TVR Tuscan Red Rose Hire

Our TVR Tuscan 4.0 Red Rose

This is one of our two Tuscans; a 4.0 litre Red Rose in GTS Blue Pearl with Portland Grey leather interior. This is a Mark 1 Tuscan first registered in 2000.

The engine is TVRs own Speed 6 which has a straight 6 cylinder block. The Red Rose version was uprated from the standard engine and TVR reckoned on about 380 bhp. The power delivery is progressive and smooth right up to the red line. It sounds pretty fantastic too with plenty of pops and bangs when you lift off.

We have acquired this car for the 2012 season and it is in fairly good condition for a car of its age. It has superb kerb appeal but on close inspection there are some small scratches and marks on the bodywork; if this matters to you then please have a look at our other Tuscan which is better in comparison.

Should you need to use it, the performance of this car is astonishing, with the 0 to 60 sprint quoted at 4.2 seconds. However it is very well mannered on the road and you quite quickly get used to driving it like a 'normal' car.

Everyone that drives the Tuscan is thrilled by the experience. It is rare enough to turn heads and create an interest wherever it goes and is an exciting drive whatever the occasion may be.

The Tuscan really does define what performance car hire is all about.

TVR Tuscan Driving Experience

The Tuscan is a right hand drive 2 seater rear wheel drive sports car with a 5 speed manual gearbox.

Due to the race-engineered specifications of the engine, it requires carefully warming up each time the car is driven. This involves observing a rev limit for a few minutes until the oil temperature is sufficiently high enough to do its job properly. In practice, particularly during the summer, by the time you have found an open road the car is usually ready to show you what it can do.

Luggage wise; it has a parcel shelf behind the seats which is adequate for putting a couple of small pieces of luggage. The boot space is surprisingly large, with sufficient space for a couple of decent sized bags, in fact it makes the car quite good as a grand tourer for longer trips.

The car has a manually removable targa-top panel which fits into the top of the boot space without taking up much room, plus a removable rear plexi glass window which also fits neatly into the boot. With both items safely stored away, the car feels like a convertible but with the added safety of the bodywork looping overhead.

The Tuscan benefits from power steering but no other driver aids.

There are disc brakes all round, which are pretty good, but no ABS. Therefore care is needed when standing on the brake pedal.

Also, with no traction control there is only driver control preventing the rear wheels from spinning and the back end overtaking the front end. Care is especially needed in the wet. There are no air bags should you get it wrong.

Don't be put off by this though, as driven sensibly the TVR Tuscan is a capable, refined, modern sports car which is very rewarding to drive in the true spirit of all classic and contemporary TVRs.

We will familiarise you with the car during the Driver Briefing when you come to pick it up.

TVR Tuscan History

During the nineties TVR embarked on an ambitious project to build their own engines, a straight 6 and a V8.

The straight 6 was called the Speed 6 and TVR initially announced in 1996 that this would be fitted into a Griffith.

However, the first car to be shown with the engine in it was a Cerbera in 1997.

The first car actually to be specifically designed to take this new powerplant though was in fact the Tuscan, which possibly owes much to the E-Type Jaguar for it's design inspiration - the long sweeping bonnet with the straight 6 flexing it's muscles underneath.

The TVR Tuscan was launched in 1999, with the option of a 3.6 or 4 litre Speed 6 with 350 or 360 bhp respectively. Autocar magazine said that it 'makes the (Porsche) Boxster look slow, unimaginative, overpriced and underpowered'. You can't argue with that.

In 2001, the Tuscan made it's blockbuster debut when it was used in the film 'Swordfish' starring John Travolta, who was mightily impressed with the car.

Subsequent model upgrades were the 'S' and the 'Red Rose' versions which were followed by the Mk2 released in October 2005.

The Tuscan Mk2 was used on 'Top Gear' when Jackie Stewart was tasked with teaching 'Captain Slow' James May to improve his track driving lap times. The car was judged to handle very well.

The Mk2 S and the Tuscan Convertible were the pinnacle of the design development of the car and they were both still in production when the TVR factory sadly closed in 2007.

As TVR's own marketing said 'No other car engenders a sense of occasion quite like the Tuscan. Every journey in this spectacular car is unique and memorable, to which the attention it attracts, first by its low snarl and then by its anomalous design, gives glowing testimony.'