2003 TVR T350T

‘BB53 TVR’, which is a Montreal Blue TVR T350T from 2003, has been in the seller’s care for the past four years. He’s been a TVR enthusiast for the past 25 years and was delighted to be able to tick the T350T off his Bucket List: “It’s THE model to have,” he laughed. “Well, after the Tamora I had before, of course!”

Regularly serviced with a good history, it is thought to have been off the road between 2014-ish and 2020, something that helps explain the low odometer reading of just 40,000 miles.

Freshly MoT’d and running well, it also benefits from a full engine rebuild by marque experts Racing Green.
 

The T350T is a helluva shape, isn’t it? All purposeful curves and moody aerodynamics, while the front is sleek and attractive the rear end is brutally truncated and a triumph of function over form.

We love it.

We love the Montreal Blue colour, too. Bright and timeless without coming within a stone’s throw of gaudy, it is eye-catching and in a very good condition.

The panels align very well, offering neat and consistent shutlines and a suitably impressive canvas for the striking paint. This too has survived the passage of 22 years with impressive aplomb, showing little more than the usual stonechips and minor marks every car collects over the decades.

But then it has been well curated, including the vulnerable 18-inch Spider alloy wheels; the offside front has been refurbished only recently, which means it, like all the rest, is free of scuffs, scrapes and other kerbing damage.

Str8six replaced the rear tyres in November 2024, fitting 235/40ZR18 Toyo Proxes Sport 2 to match the 225/35ZR18 Toyo Proxes T1 Sport that were already fitted on the front. This means all four are in good shape with plenty of tread left on them, although the front tyres are getting old as they were fitted back in 2011.

As for the clever targa roof that gives you all the fresh air you want while retaining coupé-level chassis rigidity, the body-coloured carbonfibre roof panels fit their apertures well, fitting snugly and giving excellent weatherproofing, something the unstained leather headlining around them reinforces.

Flaws are minimal: there are some scratches on the nearside rear of the bonnet, and some untidiness around both rear side windows. 
 

The interior is a swooping riot of two-tone blue and cream leather that serves as a background for TVR-typical design flourishes such as the drilled alloy hinges for the tailgate, the alloy floor-mounted pedals, the chunky Personal steering wheel, and the diminutive gearlever and fat alloy gear knob.

Only TVR could combine design brilliance with such a design aesthetic to create one of the very nicest cockpits of any car at any price.

The blue-and-cream seats, which hug you as firmly as you could hope for given the TVR’s predilection for high-G jinks, are in great shape. Even the driver’s seat outer bolster is free of colour loss and significant creases, and there’s nothing that’s even close to cracks or other wear.

The alloy controls and switches are an absolute delight, as is the thick-rimmed steering wheel; the T350T is a very tactile sportscar.

The leather-covered dashboard is in great shape too with no peeling, cracking, or shrinking; this is clearly not a car that’s been left to fester in the sunlight for weeks at a time.

The carpets are good too, as are the door cards; neither show any significant wear.

Being able to enjoy the bare carbonfibre on the underside of the targa tops is a nice flourish too; after all, if you’ve got it, why not flaunt it? They still have their storage cases too, so there’s no excuse for not keeping them looking this good, either.

The combined speedometer/rev counter manages to combine minimalism with a modest digital display that offers the driver all the information on their engine’s condition they could ever need. Very clever.

Even the boot is more capacious than you might think, with plenty of space in their for luggage for a fortnight touring Europe. It’s also as well trimmed and maintained as the rest of the cabin, and has a retractable cover to keep your belongings out of view.

All of which means that there really isn’t much for the new owner to do apart from maybe clean the bottom of the driver’s door card. 
 

The TVR’s full service history is documented in the gallery with eleven service book stamps from 2003 through to 2024.

Racing Green rebuilt the engine immediately prior to the seller buying it from them in 2021, and a letter to that effect is in the history file.

Nor does it end there because Str8Six, the independent specialists, fitted an offside front lower wishbone, new rear springs, a high-pressure power steering hose, the front hard brake lines, an engine mount, and an oil temperature sensor in November 2024. The bill, which included refurbishing the offside front wheel and fitting two new rear tyres, came to a shade under £4,000.

This builds on previous work by them in September 2022, which ran up a bill for £1,858. This is on file, along with others from previous years and garages, and it’s worth reading them to understand the money-no-object regimen it’s enjoyed in recent years.

As you’d expect, the engine starts well and the counter-rotating rev counter flicks up and down the range very quickly for a straight-six engine - and it does so with that characteristic TVR roar you feel as much as you hear; few cars sound better, and we can’t imagine ever getting tired of the noise from the two exhaust tailpipes.

The engine bay is neatly presented without being so OTT you’d be afraid to use it.

As for the underside, apart from the odd area of flaking paint and a few rusty fasteners, we can’t see much under there to keep you occupied this coming winter. Sorry. 
 

The TVR’s MoT certificate is valid until April 2026 – and the only advisory was for “FULL UNDERBODY PROTECTION”. Quite why the MoT tester felt the need to shout about that is unclear. Certainly, none of the previous examiners were triggered in the same way…

The recent Vehicle History Check is clear, and it comes with two sets of keys, a brochure, and plenty of invoices for work over recent years. 
 

No-one does brutish sportscars better than the Brits, and no-one does it better than TVR. Utterly gorgeous and very rare, the T350T also goes like a scalded rat and handles like a Scalextric car that’s been dipped in honey.

A beguiling blend of contemporary design and old school analogue engineering – the only driver aid is the power steering – the T350T draws a crowd wherever it goes.

In fact, the only problem with ‘em is that there are few more beautiful ways to kill yourself and/or your bank balance if you buy the wrong one.

Not that that should be a problem here because this is a nicely maintained example that’s had significant sums spent on it in the past five years, including the all-important engine rebuild.

And, despite its condition, we suspect the hammer will fall somewhere between £28,000 and £32,000.

Which might leave you a bit left in the kitty for a pair of new front tyres and a day or two of driver training to help you get the most out of it. 

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