Rare Hardtop: 1984 TVR 280i
TVR remains one of the more intriguing options out there for an enthusiast car that offers tons of exclusivity for very reasonable money. In general, you don’t see them at your local car shows and even some of the higher-end gatherings rarely have this elusive British brand in attendance. Some might say that’s due to reliability issues and not wanting to struggle with a brand that has little in the way of factory support in the states, and that’s a fair concern. However, with a powerful and sonorous Cologne V6 under the hood, this TVR 280i hardtop seems worthy of the potential headaches. Find it here on Facebook Marketplace for $9,700.
The 280i is located near Ticonderoga, New York. While there is sometimes confusion around what constitutes a “Tasmin” versus a “280i,” they are effectively the same car. TVR changed up the naming conventions a few times, but it didn’t make much of a difference. Frankly, 280i seems downright boring and more in keeping with the current naming conventions that offer shockingly little creativity for setting a given vehicle apart from the rest of the pack, but I digress. At least when you sat down inside a 280i, you knew you were in something special. The TVR appears to be in excellent condition, with the seller indicating it has 75,000 miles on the clock.
That’s actually a shockingly high number for an obscure British sports car that we typically see listed with well under 50,000 miles. Kudos to the seller and/or previous owners for actually getting some use out of this car, which does show more of the classic signs of wear and tear inside the cockpit. The classic Momo-inspired three-spoke steering wheel still looks good, but the center console plastics and carpeting near the pedal box are a bit tatty. That’s typically been one of my biggest concerns with getting into an 80s TVR like this, as the interiors seem fragile at best, and over a certain mileage, they really do look pretty shoddy. The seller doesn’t offer much in the way of information about any issues in the cockpit.
And the same goes for the drivetrain, other than his praise about the virtues of the Cologne V6. This really is a sweetheart of an engine, so I won’t argue with him on that; more my grievance is this is a highly unique motor that demands a long list of ongoing maintenance carried out over years of happy ownership. Certainly, the higher mileage is a strong indication that this TVR has been looked after, but you’d like to see a mention of a folder full of receipts from a British specialty shop that will continue to look after the car because they love the thing so much. Regardless, this is a rare find in hardtop form and a unique opportunity for the British car fan who has everything.
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Comments
The interior wouldn’t look so shoddy if the seller would have at least vacuumed the carpets and cleaned the plastic and vinyl. Good underside shots though.
I like the 280i’s,but hardcore (earlier) TVR owners that I
talked to don’t have a very high opinion of them,especially
the hardtops.
The rare part is it runs,I guess??
I’d be surprised if there’s more than 100 of these hardtops left. I had the drop top version and the airco was weak by design. Seems like it’d be a hot ride in the summer.
The rare offspring of a TR7 and an 80’s 300zx
At least the oil leaks confirm a Ford engine under the hood, but a cool looking ride regardless.
Looks nice on the outside, the interior needs a lot of work, and as mentioned by someone else, a little bit of spit and polish might have worked wonders on the inside.
Carpet is the least of anyone´s worries when taking on a specialist sports car heading for its 40th birthday. This is not a lot of money for such an unusual car and I guess that people who think differently will be queuing to view.
Anyway, it´s good that there is a “go-to” specialist who can advise on the car. One of the things to keep costs down with running these UK specialist cars is to know where the original parts come form (usually from a budget UK Ford).
As a Brit, this is a (fixed head) coupé for me (a hardtop would be a convertible with an optioned and detachable fibreglass top). In Europe, more coupés were sold than convertibles, but that may have been different in the USA.
Alright, Sir Martin
Americans always have some extraordinary terms to describe something.
In never liked the British wedges except the Lotus Excel and Eclat
whose have had this extra level of extraordinaire.
TVR had their best time as Smolensky owned the company: Cerbera,
Chimaera, Griffith 500, T-350t, and the 2nd Tuscans. The Sagaris
is a remodeled T-350 for any who likes it.
Okay my esteemed fellow writers, what I forgot to mention is that
official UK statistics report that a good half of all registered TVR’s
in the UK have been wrecked in a road accident in the last 8 years.
This seems to confirm the question why even well-known workshops
like str8ght six stopped making TVR and disappeared altogether.
Fortunately, all the remaining manufacturing machines have remained
in a few responsible hands, so that there is a supply for the existing
TVR. Also for whole new vehicles of the Smolensky era.
Rare because it is the least desirable.
The TVR 280i is a good looking car.
Very interesting.
We had one of those “high maintenance” V-6’s in our Mustang II. One shattered timing gear in 170,000 miles.
This engine was used in the German produced Taunus Granada
Capri and some batch of Sierra XR4i. 2.3 and 2.8L versions
Great cars especially the Granada is a comfy and silent glider.
When simplicity meets luxury in the Ghia model. Except minor
oil leakage from the pan and stubborn carbs this engines never
let you sit down. Im surprised they not used the 3L Essex engine.