Developed for TVR’s ill-fated Le Mans project, the only T440R in existence is set to go under the hammer at Iconic Auctioneers’ May 18 sale
Iconic Auctioneers – formerly known as Silverstone Auctions – is offering for sale the world’s sole example of the TVR 440R, a carbon-fibre-bodied, 440bhp supercar that was originally intended as the Blackpool firm’s homologation model for its GT1-class racing efforts.
Starting life as the Tuscan R as part of a late-90s Le Mans racer project, the car was subject to a sophisticated and expensive development process. It featured a resin-filled aluminium flat floor, which was bonded and bolted to a seamless tubular chassis and integral roll cage. A carbon-fibre tub was then fitted along with carbon-fibre panels.
The car’s unique hand-built carbon bodywork and chassis combined with a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre straight six engine to produce huge performance and a top speed of 215mph. With 440bhp on tap but weighing just over 1100kg, the 440R was a match for some much more powerful machinery. A drag co-efficient of just 0.32 also helped in this department.
Road-going examples of the racer were to be called the T440R and Typhon, with the latter originally intended to add a sequential gearbox and supercharger to the mix. The Typhon was never produced but two pre-production T440R cars were completed in the early 2000s; the first of these is the example offered for sale here with its original PN02 ZNG registration. The second T440R was destroyed by TVR, leaving this as the only example in the world.
Used as a press car in its early years, the car was later converted by TVR to resemble the racing car it had tried and failed to create. The car was displayed at Le Mans in either 2004 or 2005 to signal the brand’s intentions of returning to the famous Le Sarthe circuit, but sadly this would never happen.
In 2008, the T440R was bought by a private owner and was in the car of a TVR specialist from 2014 onwards. This specialist fully restored the T440R, complete with a brand-new 4.4-litre Speed Six engine built by Dom Trickett at Powers Performance – the very same firm that developed the original unit.
Other upgrades include a new clutch, diff, shock absorbers, suspension components and the addition of a close-ratio gearbox to unlock more performance on the road. A custom-made exhaust is fitted and even the door windows were remade by their original Italian manufacturer. Repainted in its original candy apple red paint and with a freshly trimmed interior, the car has been thoroughly restored with great attention to detail, all photographically catalogued.
The 2002 TVR T440R is set to go under the hammer with an estimate of £190,000–230,000 but we wouldn’t be surprised to see this unique slice of British motoring history smash that estimate on May 18.
For more information and to register to bid, visit the Iconic Auctioneers website
