TVR S3

Click Here for Full Screen Image - Click Here to Download Image

Unveiled at the 1986 London Motorshow, the S Series TVR touched a rich vein in the market and was to become a saviour for the struggling firm.

The controversial wedge shape models launched only six years earlier were already starting to look a bit dated, the TVR traditionalist craving a car which harked back to the sharp little M Series that had ceased production in 1979. The new S Series took its styling cues from the discontinued model and well over 250 orders were on the books before production commenced.

Fitted with the sweet running 2.8-litre Ford Cologne V6, capacity soon increased to 2.9-litres delivering a fairly unstressed 170bhp. Improvements were made along the way, the model going through a number of iterations from S through to S4.

The S3 model on offer here had longer doors than its predecessors, making it far more practical and user-friendly. Sold new by Car Force International based in Sussex, its accompanying service books shows 14 stamps, the last in the book at 89,000 miles in 1998. Seven old MOTs show that it has covered just 4,000 miles since 2007, the odometer now indicating just over 100,000 miles, the car having seen little use over the last few years.

A copy of the TVR S Series bible by Steve Heath and a useful parts book are included and it is MOTd until November 2014. It has just had its personal plate removed hence the lack of number plates in the photographs and prospective bidders are advised that according to the insurance register it was inspected and given a Category C classification in December 2001 and a Category D just a few days later which may just have been a downgrading of its original classification to an uneconomic repair.

This must be the most cost effective way to enter the TVR market and with a bit of attention to the paintwork, this car could be turned into a very presentable example.