports car from the early 1990s, is the first new model made by the British firm since 2006 when production of the radical Sagaris ended.

Prices are expected to start at £90,000, but the recent setbacks caused by Brussels could mean that TVR fails to meet its release target of early next year.