Description
Road-test video now on the website and YouTube. Go to the Shmoo Automotive website, or YouTube channel to watch it. Not that slick, as wasn't planned, but it's interesting to hear it, and see it on the move, I hope? :)
TVR White Elephant 5. 0 V8 - Peter Wheeler Prototype
The TVR White Elephant..... A very special car.
GET IN TOUCH IF YOU HAVE A VERY, VERY SERIOUS OFFER - PX POSSIBLE I love cars/ bikes, so always like an interesting car/ bike/ truck/ campervan, etc, etc. Get in touch if that brings things into play for you. :) - Ed.
This is the well-known prototype built in 1988 as a platform for the development of the TVR product into the 1990s. (TVR didn't end up going in this direction, or with the Holden powerplant, so hence the name of the car..).
The car did however, get used for some 27, 000 miles by the Chairman Peter Wheeler. Famously, he had a special seat designed for his dog, Ned, which you can see from the cutout behind the passenger seat, and a special storage area for his shotgun/ shooting paraphernalia. Ned apparently preferred the front seat, but it's the thought that counts hey? :)
Fitted with a pre-production prototype SS Group A SV engine and the first TVR to be equipped with a T5 box. The same engine that went into the 1988 HSV VL SS Group A SV, also known as the "Walkinshaw," a limited-edition Holden Commodore built for Australian Group A touring car racing homologation. Sitting on a modified SEAC chassis.
The car was sold by Peter Wheeler in 2004, to Howard Bryan. Howard had been asking Peter for many years if he could buy the car, and the week before Wheeler sold the TVR Car company to Nicolai Smolenski, he was rewarded for his persistence. The car was a total wreck, so over the next decade, Howard and a large group of ex-TVR Factory employees set about the task of rebuilding the car. This included an engine rebuild by Ric Wood Motorsport and many, many hours of work to get the car back to its former glory. There is an extensive history file, and 100's of photos of the car during this period. It was featured in many magazines and won plenty of awards at various shows after its completion, and beyond.
Howard sold the car to me in June 2024, something we'd been talking about for a couple of years. Since then, I've had my TVR Tech go over it and we've carried out a few improvements. I've only done a handful of miles in it, and only taken it to one show this summer, where it turned a lot of heads.
In the 37 years since it was built, the car has never been for sale on the open market, until now. A car that is a significant part of TVRs history, and could most certainly be featured in any museum or exhibition for TVR/ British cars. Maybe that's where it will end up one day?
I would hope that it will stay in the UK, but there is obviously an attraction for this car to Australian and US collectors. If you would like to speak to me about the possibility of EXPORT, give me a call, or if you'd like a shipping quote, see my Global Sales page for a direct link to my Shipping contact, which can be found on my website - Shmoo Automotive.
GET IN TOUCH IF YOU HAVE A VERY, VERY SERIOUS OFFER - PX considered, always like an interesting car/ bike/ truck/ campervan, etc, etc.
There are many articles and magazine features about this car, some of you will know the story, and some of you will be hearing it for the first time.
If you'd like to read a few of those, head over to my website - Shmoo Automotive, where you'll find further information and videos of the car. You'll also find some videos of the car on my Instagram channel, just search 'Shmoo Automotive' as I can't put a link on this platform, sorry.
PART EXCHANGE: I've been asked if I'd look at a px, or several px's. The answer is yes if they are of interest. As I also have a motorcycle background, these can be considered if helpful. Obviously, any px coming from outside of the UK will be subject to import duty and VAT. If over 30 years old, this is reduced somewhat, but it does need to be taken into consideration. Ed
