England-based boutique carmaker Charge Holdings has purchased TVR, saving the famed British brand from a grim fate yet again. The takeover should finally bring the Ford V-8-powered Griffith, which was unveiled in 2017, to production, and Charge announced it will steer TVR toward electrification in the coming years.
Charge has big plans for TVR; It aims to implement a multi-phase restructuring plan and ultimately create a low-volume automotive group. On paper, the deal makes sense. While TVR isn’t a household name, it’s a respected brand among enthusiasts. It lacks the resources to capitalize on its heritage, however. Charge is relatively unknown, but it’s seemingly better-funded than TVR. The two brands will leverage economies of scale by sharing technical capabilities, facilities, and funding, but they’ll keep their respective identities.
What this means for the future isn’t entirely clear yet. Charge specializes in making electric cars, including a battery-powered, resto-modded first-generation Mustang called ’67, but it’s not going to push TVR into EV territory right away. In a statement, the firm explained that TVR will remain focused on delivering the new Griffith to customers and “continue its legacy of high-performance, internal-combustion sports cars.”
Unveiled in 2017 as a close-to-production prototype, the born-again Griffith (pictured) featured a Ford-sourced 5.0-liter V-8 tuned by Cosworth to about 500 horsepower, a six-speed manual transmission, and rear-wheel drive. Gordon Murray engineered it, and it was initially scheduled to enter production in 2019. The brand missed that deadline for a variety of reasons, including a lack of funding, and the car looked dead until the takeover was announced. There’s no word on whether the Griffith will be updated, or if what we saw in 2017 is what we’ll see when production starts. We asked, and a spokesperson replied that more information about the new coupe will be revealed soon. No timeline has been provided.
Looking ahead, Charge said that TVR will expand into electrified platforms without providing additional details. The move makes sense from a regulatory standpoint: England will ban the sale of new gasoline- and diesel-powered cars in 2030, while hybrids will be allowed to stay on the market until 2035. Beyond that, every car sold new in the United Kingdom will have to be electric, though government officials could make an exemption for low-volume brands, like TVR. If the brand’s going to carry on, it makes sense for the company to play it safe.
TVR previously announced an electric Griffith, but it didn’t release technical information or a launch date. It published a sketch that suggests the EV will look a lot like the V-8-powered model without an exhaust.
Charge and TVR will update us about the merger and their future in early 2026.
