The TVRS series, a line of sports cars, was announced at the 1986 British International Motor Show. Due to a massive positive response, the car went into production in less than 12 months, with 250 pre-manufacture orders. This was Peter Wheeler's first major development since buying the company from Martin Lilley, and the turning point in TVR's fortunes. Between 1986 and 1994 2,604 S-series cars were made; 410 of these were of the V8S variety.
S1/S2/S3(C)/S4C
The V6 S-series cars used Ford's Cologne V6 in 2.8 L, 160 hp and 2.9 L, 170 hp forms. The early "S" cars are often referred to as "S1"s, to distinguish them from later iterations. The S3 and S4c received longer doors, although some late S2's were also thus equipped. The S3c and S4c had catalytic converters. S1s are becoming increasingly rare with only 78 licensed and 224 SORN Vehicle models ending with "C" were used to denote vehicles which were fitted with a catalytic converter. Only the S3 and S4 were fitted with catalysts. A catalytic converter standard in the UK was only introduced in August 1992, at "K" registration; catalyzed earlier cars were intended for export to markets with tighter emissions standards.
V8S
The standard specification of the V8S included ½ hide leather interior, walnut trim, mohair hood, OZ alloy wheels, driving lamps, electric windows and door mirrors. The V8S contains a 4.0 L fuel-injectedRover V8 engine, with gas-flowed cylinder heads, higher lift camshaft, compression ratio upped to 10:5:1, revised manifold, new chip for the engine management system and a limited slip differential. The result is at 5250 rpm and of torque at 3000 rpm. The V8S has a number of cosmetic differences over the V6. The bonnet has a large hump - created to house the Italian specification supercharger but carried over to all V8S models. Picture of S3 on the left, and V8S on the right showing the 2 main bonnet styles. The V8S has a small vent facing the windscreen, whereas S1 to S3 models face forward. Very late S3 and S4 models had no hump at all. As with all TVR's there is no specific point in time when they changed styles. The suspension track is slightly wider on the V8S achieved with revised wishbones at the front and revised trailing arms at the rear. Disc brakes are fitted all round. 0-60 mph could be achieved in 4.9 seconds and 0-100 mph in 12.9 seconds. It was faster than an Aston Martin Virage, a Ferrari Testarossa, Lotus Esprit Turbo SE and Porsche Carrera 2 the supercars of the early 1990s.
2-litre V8S
The TVR 2-litre V8S was a 2-litre supercharged version of the V8S - this was created for the Italian market in response to their car taxation based on engine capacity. The engine was a modified 3.5 litre Rover V8 fitted with a smaller-throw crank to reduce the engine capacity, retaining the 88.9 mm bore but with a short stroke of 40.25 mm. This meant a displacement of, with a compression rate of 8.0:1. Lucaselectronic fuel injection was fitted, along with an intercooledEaton supercharger. All of this produced at 6,200 rpm and at 3,700 rpm. Performance was on par with the bigger V8s, with a top speed of and 0–100 km/h coming up in 6.5 seconds. Ventilated disc brakes were fitted up front, and the 2-litre V8 also got adjustable ride height hydraulic shocks. There is at this time only one known to exist.
A 1989 TVR S2 was restored on the UK television seriesWheeler Dealers, first shown on the Discovery Realtime channel on 3 November 2009. Series 6, Episodes 15 and 16. A TVR S2 was used in the classic British Sports cars challenge on Top Gearin series 15 episode 6, bought by James May. It lapped the Lotus test track in 2:15.09 minutes.
