TVR 280I/Targa/Convertible/Ford Cologne 2.8 Liter V6/4-Speed Manual/Wedge Design

1985 TVR 280i Convertible

The abbreviation TVR stems from the name of the company's owner Trevor Wilkinson, his first garage sporting the letters T, V and R. In 1946, he purchased an old wheelwright's workshop in Beverley Grove, Blackpool to start an engineering business that he named Trevcar Motors. Initially, the company performed general engineering work (not always automobile related) and would also refresh and service cars and trucks. In 1947, local auto enthusiast Jack Pickard joined the company. Trevcar Motors was subsequently renamed to TVR Engineering (dropping several letters from Wilkinson's first name), and it continued to find general mechanical engineering work through the following years.

Lovingly known as the wedge design, this consignment can change personalities with the drop of the top (or a reconfiguration) as you have the full top up, a targa style top, or a full top-down convertible. With some recently new parts put on, and the Ford Cologne 2.8 Liter V6 with fuel injection by Bosch, it's showing in the East Hall in beautiful black. A somewhat rare example with only 472 produced in 1985.

Exterior
Oliver Winterbottom (what a great British name, cheerio pip pip and all that rot!) was the designer of record and some of his inspiration came from a previous design of the Lotus Elise. Although many say that the car looks like an Alpha Romeo Camiano concept car. Either way we have the wedge. Pointy front, hidden headlights, integrated black bumpers and some inlet on the hood it retains its original look. Straight steel with well minded gaps are throughout, and this car is draped in factory black. Some gold accenting in the form of a thin pinstripe rust the gamut of the sides of this car at the beltline. On back the high trunk line hovers above Triumph-esque horizontal tail lighting, and a black ribbed bumper below. Dual exhaust tips peek out from underneath the bumper. The top is in fine condition with a clear plastic rear window. Gold snowflake styled wheels with shiny trim rings are wrapped by like new rubber on all 4 corners.

Interior
A swing of the burl accented doors and we see black vinyl mixing with some wood burl on the handles. Seats are black bolsters and gray inserts and these conform nicely to nearly any body style. Square and rectangle design right out of 1985 abounds inside for the dash which has more burl, and blackface gauges lined up neatly in front of the driver. Just above the center console is a padded covered black vinyl box that houses the temp sliders and an Alpine AM/FM/CD radio with built in equalizer. On the console is the shift lever, parking brake and window toggles, along with a storage tray. Behind the two buckets is a small carpeted storage area. A shout out to the trunk which is lined with black carpeting in good condition, and a black vinyl wrapped spare tire.

Drivetrain
Under the hood is a gaggle of wiring and hoses and directly in the center is a Ford Cologne 2.8 Liter V6 fuel injected with Bosch fuel injection and a 4-speed manual transmission on back. The entire engine bay is clean and the consigner states that the clutch slave cylinder, radiator, and battery are all new.

Undercarriage
A powder coated tubular space frame is underneath, and clean floorpans showing just some light patina abound. Independent coil springs are on front, and independent with MacPherson struts are on back. Power disc brakes are noted all around, and there is a new steering rack put on in the past year.

Drive-Ability
We went Targa style for the test drive, and after a quick firing up and warm up we were off! Great acceleration, good handling, and a steady straight stopper on the panic stop all was well. I did notice the speedometer is not working and the A/C is not blowing cold. Last the exhaust seemed unusually throaty, and we discovered a hole in it.

Convertible, Targa, or full on top down this car can be used year round. The iconic wedge shape popularized in the mid 1980's, gold snowflake wheels, and snappy two-tone cloth interior, a seldom seen example here in the good old USA.

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 600 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.