What Happened To....
Author
Discussion

jagdpanther

Original Poster:

19,633 posts

249 months

Monday 19th February 2007
quotequote all
The Speed Eight prototypes??

My mate TrickieDickie is always showing me his photos of the Speed Eight project (The wedge before the Griff) and IIRC 2 were built, but never seen again!

Does anyone know what happened to them or the moulds?

Terminator

2,421 posts

314 months

Monday 19th February 2007
quotequote all
They got the 'Bristol Avenue Chainsaw' treatment many years ago.

smokin2

mikee

1,851 posts

314 months

Monday 19th February 2007
quotequote all

actually I'm not sure that's correct, I bought a Griff from Team Central in Birmingham in 1994 and I'm sure the then owner (forget his name) had one of the speed 8s which had been Peter Wheelers personal transport...

jagdpanther

Original Poster:

19,633 posts

249 months

Monday 19th February 2007
quotequote all
Terminator said:
They got the 'Bristol Avenue Chainsaw' treatment many years ago.

smokin2


Really?

Such a shame as it was a beautiful car

Did the moulds get destroyed too?

jagdpanther

Original Poster:

19,633 posts

249 months

Monday 19th February 2007
quotequote all
mikee said:

actually I'm not sure that's correct, I bought a Griff from Team Central in Birmingham in 1994 and I'm sure the then owner (forget his name) had one of the speed 8s which had been Peter Wheelers personal transport...


I know Howard Bryan has the White Elephant that Wheeler used as his personal runabout and I think a Cerbera was also used...I wasnt aware that the Speed Eight Wedge made it onto the road!

A glimmer of hope maybe

JR

14,332 posts

288 months

Monday 19th February 2007
quotequote all
jagdpanther said:
I wasnt aware that the Speed Eight Wedge made it onto the road!
A glimmer of hope maybe.

No, sadly you are correct. As a footnote the Speed Eights were not pre-Griff they were contemporaries.

jagdpanther

Original Poster:

19,633 posts

249 months

Monday 19th February 2007
quotequote all
JR said:
jagdpanther said:
I wasnt aware that the Speed Eight Wedge made it onto the road!
A glimmer of hope maybe.

No, sadly you are correct. As a footnote the Speed Eights were not pre-Griff they were contemporaries.




What a shame

I knew they weren't a pre-griff, just the best way to describe them

If you type Speed Eight into google it comes up with Cerbs, Griffs, Chims and Speed Sixes? hehe

rusty pipes

31 posts

238 months

Monday 19th February 2007
quotequote all
scratchchindont know about the speed eight but one Xante exists stored on the roof of the spray bay/composites oven
Hope this is of interest

suffolkfox

462 posts

283 months

Monday 19th February 2007
quotequote all
rusty pipes said:
scratchchindont know about the speed eight but one Xante exists stored on the roof of the spray bay/composites oven
Hope this is of interest


OK, interested, but what is it (I assume TVR bearing in mind the various things seen around the place from time to time)? Anyone got any pictures of what one looks like? Description / age / what is left of this one? History is history and if there is something in there worth saving, let's make it clear to Receivers that someone may be interested. Even ugly as sin cars show what a company went through to get to the good ones.

oliverb205

705 posts

256 months

Monday 19th February 2007
quotequote all
That's interesting, we were just wondering what happened to the one and only Zante at the West Yorks meeting yesterday. Let's hope it gets saved, even 36 years late. It's the second best looking TVR Wedge, after the Trident.

Oliver.

(Watch the emails come in from the wedge boys now....)

JR

14,332 posts

288 months

Monday 19th February 2007
quotequote all
There's something in the water over there.

Terminator

2,421 posts

314 months

Tuesday 20th February 2007
quotequote all
I took a photo of Martin Liley standing next to the Zante shell, very recently. Unfortunately, someone may lose their job if I said where and when it was taken or published it. So it must remain as that, an unfounded PH rumour.

I may, however, be able to publish it after Friday 23 February

smokin2

jagdpanther

Original Poster:

19,633 posts

249 months

Tuesday 20th February 2007
quotequote all
I thought the Zante was a cracking looking car, given the era it came from!

Reminded me of a Scimitar on drugs yes

It is such a shame that the Speed Eights were seemabley scrapped...that was one of the best looking cars (yes Rich, I whole heartedly agree!) ever to come out of Blackpool.

Funny thing is, when you look back at the photos, Maserati are still making cars that look like the Speed Eight so it could've easily succeeded

Crazynick

484 posts

244 months

Wednesday 21st February 2007
quotequote all
The 1990 speed 8 show car was cut up in front of me by development.
I managed to prize the chassis out of Peter's hands for a mate to build a kit car on, lost contact of mate cos I moved away, but he lives in Moreton on the Wirral, - I assume he still has the chassis. - the body is in body heaven or hell depending on if you think it was good or bad.

NC

tvrgaas

1,483 posts

300 months

Wednesday 21st February 2007
quotequote all
Terminator said:
I took a photo of Martin Liley standing next to the Zante shell, very recently.
This that the one that Roger Cooke started to restore, and was returned to Blackpool a few years ago?

Terminator

2,421 posts

314 months

Wednesday 21st February 2007
quotequote all
There is only one Zante shell, so yes, it's the same one.

I took pictures of Roger and the 'car' when he was attempting to rebuild it and also had it on a stand at the NEC for the 1994 Classic Car Show.

smokin2