In memory of Jack Griffith
01/16/2017
Too many people in this country will probably not have known Jack Griffith . The American, born around 90 years ago, gave us the (TVR) Griffith. Cars determined his career early on in his life, but it was not until 1962 that he brought out the sports car that was to bear his name. The idea is said to have originated at a dinner with Carroll Shelby. In any case, Griffith had the Ford V8 4.7-liter engine installed in the small TVR Grantura, which had otherwise achieved respectable racing results with MG-A four-cylinder engines.
To accommodate the mighty Ford engine in the narrow tubular frame chassis, some tubes had to be bent with a hammer, others even removed, but in the end the V8 fitted under the hood of the Grantura and the Griffith was ready, a 271 hp sports car weighing just under 1000 kg with a wheelbase barely longer than that of a Mini. It goes without saying that the result was difficult to drive; after all, the Grantura was significantly heavier at the front due to the cure, while the less loaded rear axle had to cope with much more power. But those who managed to tame the beast, like test driver and developer Mark Donohue, were quick on the road. And it still is today, as the TVR Griffith usually leads the field in historic races.
Almost 200 of these Griffith 200s were built, followed by a further 59 Griffith 400s (based on the Grantura Mk IV), then it was over. TVR took over the business itself, calling the successor the TVR Tuscan V8. It was built until the early seventies. The name itself then returned in the nineties with the TVR Griffith with a Rover V8 engine, but this no longer had anything to do with Jack Griffith.
Griffith then built the Griffith 600 together with Carrozzeria Intermeccanica, but no more than 10 of these were produced.
However, he remained loyal to the car, built the Amelia Island Concours d'Elégance together with Bill Warner in 1996 and participated until the end of his life, which he finally reached on January 8, 2017 at the age of 90. We will not forget him!
