1965 TVR Griffith 200 news, pictures, and information

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This Griffith Series 200 is a hybrid fiberglass coupe powered by a Ford 289-cubic inch V8 with factory tri-power carburetion and four-speed transmission. It was a project of Jack Griffith and Mark Donohue in the Griffith assembly plant in Syossett, NY. These cars were imported as basic TVRs and mated with the Ford drive-train. The advertised price in 1965 was $3,995, and the dry weight was 1,450 pounds. Performance was startling, with a zero-to-sixty mph time of 4.9 seconds. With independent suspension designed by Grantur, Ltd., of England, the handling was superb, and the rack-and-pinion steering was very precise. The chassis is multi-tubular, with a wheelbase of 85.5 inches an overall length of 138 inches. This example has just completed a five-year restoration.

The Griffith 200 was sold in the UK as the TVR Griffith and in the United States as the Griffith 200. The Griffith 200 was powered by a 289 cubic-inch Ford engine and had many similarities to the TVR Grantura MKIII. The engine produced around 200 horsepower and some believe this is the source of the name '200'. A HiPo engine boosted horsepower to 270.

The cars sat atop of a short wheelbase, had a lightweight body skin, and a very powerful engine. Zero-to-sixty took just under five seconds, all for around $4000. It is believed that just under 200 examles of the Griffith 200 were produced.

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TVR Engineering was formed in 1947 by TreVoR Wilkinson in Blackpool. The TVR Griffith began as the brainchild of Jack Griffith in 1962. Griffith ran a car repair workshop in the US for patrons such as Gerry Sagerman and Mark Donohue who had both driven a TVR Grantura at Sebring in 1962. Legend has it that Griffith decided to see if he could drop the Ford V8 from Donohue's AC Cobra into Sagerman's TVR. It didn't fit but the idea prompted further conversations. Griffith wanted TVR to supply him with modified TVR Grantura chassis without engines or transmission and TVR jumped at this idea. The Griffith 200 could either be fitted with a 195 horsepower motor or a Hi-Po 289 that pumped out 271 horsepower. Performance was virtually unbelievable at zero-to-sixty mph in 3.9 seconds and a 150 mph top speed.

This car is the last built of the 181 Griffiths.

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This is chassis number 11 of the 192 Series 200 Griffiths built. The owner is the former factory test driver for Griffith Motors. Original delivered price was $4,995. Received 'Best in Class' at Lowes Motor Speedway Auto Fair in 2006.

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