Priced to sell!!
Hofmann’s are proud to present this 1965 FIA Homologated, class winning, TVR Griffith 200 Race car.
The tale of the Griffith has become the stuff of legends. The story goes that Gerry Sagerman, a North American racing driver and TVR USA importer, was getting his personal race car, a MkIII Grantura, tuned in Jack Griffith’s workshop at the same time as Mark Donohue, a former TVR racer, was having his AC Cobra serviced there. According to the account, Griffith’s mechanics decided to swap the engines “just because,” but the transplant was not successful. Nevertheless, Griffith was intrigued by the idea, and with the help of David Hives, who redesigned the chassis to accommodate the V8 engine, they were eventually able to make it work with a fully engineered version. Thus, the original Griffith was born, with significant contributions from Blackpool.
This particular TVR Griffith (chassis 14) was built 10th Feb 1965 and first registered on 17th March 1965. According to the Buff logbook, which comes complete with the car, it left the factory a timeless shade of Silver but during its complete rebuild and race preparation was resprayed in an attractive White. Built to FIA Appendix K Period F specification, it boasts a historical technical passport that is valid until December 31st, 2027, making it eligible for historic racing events and adding to its exclusivity.
With just 35,000 miles on the clock, this car is a prime example of a well-maintained classic. It is one of only approximately 42 UK-built TVR Griffiths with the desirable ‘Manx’ tail, making it an even more sought-after model. When we contacted Mike Mooney, Author of the book ‘The Griffith Years’ about the car his comment was, “The history of 014 is one of the best in our registry”. Octane magazine tested and featured the car in their November 2013 edition, commenting, “it sounds fabulous, and goes with ballistic gusto to match, feeling even faster than our tuned Griffith 400 yet easier to handle”.
This TVR Griffith has an impressive, documented ownership history dating back to its original owner. Over the years, it has been in the hands of several distinguished owners, including esteemed Historic Racer Jackie Cochrane, John Eales of JE Developments, and Willie Green who commissioned most of the restoration and race preparation with the sole intention of winning more races.
Willie Green, the infamous and successful National race driver, purchased the car as an incomplete restoration project and later sold it to Jackie Cochrane, who fitted it with a Ford 289 racing engine built by his friend Peter Knight. This upgrade has made this Griffith an even more potent machine, capable of impressive performance on the road or track. The engine fitted was used by Peter Knight as his ‘dyno development’ engine meaning it was the state-of-the-art specification at the point of installation and boast some 435bhp (car comes complete with dyno print out).
More recently the car has undergone a thorough race preparation by Hofmann’s of Henley to ready it for the 2024 season. This preparation included fitting a new fire suppression system, complete new Teflon braided fuel lines, new harnesses, complete new fluids, upgraded brake system as well as improvements to the driving position and driver controls.
TVR’s of this type have proven brutally successful in current FIA sanctioned race championships and in the opening race of 2023 ‘Masters Gentleman’s Drivers’ race they boxed out the top 4 qualifying positions and won the race.
This Griffith competed in its first race at the fearsomely fast Thuxton circuit in May 2023. Pitted against similar FIA Appendix K machinery the car romped home 1st in class and 2nd overall. Driver Fabio Randaccio commented after the race, “WHAT a car, the performance is phenomenal and I’m so pleased to bring home a class win on its first outing. With some more time behind the wheel and some setup tweaks there are seconds more to come too.”
Available now at Hofmann’s Henley-on-Thames, this vehicle represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a piece of automotive history. Don’t miss your chance to own this beautiful and rare TVR Griffith.
Viewings by appointment only.