2002 TVR TUSCAN Speed Six

Finished in Le Mans Blue, the Tuscan has had just three owners since it was supplied new in 2002: the first kept it for two years, and the second kept it for the following 15, during which time it spent the final six years in storage.

The vendor bought it at auction from Barons in July 2019 – and, sadly, the car caught fire as he was driving it home. Str8Six, the well-known TVR specialists, has examined it and suggested that the cause was an oil leak from a perished rocker cover gasket, which allowed oil to drip onto the exhaust manifold, where it caught fire.

Luckily, a police car was directly behind the TVR at the very moment it burst into flames and they extinguished the fire very quickly, which limited the damage to the engine bay alone - and it shows! 

That’s the bad news. The good news is that the bodywork and interior are still in great condition and the limited fire damage means that the suitably talented should be able to buy it and get it up-and-running for a fraction of the cost of buying a fully fettled example.

Unfortunately we are not able to give a detailed assessment of exactly what has been damaged, but we shall try to describe as much as we can...

The Le Mans Blue paintwork and exterior panels are in remarkably good condition and look to have been almost untouched by the engine fire. Sure, there is some serious damage to the removable scuttle panel but every other panel looks good, and the top surface of the bonnet is unaffected by the fire.

So, the car still has ripple-free panels, good panel gaps, and even the paintwork is shiny and glossy. There is some light damage to the nearside front, probably a result of opening the bonnet in a hurry to extinguish the flames, but that appears to be the extent of the exterior problems bar the odd minor scuff and stone chip. As a guide, Barons rated the bodywork as a 4/5 in July 2019, and the paintwork as a 3/5.

Looking inside the engine bay, our simple visual inspection suggests that the inner wing is OK, that the heat protection material nearest the exhaust manifold - and the fire - has suffered but has not been destroyed thereby protecting the panels behind, and that the wiring loom from the front of the engine and grommet on that inner wing are visually sound. The fire and heat will have moved upwards, not downwards creating bubbles in localised areas on the bonnet underside directly above, but suggesting that parts below the engine are going to be OK.

Given the fire damage, we would strongly encourage potential bidders to come and view the car for themselves but if it helps then we can hardly believe that so much of the TVR escaped unscathed.

The alloy wheels are in very good condition, and the targa top fits and seals well.

And the rump sans spoiler, looks utterly divine, doesn’t it?

The ultra-distinctive interior as lovely as ever as it appears to have escaped any fire damage, apart from some photographed possible loom damage deep in the passenger footwell. Finished in light grey leather and a darker shade of suede, the seats are firm and supportive and show only light wear.

The carpets are good too, as are the door cards and headlining. Gold-coloured controls are dotted throughout, and while they’re more aesthetically pleasing than ergonomic, they’re delightful in their eccentricity and the antithesis of Germanic minimalism.

Fastidious owners might want to replace or recover the steering wheel as the leather has worn away in places, and the gearknob is scratched. Others – and we would probably include ourselves in this category – might like to concentrate their efforts on the rest of the car and chalk this up to patina.

As you would expect - the battery has been fully disconnected, so none of the electrical functionality can be checked.

With a full service history, we would expect the underlying mechanical components to be in good shape, although, having been in storage since 2013, the Tuscan will inevitably need some recommissioning.

As for the fire damage, the car is a Category N write-off. i.e. NON-STRUCTURAL DAMAGE and not worth the insurance company repairing it but could be perfectly safe to repair and use/insure/sell. Would make it a cheap long term investment or car for someone who's always wanted one. Str8Six have suggested that the engine can be rebuilt rather than replaced, and while the car will definitely need a new wiper, a new windscreen seal, a replacement fibreglass panel and possibly some wiring harness repairs, the work is more limited in scope than it might appear at first glance (although do not take this as a definitive list!)

A low five-figure sum has been mentioned to get it professionally repaired, but we wouldn’t suggest that potential bidders rely on that before placing a bid and we would strongly encourage you to pop along to see the car here at The Market HQ in Abingdon in order to assess the car’s condition for yourself.

The current MOT certificate runs until July 2020. The car comes with a number of expired MOT certificates plus a wonderfully fully stamped service history book to confirm the work that has been done to it. It also has the original owner’s handbook.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a very high standard.

This TVR Tuscan is a bit of an oddity; while there is fire damage to the engine bay, the exterior and interior appear unaffected and their pre-incident condition suggests that this was a much-loved example that was well looked after prior to the fire. Take a look at the oil, water and power steering caps, for example; they’re alloy rather than the original plastic jobbies, so someone loved the car enough to spend rather a lot of money on it over the years, backed up by the new, full year's MOT - carried out just before the fire.

So, it could be a straightforward job to get it back on the road. It’ll need trailering away of course, but after that a mechanically adept owner might be able to do the work at home over the coming winter. Alternatively, we would welcome your professional representatives here in Abingdon, pre-auction end, should you prefer to commission a specialist to do the work for you.

As to value, the owner is happy to let the market decide what it is worth, and so it is being offered with No Reserve, so it will sell from the very first bid. Depending on your skills and contacts, someone could end up getting a real bargain.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at The Market HQ in Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.