1995 TVR Griffith 500

Highlights

• Desirable ‘500’ model
• 5-litre naturally aspirated V8
• 5-speed manual transmission
• Highly original and unmodified
• 50,604 miles on the clock, verified

Overview

Beachside donkey rides. Candy floss. ‘Kiss me quick’ hats. Hen and stag parties that verge on the dictionary definition of rioting. Blackpool is known for many things, but the most surprising of these certainly must be the fact that it’s the spiritual home of the one true British muscle car brand. Ladies and gentlemen, we’re proud to present the really rather marvellous TVR Griffith 500.

Already possessed of a reputation for designing and building truly fearsome, barrel-chested sports cars that neatly straddled the line between exhilaration and outright terror, TVR arguably perfected the recipe with the Griffith 500. Launched in 1990, the Griffith is regarded by many as the finest car ever to wear the TVR badge – certainly the best car from the Peter Wheeler period.

That charismatic 5-litre V8 offers the kind of soundtrack that sends you weak at the knees – all baritone and burbly at idle, rising to a bellicose roar as it tears towards the redline. And with no nannying electronic safety nets to get in the way, it’s as pure an experience as you could wish for, leaving you entirely at the mercy of mechanical grip and your own talent. The Yanks may have claimed the muscle car formula as their own, but we reckon TVR perfected it.

Naturally, all the performance in the world is for nothing if your car looks like a seal corpse. Thankfully, the Griffith is not so endowed. In fact, it’s an extremely pretty and well proportioned sports car. And when, like this handsome example, it’s presented in factory specification, with glistening metallic black paintwork and a smart leather interior, it’s very difficult to not develop a deep and sudden urge to own one right now.

This is a great example of the marque too, with a good service record, genuinely low mileage and – in our opinion – a fantastic specification. For anyone in the market for the kind of car that makes every single journey into an absolute event, puts grins on faces everywhere it goes and leaves you with that “just a few more miles” feeling, then this simply has to be considered. It’s marvellous.

Sorry, what?

No, you probably shouldn’t have another tequila slammer, Michelle. Get off the donkey and back in the limo. And put down that.. What is that? Oh no…

History and documentation

• First registered 6 October 1995
• Four former owners
• Current owner since May 2021
• Dry stored from 2012 to 2021
• Recommissioned by the current owner when it was taken out of dry storage in 2021
• Original handbooks
• 50,604 miles on the clock, verified by the MOT and service record
• Stamped service book with services as follows: Nov 95 @ 931 miles; Jul 96 @ 6,573 miles; Mar 97 @ 12,151 miles; Sep 97 @ 18,923 miles; Sep 98 @ 24,330 miles; Mar 00 @ 29,246 miles; Jan 04 @ 31,794 miles; Sep 07 @ 38,806 miles; 1Dec 12 @ 46,898 miles; May 21 @ 46,809 miles (believed to be 46,890 miles with the last two numbers transposed)
• Original document pack, with two keys and an alarm fob
• Current MOT with no advisories expires 27 May 2025
• Excellent MOT record, with no advisories for many years
• V5 present in owner’s name
• HPI clear (checked October 2024)

Interior

• Lovely cream leather upholstery
• The seats are in good order, with some gentle creasing and patination
• Black carpets and matched over-mats are fitted throughout, and look to be generally in good order, although there is some wear behind the seats and the drivers mat is worn - nothing that couldn’t be faithfully reproduced if you wanted to renew it though
• Electric windows
• Electrically adjustable, heated door mirrors
• Engraved and polished sill guards
• The radio and CD changer has been removed, as it ceased to function
• All of the instrumentation and switchgear appears to be in fine fettle, with some light wear from use, but generally in great condition for its age
• We’re assured by the vendor that all of the cabin’s features function just as they should, with no faults or issues
• The boot is reasonably generous, certainly enough for a couple of overnight bags, and is well finished with dark grey carpeting
• The original jack and toolset is present in its carry bag, and there is a spacesaver spare wheel with a fitted vinyl cover

Exterior

• We love the smart metallic black paintwork of this example, it’s believed to be completely original and wears its age quite well
• There are some swirls and minor scratches, as well as a few stone chips to the front
• We noted some light paintwork damage to the front near-side corner under the headlight, as we as to the edges of the wheel arches on the near-side
• The bodywork looks to be in good condition, with the glass-fibre panels displaying well and showing no obvious signs of warping or damage
• The fabric hood with the removable centre section is present and correct, and has been treated with Fabsil to ensure it remains waterproof
• All of the external glass elements, badging and light lenses present very nicely, with minimal wear and tear, and no obvious damage apparent
• Underneath the car appears to be in good order, with no significant corrosion or damage we could discern, just a little surface corrosion in a few areas
• The vendor believes the car has been WaxOyl treated underneath
• We’re pleased to see the car is wearing its original factory fitted 7-spoke, 16-inch alloy wheels, with a smart silver finish and no notable lacquer peel or kerb damage we could see
• The wheels are shod in a matched set of Toyo Proxes, which appear to have good tread levels and no sidewall damage

Mechanical

• Naturally aspirated alloy 4,997cc V8 engine
• Factory performance figures: 340bhp, 350lb-ft, 0-60mph in c.4 seconds and a top speed of 169mph
• Rear wheel drive
• Borg Warner T5 5-speed manual transmission
• Presented unmodified and in factory specification
• Excellent service and MOT records, along with the genuinely low mileage, lead us to believe that the car should be in excellent condition mechanically
• The vendor assures us that the car starts, idles, goes and stops just as it should, with no faults or issues reported

Summary

We love a TVR. We’re not sure why anyone wouldn’t, as the recipe is petrolhead heaven: a dirty great naturally aspirated engine, no electronic nannies and a light but gorgeous bodyshell.

Of course, finding a nice Griffith 500 is getting more difficult – after all they are almost 30 years old now. But they’re definitely the one to have when it comes to TVRs, being genuinely pretty, immensely charismatic and hugely powerful.

What makes this example even more attractive is that it has clearly been well cared for, is unmodified, and presented in a great specification. In our opinion it pretty much delivers everything you could possibly want from an “occasion” car. We reckon that, for the money, you’d be hard pushed to find anything that offers more bang for your buck.

To arrange a viewing, please request this in the Q&A section. You can click through to the seller's profile and use the 'Email Me' function to arrange a viewing privately. This seller is located in Godalming, Surrey.