TVR Speed 12
The
TVR Speed 12, originally known as the
Project 7/12 was an ultra high performance concept vehicle designed by
TVR in
1997. Based in part on then-current TVR hardware, the vehicle was intended to be both the world's highest performance road car and the basis for a GT1 class Le Mans racer. Unfortunately, problems during its development, changing GT1 class regulations and the eventual decision that it was simply incapable of being used as a road car ended the idea, forcing TVR executives to abandon its development.
The vehicle's
engine, displacing 7.7 litres and having twelve cylinders, was reportedly capable of producing nearly one thousand horsepower, although an exact measurement was never made. Nontheless, it's performance was said to be astonishing, and by all calculations it would have been capable of hitting sixty miles per hour in the low-three second range and power to well over two hundred miles per hour.
The vehicle first appeared at the
1997 British motorshow.
TVR unveiled a new concept car which later received a status few cars ever achieve, yet it never made production. The car was known as the TVR Project 7/12, the 7 was for 7 liter engine (though it was actually 7.7 liters), and 12 for the number of cylinders in the engine. TVR said it would have over 800 bhp and be faster than the McLaren F1; the first concepts shown were based on in-development FIA GT1 class race car that was current at that time. It would be restricted to a more modest 660 bhp but the weight would be kept at roughly 1000 kilograms. The road car would weigh the same, but without the restrictors the power was greatly increased, TVR officially said it had 800 bhp, but the real figure was never properly recorded. It had a specially built 6 speed transmission and clutch. The
engine was basically two TVR AJP6 engines mated together onto a single crank.
By 1998 the car had been re-named the TVR Speed 12 and their
GT1 racer was almost ready to go, TVR wanted to race at
Le Mans, but unfortunately that never happened. However, the Speed 12 GTS did manage to compete in a few races in the FIA GT championship in the GT1 class, though sudden rule changes and the demise of the GT1 class suddenly rendered the Speed 12's existence obsolete. Not to let all that work go to waste TVR immediately set about creating the road-going Speed 12, although the project would not be completed for another year.
Forward to the year 2000, TVR had been busy creating the TVR Cerbera Speed 12. Like its predecessor, the true power output of the engine was never officially revealed, although, the original engine (which produced 800bhp)was employed yet again. The weight was kept down to 1000 kilograms and TVR reminded people that they were making a car that they thought would beat the
McLaren F1 with the words 'over 240 miles per hour' mentioned a few times. The new car would also be built in parallel with a new race car, although they had to opt for GT2 as there was no longer a GT1 class,. The new race car managed to run for a few seasons in the British GT championship and had some success, winning a few races. It did however have problems with reliability which often led to the car retiring frequently. Meanwhile, the road car was almost ready and TVR had taken a good number of orders and deposits for it. With a price of £188,000, it certainly wasn't cheap; it would be the most expensive TVR in history.
In an interview
Peter Wheeler, who owned TVR during the car's development, said that TVR had tried to record the car's power on an engine dyno. The dyno was rated at 1000 bhp but the test resulted in the dyno's input shaft being broken. To get an approximate figure TVR engineers tested the engine again but they tested each bank individually; the result was 480 bhp per bank. This would sugget a rating of 960 bhp in total. Although this didn't provide an exact figure, it was far closer than the original estimates were. The real figure is still unknown. This was the beginning of the end for the Speed 12's production hopes. Peter Wheeler drove one of the finished prototypes home and he concluded that the car was unusable on the road. It was simply too powerful. Wheeler was no newcomer to high performance cars, he even raced in the
TVR Tuscan challenge for a number of seasons.
The deposits were returned, the production plans were cancelled, the remaining prototypes were carted around to various car shows and one by one they were taken apart and used as spares for the Speed 12 race cars still racing in the British GT championship. But that wasn't the end of the Speed 12. In August 2003 TVR placed an advert in Auto Trader for none other than the TVR Cerbera Speed 12, registered W112 BHG. What TVR planned to do was to rebuild one of the prototypes and sell it on to an enthusiast. Buying the car wasn't as simple as ringing up and saying "I'd like to buy your car please". You had to go and meet Wheeler who would then make sure you were the right sort of person for the car, and then he would consider you as a potential buyer. The deal was done and the Speed 12 was rebuilt and handed over to its new owner. Since the original bodywork had been destroyed, TVR had to use a remaining shell from one of the GT racers which was really no bad thing. With the increased downforce the car would be even faster round a track than before. On top of that TVR did some more work on the engine and the ECU. The car even featured in the May 2005 edition of
Evo Magazine in which it was described as "awesome" and "terrifyingly quick". The car still hasn't been fully performance tested, but the power is still estimated at somewhere over 960 bhp depending on the cams fitted and the ECU mapping.
It is also noteworthy that Knightsport is Correct and the Speed12 was indeed produced in Silver, Red and Chameleon.
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TVR Speed 12 Concept Stats*
Knightsport
