2001 TVR Tuscan S - The Top Gear Speed Camera car!

MAKE: TVR
MODEL: Tuscan S MK1
COLOUR: Moonraker Black
YEAR: 2001
MILEAGE: 84,500
PRICE: £47,495.00 – ONO

DESCRIPTION:

Every single true petrolhead already knows this car, remember? The one on Top Gear that went past the speed camera without it going off, at 171 mph? Well, it’s known that the car didn’t stop there, it hit the legendary 195mph! This was TVR really sticking it to the big guns, scaring the likes of Porsche and winning in twin tests in Autocar Magazine, the Tuscan S had landed and it meant business! This car is the very press car that struck fear in the offices at various sports car manufacturers around the world and even today, what other cars can begin to compare? Raw, visceral, unapologetic and still to this day downright fast.

Having had lots of MK1 Tuscans through our doors, this one not only stands out because of its incredibly well documented history, but for just how well it holds the road. You can clearly see it was a step up from the previous range of TVR’s line-up at the time. It is lightening quick in a straight line, but feels planted, secure and surefooted in a way rarely felt in a Tuscan. The car rides and handles beautifully too, thanks to a serious amount of recent expenditure and the care given to the car in recent years really shows. Age (and mileage) really are just a number.

The Moonraker Black paintwork is in great order all round, the interior is fresh, with shite inserts to liven up the original all-black combo. With fresh leather and carpets, including the boot, the car presents more like a 30k mile car, as opposed to a car that has covered nearly thrice that number. Flick the key and the engine is as smooth as any Speed Six can get, it pulls hard from the first touch of the pedal, all the way to the redline, having been rebuilt by Dom at Powers Performance in 2022. Shifts are super slick through the rebuilt T5 transmission and power is laid down beautifully even on the bumpiest roads, thanks to the fresh Michelin PS5’s and the suspension overhaul carried out this year. This car really is still the revelation it was when it was wearing S6 TVR and on the front cover of Autocar Magazine!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION:

Yes, it does drive as well as it looks. It is as fast as it looked on the telly and it does make that glorious sound too! This famous machine has only had 3 owners since the factory used it as the press car to show the world that TVR weren’t messing around. In the current owners’ hands, it has been brought up to the standard it deserves and with the money being spent in the right places, it really drives and handles just as you’d always hoped it would. Having had the engine rebuilt in 2022 by Powers Performance, that was one big tick off the list, but the engine overpowered the car, so HPC Classics set about making it drive right, the following work has been carried out in the past year, so you know that the car you’re getting isn’t all show and no go:

- Differential rebuilt & polybushed
- Drive shafts rebuilt
- Hand brake cables
- Steering rack gaiters
- All suspension bushes, washers and bolts
- New wheel bearings
- Front drag arms
- Ball joints
- Rear anti roll bar drop links
- Powder coated wishbones
- Geometry set up
- Discs and pads all round
- Callipers refurbished
- Wheels refurbished
- New Michelin PS5 tyres

With more aesthetic items taken care of too, like the boot alignment, gas struts, carpet, heat shields, washer jet, clutch stop and a titanium gear knob to finish things off.

Now’s the time to get in and appreciate what the motoring press experienced 24 years ago, in the words of Stephen Sutcliffe in Autocar about the 996 GT2 & Tuscan S (this exact car)

“Had there been enough runway, the Porsche would no doubt have beaten the TVR on top speed too.
But it wouldn’t have mattered. Even if the GT2 had done 250mph at Bruntingthorpe it wouldn’t have delivered sufficient thrills elsewhere to beat a car as blinding as the Tuscan S. Because what TVR understood better than Porsche on this occasion is that performance isn’t the only thing that makes a sports car great.”

TOTAL NUMBER OF PREVIOUS OWNERS: 3
TRANSMISSION: 5 speed manual
ENGINE CAPACITY: 6,178cc
ENGINE SPECIFICATION:
4.0L Inline six, DOHC, Dry Sump
Maximum speed 195 mph
Power 391 bhp
Torque 420 Nm
0 – 60 in 3.9 seconds
PRICE: £47,495.00 – ONO