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• Auction House:
  Mossgreen
• Sale Name:
  Collectors’ Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia
• Sale Date:
  27 Nov 2016 ~ 2.30pm
• Lot #:
  47
• Lot Description:
  1970 TVR TUSCAN V8
  Chassis no: MAL 013; Engine no: 9H503944
• Notes:
  In 1947, Trevor Wilkinson and Jack Pickard started TVR, the acronym being derived from Trevor 's name. In 1954, the Mk I or Grantura was introduced with a fiberglass body over a tubular steel frame and their concept for a lightweight, high powered sports car was born. In the competitive spirit, a BMC powered TVR competed in the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans but it was all over on the 4th lap. By 1965, the founding partners broke their ties with the company which was on the brink of disaster. Martin Lilley then took the reins until 1981, resetting the clock for the ostensibly doomed sports car manufacturer and turned it in to a pedigree road-going sports car. The forebear to the TVR Tuscan V8 was the Griffith, named after the American, Jack Griffith, of Griffith Motors, Inc. NY. Jack Griffith suggested a revamp of the Grantura by using a 4.7-litre V8 Ford engine while maintaining Trevor Wilkinson's basic concept of a glass-reinforced plastic body fitted to a multi-tubular frame. The mandate was to produce a lightweight car with plenty of power and torque with particular attention paid to the power/weight ratio. Using a front engine, rear wheel drive combination with the engine set as far back as it could go, this concept created a near 50/50 weight distribution. The result - a very exciting high-performance car. The first Tuscan model was developed by 1966, utilising the 289 Windsor Ford V8 motor with a Ford 4-barrel carburettor resulting in an excellent sporting car. Based on the Grantura/Vixen, the Tuscan was built in three configurations between January 1967 and early 1970: the production volume of the short wheelbase (SWB) being approximately 24; the long wheelbase (LWB) approximately 24 and the later LWB SE wide-bodied version approximately 10. The last series, with chassis numbers commencing at MAL 001 - MAL representing Martin Lilley - was the most diversified batch. It is believed and purported by various researchers and experts that most of these cars used a Vixen S2 style body and that MAL 015 was probably the last of this type. The interior of the early MAL cars was similar to the LWB cars. The transition from bonded to bolted bodies commenced at MAL 007 and 008, defining MAL 013 as a bolted body with a Vixen S2 interior. TVR only built 58 of these Tuscans V8s overall during 4 years (according to Robson 73; Colin Lyons letter in Sprint June 1991, indicate a lower number). All TVR Tuscan V8's utilised Ford power units. The earlier cars had 195 bhp and the MAL series used the higher capacity engine, including the 302 BOSS motor. All accounts and records indicate that ten MAL chassis cars are known to survive and all believed to be left hand drive. This car presented at auction, was imported in to the USA as a LHD. It is assumed only two MAL numbered RHD cars were built in the first instance, making this example converted to RHD an extremely rare motor car. Its provenance prior to 1983 is unknown but in 1983, Walter Pottenger of Illinois, bought the car and attended to an engine replacement installing a 1968 302 with fully balanced Boss 302 heavy duty con rods and stainless steel valves with a Holley double pumper carburettor. The car was sold to Mr. Martin Cliffe in c1988 and he enjoyed a fabulous road trip which was the subject of a feature article in Super Car Classics, in January, 1990. Cliffe imported the car to England, in 1988 and exchanged it for a TVR Griffith in a gentleman's agreement with Mr. Tim Bryan in December, 1990. Bryan attended to the RHD conversion at the beginning of 1991 in "what transpired to be a very easy operation", and the engine was subject to another rebuild. Bryan raced the Tuscan successfully in the Improved Road Sports Championship of the Historic Sports Car Club, achieving 2nd place in Class A, in 1991. In 1993, the car was sold to Dr. Cornelius van Dien of the Netherlands. ln 2001 when it was acquired by the vendor. The vendor advises that the engine was rebuilt in the UK before he competed in the Classic Marathon rally from London to Prague, in 2002. It was transported back to London from Prague and has covered about 2000 miles with this reconditioned engine. It was imported to Australia in August 2002 and had an interior refit in striking red leather and a timber veneer dashboard by Gary Blackman Trimming, of Melbourne and new paintwork. Originally, MAL 013 was bright blue. It was changed to silver in the United States and back to blue on its return to England and it was blue when it competed in the Classic Marathon. It has since been re-painted silver. This undeniably rare car, with a sound provenance accompanied by a large file of correspondence and receipts, is fitted with a full interior race cage; a 302hp Windsor engine that's done around 2000 miles work; with a 4-barrel carburettor. It is fitted with the original 15" wheels with brand new Bridgestone Potenza tyres and a spare set of 14" rims, new oil coolers and an enlarged radiator. Other recent work includes new front suspension bushings; tie rod ends and a new exhaust. Believed to be one of as few as ten MAL chassis TVR Tuscan V8s to have survived, this car may be the only right hand drive car in existence presenting a once-off opportunity to acquire a desirable collectors' car of high repute and rarity. This vehicle will be sold unregistered
• Estimate:
  A$70,000 - 100,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Automobiles & Accessories

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.