Design Development: TVR Griffith

At the Goodwood Revival meeting in early September, the wraps came off a long-awaited car for British petrolheads: the new TVR Griffith. After TVR production ceased in 2006, this is a totally new venture by the current owners of TVR, led by computer-gaming magnate Les Edgar who bought the brand from Nikolai Smolenski four years ago.

The all-new Griffith has been designed and developed by Gordon Murray Design and CDN visited their purpose-built facility of studios and workshops in Shalford, just outside Guildford in Surrey, UK. In fact, these premises were formerly the old Ferrari F1 premises, later used by McLaren in the 1990s before they moved to their current factory.

GMD iStream process comprises thin-wall tubular frames and carbonfibre insert panels for a very lightweight, yet extremely stiff structure

“TVR did the rounds of possible development companies, they came to us and realized the synergy between the old TVR and new TVR could be our iStream tubular structure and composite panels” says Kevin Richards, GMD creative design director, in reference to TVR’s traditional old construction method of a steel backbone frame and fibreglass body.

“That was a good start, and Gordon’s pedigree would add to the brand. They thought the combination of GMD, TVR and Cosworth could be a winner.”

There had been an earlier TVR project, which by Spring 2015 was being abandoned. “It was a retro design route and at this point it was changed, as was the team” continues Richards. David Seesing was working at that time for Mercedes in Sindelfingen, but Richards and Seesing had been talking for around a year about teaming up, once the time was right.

Exterior

“The brief was to develop one design based on TVR’s colourful history” explains Seesing. “Of course, one difficulty is that if you look at TVRs from the past, every decade has a completely different style, from really geometric wedge cars [1980s] to really organic in the 1990s. We wanted a fresh start, a new design language to take the brand forward.”

Despite the Griffith badge, TVR’s new car really takes after this, the T350

“We chose the T350 as a key reference car, one of the cleaner designs – deliberately not an all-out car like the Sagaris; that was never the idea. We analysed the cars from the past, identified some outstanding features such as the slash on the bodyside, a long slim DLO on T350, Typhon and Cerbera, and a combination of lamp and air intake at the front. The grille is a combination of overlaying previous grille shapes to come up with something new.”

Influences came from raw sports, stunt planes and motorbikes

Like Edgar, a lot of the key investors and prospective clients are millionaires who have made their money through computer-gaming software companies. They love the noise and wildness of TVR, possibly even race one at weekends. They are a very tight group, typically driving a Porsche or Aston Martin, and have a very particular mindset.

Classic sports car proportions, with a twist (and a huge diffuser)

Richards explains that a lot of clients wanted a softly-surfaced, retro-look car with wild features. “We were restricted through current regulations. Things have changed a lot since the 1990s and that drove a lot of the package. We also needed to appeal to a more mass market for TVR in order for the business model to work.”

“We wanted more constructed surfaces, more modern. The old cars were like big jellymoulds” – David Seesing

Sketching started in May 2015, with themes being developed over that summer. “We started 3D volume studies with Alias at the same time” says Seesing.

Underside view by Ewan Gallimore, showing the aerodynamic flat floor

“We were quite quickly into two main themes, also two themes for the front end. The rear required more work, due to the aerodynamics and the diffuser. There was also a big theme change due to styling developments we noted as the project developed. We decided to move away from this initial theme, try something new on the rear.”

The project was done under a tight budget and timing, with the team never working on it full-time as there was always other GMD project work going on too.

Seesing working on the 40% scale model

For this reason, the modelling process was slightly unusual. An initial 30% scale clay model was done, but then the plan changed. “I was used to 30% models at Bentley and Mercedes. The plan was to go to a full-size clay but we realized the budget was not going to allow that” says Seesing.

As a result, the 30% model was scanned and into imported into Alias, where the necessary adjustments were made before the car was re-milled at 40% scale, as a compromise to work out the details of the design.

40% scale model was initially asymmetrical, to trial two different themes

Development on this model continued until one theme was selected. It was then re-scanned, refined in Alias and re-milled once more, with another set of outside reviews with the model finished in DI-NOC. With the key investors happy with the design, it was decided to mill out a hard, full-size model for final development.

Initial full-size model was later revised; rear axle pushed 70mm back, plus more aggressive surfacing…

“At this point we had London Motor Show in May 2016 sprung upon us. That wasn’t in the plan” says Richards. “But it helped us seeing it in fully-dressed 1:1 form slightly earlier.” The full-size model was displayed only as a silhouette under a sheet, but shown to key investors and selected TVR customers during the show.

…resulted in the version shown to VIPs and early customers

Seesing continues: “I was quite happy how the design had translated from 40% to 100%. Normally you’d make a number of changes but the client needed to use it for investors, so there was little opportunity. We had to make some fast judgements on the likely changes using all our skill, even on the first couple of milling cuts, if we saw problems. We were able to modify the Alias file and give new data quickly by being proactive.”

Goodwood show car, displayed in Gordon Murray Automotive

Changes included a 70mm increase in wheelbase, 50mm increase in width and a bolder bodyside treatment.

Interior

Interior was designed by Zachary Seward and Michal Vicek

Design work for the interior was proceeding too. To develop the theme and ergonomics, an interior buck was built using simple blue foam sections to establish the architecture, but the team needed to communicate their design to the investors.

Zac Seward explains: “The clients were petrolheads but did not fully understand the design process. Trying to explain in 2D didn’t work; they were struggling to understand our sketches. They were focusing on air vents rather than on the form and volumes of the interior. We built a relationship with them over time. Both sides were learning – we had to learn how to explain our ideas to them too.”

A clean steering wheel, with the major switches flanking the IP

Seeing agrees: “These were software entrepreneurs, not usual senior management in the auto business. The usual understandings of sketches and Alias models, they don’t have that. It was difficult on the exterior, impossible on the interior.”

As with the exterior, there was little budget for detailed clay work and the resulting model was thus mainly developed in Alias – particularly for the instrument binnacle and surrounding switchgear, although the buck was used to develop good ergonomics and leg swings into the car.

Render by Zac Seward. Close attention was paid to providing easy access

A bonnet model was added too, to understand the forward field of vision. “The first time we sat in it with the bonnet model on and someone stood in front of the car, it was amazing how far away they were!” recalls Ewan Gallimore.

“Clients sat in the interior buck [and] they liked it – especially the generous door access” continues Seward. “Gordon Murray wanted it very driver-focused as well, a lot of instruments and finger-tip controls, a bit of F1 influence. So it was very key to try to educate clients to buy into that, which was good.”

Symmetrical dash makes driver and passenger areas interchangeable

The Griffith uses a Ford ‘Coyote’ 5.0-litre V8, thoroughly reworked by Cosworth to provide 480bhp and have a uniquely brutal sound. The initial production run in 2019 will be of 500 cars, all pre-sold to customers at around £90,000 with £5000 paid deposits. After that, the company plans to make 1000 cars per year from a new £30M factory in Ebbw Vale, South Wales.

Packaging the exhausts was tricky. “It’s almost like an intestine!” – Gallimore

The team emphasise that the Griffith is but the first step in the model plans, with more derivatives to come in future.

Gallimore sums up the result: “It gives something to build upon. Some were wanting a Sagaris straight out of the box, but David wanted to pull it back – a more restrained approach to provide a platform to go that far later on.”

TVR Griffith

Start of the project:
May 2015

End of the project:
September 2017

Creative Design Director, GMD
Kevin Richards

Exterior Team:
David Seesing, lead designer
Ewan Gallimore

Interior Team:
Zachary Seward, senior designer
Michal Vicek