23 years
06/29/2021
That's right! In April 2021, it had been 23 years since I bought the TVR 3000 S . At the time, the car was red and third-hand, with just 19 years on the clock according to the vehicle registration document.
Why did I keep this TVR for so long, while other cars such as the Alpine A110, the Honda NSX or the Fiat Dino 2400 Spider had to make way for new acquisitions? Actually, I don't really know.
The 3000 S was my third TVR back then, I was already connected to the brand when I couldn't even drive a car. The first TVR I owned was a Taimar, followed later by a modern Griffith 500 as a new car. When I sold that one, I knew that another TVR had to find its way into my garage and when a red 3000 S came onto the market, I grabbed it.
In the course of my research, I discovered that my roadster had originally been silver and had been repainted Subaru red by the second owner.
I actually liked the color too, but when some work was needed in a few places a good 20 years ago and I had found out in the meantime that my TVR was the car on the Swiss sales brochure and the first demonstrator of the then importer Heinz Kobel, I decided that it should also be returned to its original color (silver metallic).
4374 FM had been built in May 1978, presumably as one of the first left-hand drive 3000 S ever. The type test in Switzerland was carried out with exactly this car.
In the meantime, I have owned this really comprehensively documented TVR for almost two dozen years and even today, every drive gives me great pleasure. The sound of the Essex V6 in my ears makes even the shortest routes an experience. The shape still appeals today and the technology has proven to be very reliable.
In terms of value, little has happened in recent years and prices have certainly not exploded. But the TVR was a trouble-free companion, and I drove it to the British Car Meeting in Mollis and also to Morges several times. That connects.
Only 258 TVR 3000 S were built in 1978 and 1979, before a completely new design language was introduced with the Tasmin. Later on, there were a few retro versions that borrowed design cues from the 3000 S, but purebred roadsters with windshields were of course no longer in vogue in the 1990s.
Unless something extraordinary happens, I will probably remain loyal to 4374 FM for a while yet ...
