The order books are open for the new Legend 480, a V8-powered super-lightweight sportscar built by Formula One supplier and TVR lover Graham Mulholland. Named for its 480 horsepower, this tight design is as manual and visceral as today's cars get.
TVR made some highly desirable machines in its six-odd decades as an auto manufacturer, tiny, sharp-handling machines with lots of power and few frills. Real driver's cars that were a blast on a racetrack when they weren't making fireballs of themselves.
Graham Mulholland was clearly a big fan, particularly of the 80s-era TVRs built under Peter Wheeler's stewardship. "I’m an ex-TVR owner, and I count myself privileged to say I worked with the famed previous owner Peter Wheeler on various cheeky projects," he said in a press release. "To me, the marque excelled by true principles of what a sports car should be and delivered a truly, exhilarating driving experience."
The recipe for a proper British sportscar, according to Mulholland, is this: engine in the front, rear wheel drive, manual gearbox, two seats, lightweight and sexy styling. And that's the recipe he's following for the Legend 480.
Designed by ex-TVR design chief Damian McTagget, the 480's front end is reminiscent of the TVR Sagaris and Tuscon. The back end takes things back to what racers like the Griffith looked like back in the 60s. It's an attractive machine, it'll go like the clappers and most importantly, Mulholland is committed to keeping it raw and involving to drive. Sign us up!
There are three further models coming, some plans for electrification in the pipeline and deliveries of the Legend 480 are slated to begin this September/October at an undisclosed price. Mulholland has requested that we "form an orderly queue," and that's got to be the most British thing ever committed to a press release.
Source: Mulholland Automotive