Built by TVR's Motorsport Division, it is intended to be built in a variety of versions, ranging from fast road to full race GT car. Customers will be invited to liaise closely with the factory during the build of what is effectively a bespoke car based on the chassis of the Cerbera Speed 12. They will be able to specify power outputs of up to 450 bhp, determine the car's suspension settings, decide whether to have two seats or four and so on.

The Tuscan R is some eight inches longer than the Tuscan but, thanks to the extensive use of composites and Kevlar, weighs only around 1000 kg, which is light for so large a car. The engine is TVR's straight-six, which will be available in various guises with a sequential gearbox. In its ultimate form, it offers a power-to-weight ratio of 450 bhp per ton.

Limited numbers of the Tuscan R will be built, the first five destined for the British GT championship. Deliveries are planned for the spring of next year.

200mph Tuscan

TVR's fearsome Tuscan R has finally broken cover in production-ready form. Due to hit the road in the next two months, the R has had a long gestation period while its advanced carbonfibre construction and the launch of the crucial, entry-level Tamora stretched resources at Blackpool to the limit.

But now it's here, and all the signs are it will be the most exciting TVR yet. According to the company, the Tuscan R will carry up to four people to over 200mph, get from rest to a hundred in less than 8 seconds, and offer more raw driving thrills than any other car on sale.

At £75,000 the R is being pitched higher than any previous production TVR – and above established icons such as the 911 – but the company expects its most extreme road car to attract a very particular type of customer. According to Ben Samuelson, head of marketing and communications, TVR is excited by the mix of enthusiasts lining up for the R: 'There are a number of diehard TVR fans trading up to the Tuscan R but we've also attracted new customers who like the exclusivity of the R – people who wouldn't have considered a TVR in the past. We only expect to build 25-50 examples per year.'

The Tuscan R will undoubtedly be something of a trackday weapon. Its specification is astonishing. The 4-litre straight-six will produce 440bhp in its final state of tune. Combined with a kerb weight of less than 1000kg, performance will be explosive. No current Porsche, Lamborghini or Ferrari will live with the R in a straight line.

The suspension will employ double wishbones all round and the car will ride on 19in front and 20in rear wheels. 'The chassis is incredibly stiff and as a result the suspension can be set up very much like a racing car,' says Samuelson. 'The R will have fully adjustable suspension so that customers can drive to the track on road settings, adjust it to track-spec and enjoy a real race-car experience.'

You wouldn't expect a TVR to be the last word in cutting-edge technology – and there will be no ABS, airbags or traction control – but the R will feature a sequential manual gearbox operated by a conventionally located gearstick. Unlike systems found in Ferraris and BMW's M3, the TVR 'box will still have a clutch pedal and will be very much a racing system with brutally fast changes – the closest thing to a touring car system for the road.

The Tuscan R uses the traditional TVR tubular steel backbone chassis although an aluminium honeycomb floor, which curves up to form a virtual aluminium tub, together with additional steel tubing means that the structure is more than twice as stiff as that of the regular Tuscan. The wheelbase is 200mm longer and both front and rear tracks are 100mm wider.

The main weight-saving has been in the adoption of carbonfibre for the body. It is incredibly light and stiff and helps keep the total weight down to around 1000kg despite the substantial chassis. TVR will make the bodies in-house. 'We've developed our own kind of carbonfibre which is easy to paint – traditionally a real problem with the material. Unfortunately it is a very expensive process and means that cars like the Tamora won't be built from carbonfibre in the near future – but the R is so high-spec it is important that we didn't cut any corners in its development,' says Samuelson.

The Tuscan R promises to deliver raw thrills and stunning performance in the best TVR tradition but the carbonfibre construction, sequential 'box and fully-adjustable suspension should bring an extra dynamic polish to frighten the likes of Porsche like never before. The first customers could be taking delivery as early as next month and they're sure to be in for an exciting drive home.

Now TVR is getting really serious, with this, the Tuscan R. Powered by either its homegrown 4-litre 380bhp straight-six or a new 450bhp 4.2-litre version red-lined at 8000rpm, the fastback Tuscan is going to be a storming GT car on road or track.

Peter Wheeler says he has always liked the idea of a 200mph car with room for two kids and a dog, and this is the result. Already the first five have been sold for use in the British GT Championship.

The R is based loosely on the regular Tuscan road car body but weighs in at around 1000kg thanks to panels made of carbonfibre and kevlar composites. That should give it a power-to-weight ratio of 450bhp/ton – almost twice that of the 911 Turbo.

The chassis is new and designed along the same lines as the Cerbera Speed 12’s, with an optional integral roll-cage curling round the cabin. It’s eight inches longer than the Tuscan road car chassis too, which should aid stability and also makes it a real 2+2, offering a couple more inches of legroom and headroom than the Cerbera. If you prefer, instead of rear seats you can specify a long-range fuel tank, or increase the available luggage space.

That’s the point of the Tuscan R – you choose the specification to match your needs, from suspension set-up to engine tune. Although the car is ordered through the dealer network, it’s a sort of ‘Gold Card’ TVR, the factory inviting buyers to special works visits and track days, and servicing will be carried out at the factory in Blackpool. The car will be built by TVR’s motorsport division, which also builds the Tuscan race cars.

It’s an elegant yet aggressive shape, with a distinctive high tail rump and venturi-style underbody, which should help keep the car stuck to the road as it approaches its projected top speed of 200mph. An opening rear window will give access to the luggage area. Up front, the Tuscan nose has been reshaped, with one less headlamp embedded either side of the low-slung air intake, which loses the ‘Swiss cheese’ grille. Prices start from £69,995.

TVR had kept the development of the car a closely guarded secret, and true to tradition, the show car was finished just before the NEC doors opened.

The TVR Tuscan R is a TVR with less compromise. Its engineers have been able to focus on outright performance without being unduly restricted by NVH. Every Tuscan R is manufactured to order by the TVR Motorsport Division and is designed to be available in many different permutations from very fast roadgoing 2+2 through to full race GT car.

This takes bespoke manufacturing far further than TVR has been in recent history. Customers will be able to choose not just the colour and trim combinations for their car but also what hardware there is under the skin and how it is tuned. The engines will develop up to 450 bhp and will rev up to 8,000 rpm and the suspension can be tuned to the customers' wishes. Cars can be fitted with full roll cages and can be tuned towards track day and even racing use. A range of seating packages is available which varies from full hide luxury to carbon kevlar race seats. Two or four seats are possible and with the two seat option either increased luggage space or long-range fuel tanks can be specified. If the four seat option is chosen, there is a couple more inches of both legroom and headroom in the back than there is in the Cerbera and the front seats are hinged to make access to the rear easier.

Due to the highly bespoke nature of the car, the relationship between factory and customer will be even closer than normal. Although the car will be sold through the dealer network, demonstrations and the in-depth personalisation process will be directly with the factory as will major servicing work. Ownership of the car will bring many advantages including special visits to the factory, track days, hospitality at race meetings and an individual range of merchandising.

The chassis is all new with stressed aluminium honeycomb panels along the same lines as those in the Cerbera Speed 12. It is also 8 inches longer than that of the Tuscan Speed Six. Due to the car's very high top speed and necessary aerodynamics, the ride will be somewhat less compliant than that of other TVRs but this can be adjusted to suit individual customers.

The styling picks up its cues from the Tuscan Speed Six but all the panels and even the headlights are completely new. The body is manufactured out of a composite blend of carbon and kevlar and helps the car towards its target weight of 1,000 kg which is remarkably light for such a large and strong car.

The engine is a very high performance version of TVR's own straight six cylinder engine which will be available in a number of different variants including a 4.2 litre as well as optionally being mated with TVR's sequential gearbox. Power output will go up to 450bhp which will give this car a power to weight ratio of 450 bhp/tonne (cf Ferrari 550 Maranello's 287, Porsche 911 Turbo's 272 and Lamborghini Diablo GT's 392).

Very limited numbers of this 200+ mph car are going to be built and the first five have already been sold for racing use in the British GT championship. Demand is sure to be strong.