first drive

TVR Tamora

THERE'S something really special rolling off the production line at TVR's Blackpool factory.

The Tamora is the company's latest bruiser a 350bhp lightweight sports convertible that should appeal to Porsche Boxster or BMW M Roadster buyers who desire something homegrown and a little more on the wild side.

For the past few months, a steady stream of prospective buyers have been taking up the standard TVR offer of visiting the plant to see how their hand-built new car is progressing.

With power steering, a lighter clutch operation and plenty of interior space, this is the most accessible TVR to date, a budget supercar you really can use everyday.

Unlike past TVR models, the Tamora does not require racetrack training or bulging biceps to drive.

It's still unmistakably a TVR, a potent blend of Griffith and Tuscan, capable of shaking your eyeballs in their sockets right up to 160mph, while thrashing the tarmac to reach 60mph in 4.5 seconds.

Somehow TVR has squeezed its own 3.6-litre, straight-six engine under the stubby bonnet. The boot, on the other hand, is wide and deep - a perfect fit for Tamora's fabric-covered, detachable hardtop.

TVR's familiar exhaust rumble follows you everywhere in the Tamora, although it isn't intrusive. And while past models pumped out masses of wheel-spinning torque, this latest offering is much more forgiving.

But it still packs a punch because the lightweight construction brings bodyweight down to a measly 1050kg, the motoring equivalent of Posh Spice on a fast. And with rear-wheel drive, and wide-profile tyres, the Tamora is truly entertaining on country roads.

The company expects the Tamora, which is available now, to be one of its biggest sellers, slotting into the range at 36,500 - just above the Chimera.

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