TVR Vixen

The body was made of glass fibre, which was fitted to a tubular-frame chassis. The chassis was the same as that used in the Mk4 1800S, a model which was discontinued just before Vixen production began. The chassis used double wishbone suspension at both ends, and disc brakes at the front (with drums at the back.) The car was significantly lighter than mainstream competitors such as the MG MGB GT, and offered correspondingly class leading performance and fuel economy. ==Variants==

The Vixen Series 1 was introduced in 1967 as an evolution of the discontinued 1800S. Although it used the same chassis as the outgoing car, the significant change was the use of the 1599 cc Ford Kent engine (as found in the Ford Cortina GT), developing 88 bhp. The engine change was necessitated by the problems TVR were having with receiving MG engine deliveries, and also in an effort to lower the price of the car. To use up remaining supplies, the first twelve Vixens built still received the MGB engine. • Total S1 production: 117 The 1968 S2 was built with the longer (90 inch) wheelbase chassis, introduced on the Tuscan V8 but which TVR had now standardized to address complaints about difficulty of ingress. Instead of wire wheels, cast alloy wheels were fitted as standard. • Total S3 production: 165 Finally, the S4 cars were an interim model that used the TVR M Series chassis with the Vixen body shell. Apart from the chassis, there were no significant mechanical or cosmetic changes between the S3 and S4. Twenty-two were built in 1972 and one in 1973. Only fifteen were built, most in 1972. The final six of these cars were built on the M Series chassis, the very last of which was also built with M Series bodywork, although it never received a "1300M" designation. • Total 1300 production: 15 Not to be confused with the later 2500M, the 2500 (marketed as the Vixen 2500 in the United States) was built between 1971 and 1972, and was designed to take advantage of the fact that the Triumph 2.5L inline-six engine had already been certified for US emissions standards (although only in 105 bhp form.) The final production run of the 2500 (comprising 96 cars) used the M Series chassis with Vixen-style bodywork. • Total 2500 production: 385 Tuscan A more powerful range of cars was also built using the Tuscan nameplate. These took over after the earlier TVR Griffith and were originally available only with a V8 engine, although later a lower-priced V6-engined alternative appeared. The Tuscan was built from 1967 until 1971. ==References==