A review of the TVR 400SE and 400SX Sports Car, covering the development, important features and technical data of this classic.<\/p>\n
From classic to modern:<\/p>\n
TVR 400SE<\/p>\n
In 1988, the TVR 400SE was launched, and was very similar, in every way, except for the engine, to its predecessor, the 390SE.<\/p>\n
However, an important aspect was that the 400SE marked the end of wedge-shape design, as the last of these cars were built in late 1991.<\/p>\n
It was powered by a larger Rover V8 engine, this time increased from 3905 cc to 3948 cc.<\/p>\n
It develops 275 horsepower at 5,500 rpm, and 270 ft-lbs of torque at 3,500 rpm, producing a top speed of 145 mph, a 0-60 mph time of 5.6 seconds, and a 0-100 mph time. in 14.8 seconds.<\/p>\n
The body design was consistent with the 390SE Series 2, retaining the rounded nose section, large airofoil in the rear underbody,<\/p>\n
The hood was now ventilated, and a large spoiler was fitted at the rear.<\/p>\n
However, the presence of a large transmission tunnel limits the space in the pedestrian area.<\/p>\n
Moreover, the presence of a bulky engine in a fiberglass body kept the interior of the cabin excessively hot.<\/p>\n
However, this was more than compensated for by the sparkling acceleration and the sound of the exhaust.<\/p>\n
For the time being, ventilated front disc brakes and 15-inch wheels were standard equipment, while power steering was, at first, an optional extra, later a normal setup.<\/p>\n
400SX TV<\/p>\n
In 1989, the TVR 400SX variant was introduced as the successor to the 350SX.<\/p>\n
It featured the same engine as the 400SE, but with the addition of a Sprintex Supercharger, from DPR Racing.<\/p>\n
Although exact output numbers are not available, they are likely comparable to the 350SX, which produced a 30%+ increase over that produced by the 350SE.<\/p>\n
It has been observed that the supercharged variant produces an excellent mid-range power boost.<\/p>\n
It is likely, as was the case with the 350SX, that only a few of this variant were ever built.<\/p>\n
TVR 430SE<\/p>\n
In 1991, the TVR 430SE was unveiled at that year’s Birmingham Motor Show.<\/p>\n
It was powered by the 4280 cc Rover V8 engine which would also be used in the TVR Griffith, a model due for release in 1992.<\/p>\n
It developed 280 horsepower at 5,500 rpm, and 305 ft-lbs of torque at 4,000 rpm. Unfortunately, no other performance figures were available.<\/p>\n
Only 3 units of the 430SE were built, all in 1991.<\/p>\n
Each of these variants relied on a fiberglass body mounted on a space frame chassis, in the form of a two-seater convertible, and using a five-speed gearbox, with four-wheel independent suspension.<\/p>\n
This marks the end of my review of the TVR 400SE and 400SX sports cars.<\/p>\n
I will review, in some detail, in future articles within this site, the full range of TVR sports cars that appeared in the memorable era spanning from 1946 to 2000+.<\/p>\n
I hope you’ll join me on my nostalgic travels “down sports car memory lane”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A review of the TVR 400SE and 400SX Sports Car, covering the development, important features and technical data of this classic. From classic to modern: TVR 400SE In 1988, the TVR 400SE was launched, and was very similar, in every way, except for the engine, to its predecessor, the 390SE. However, an important aspect was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":81,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-cars","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ridetriton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ridetriton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ridetriton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ridetriton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ridetriton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ridetriton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ridetriton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ridetriton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ridetriton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ridetriton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}