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TVR Speed 12
The TVR Cerbera Speed 12, originally known as the Project 7/12, was a high performance concept car designed by TVR in 1997. Based in part on then-current TVR hardware, the vehicle was intended to be both the world's highest performance road car and the basis for a GT1 class endurance racer. However, problems during its development, changing GT1 class regulations and the eventual decision that it was simply incapable of being used as a road car ended the idea, forcing TVR executives to abandon its development.
The vehicle's engine, displacing 7.7 litres and having twelve cylinders, was reportedly capable of producing nearly one thousand horsepower, although an exact measurement was never made. Nonetheless, its performance was said to be astonishing, and it may have been capable of hitting sixty miles per hour in the low-three second range and have a top speed close to that of the McLaren F1.[2]
History
Project 7/12 concept The vehicle, known as the TVR Project 7/12, first appeared at the 1996 Birmingham Motorshow and dominated the show once it was unveiled, attracting more crowds than any other cars in the show. The number "7" referred to the seven litre engine (though it was actually 7.7 litres), and "12" for the number of cylinders in the engine. TVR said it would have over 800 bhp (600 kW) and be faster than the McLaren F1; the first concepts shown were based on in-development FIA GT1 class race car that was current at that time. It would be restricted to a more modest 660 bhp (490 kW) but the weight would be kept at roughly 1000 kilograms. The road car would weigh the same, but without the restrictors, the power was greatly increased, TVR officially said it had 800 bhp (600 kW), but the real figure was never properly recorded. It had a specially built 6-speed manual transmission and clutch. The engine was basically two TVR AJP6 straight-6 engines mated on a single crankshaft. Unusually for an automobile of its type, the Speed Twelve's engine block was not constructed of cast iron or aluminium alloy, but rather of steel.
