TVR Sagaris Review

TVR Sagaris

The TVR Sagaris is a sports car designed and built by the British manufacturer TVR in their factory in Lancashire.

Featuring an all-new design, the Sagaris made its debut appearance at the MPH03 Auto Show in 2003. The pre-production model was then shown at the 2004 Birmingham Motorshow. In 2005 the production model was released for public sale at TVR dealerships around the world.

Based on the TVR T350, the Sagaris was designed with endurance racing in mind. Several design features of the production model lend themselves to TVR’s intentions to use the car for such racing.

Jeremy Clarkson and The Stig test drive the TVR Sagaris on Top Gear’s test track.

The multitude of air vents, intake openings and other features on the bodywork allow the car to be driven for extended periods of time on race tracks with no modifications required for cooling and ventilation.

The final production model came with several variations from the pre-production show models eg the vents on the wings are filled in not open, different wing mirrors, location of the fuel filler and bonnet hinges. There are other subtle differences as well.

As with all modern TVRs the Sagaris ignores the European Union guideline that all new cars should be fitted with ABS and at least front airbags because Peter Wheeler believed that such devices promote overconfidence and risk the life of a driver in the event of a rollover, which TVR’s are engineered to resist. It also eschews electronic driver’s aids (such as traction control or electronic stability control).

The car’s name comes from the sagaris, the Greek name of a lightweight battle-axe used by the Scythians which was feared for its ability to penetrate the armor of their enemies. The car was designed by Graham Browne and Lee Hodgetts.