TVR Griffith back to beat the 911

TVR has pulled the drapes off its long-awaited all-new sports car, the Griffith, that will relaunch the famous British car maker.

Unveiled at the Goodwood Revival late last night, small powerful rear-wheel drive coupe marks the return to manufacturing after a break of more than a decade.

On sale in 2019, pricing for the early Launch Edition has been confirmed to begin from £90,000 ($A135,000).

Described by its creators as a "British muscle car" that will "offer a level of sophistication, comfort and practicality never seen by the brand before", the new Griffith will square-up to rivals like Porsche's 911, the Jaguar F-TYPE and the next-generation Aston Martin Vantage V8.

Measuring in at 4314mm long, 1850mm wide and standing 1239mm tall, the Brit coupe is a considerable 214mm shorter, and some 45mm lower than the current Porsche 911 GTS while, thanks to a carbon-fibre composite-rich structure, the TVR weighs less than 1250kg - an incredible 250+kg lighter than the German.

That impossibly low kerbweight – around the same weight as Holden's Barina – means the Griffith comes with a mighty power-to-weight ratio of around 298kW (400hp) per tonne.

Even the entry-level 5.0-litre V8, that's been developed by Cosworth, produces around 370kW. This ensures performance that is among the best in its class.

TVR claims the Griffith will hit 100km/h in less than four seconds, with a top speed in excess of 200mph (322km/h.)

Instead of a complex dual-clutch transmission, the TVR sticks to a traditional Tremec-sourced six-speed manual gearbox.

Placing the engine behind the front axle, TVR says it has achieved a perfect 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution. Combine that with all round double wishbone suspension and adjustable coil-over dampers and the new Griffith promises to be among the best to drive in its class.

Boosting stability at high speeds, the new TVR Griffith gets advanced aerodynamic features that includes the usual front splitter and larger rear spoiler plus a race-car's completely flat floor that's claimed to produce a 'ground-effect' downforce.

The TVR, for the first time, will come with electronic driver aids that include ABS and a configurable traction control.

Inside, the Griffith comes with an interior that features plenty of leather but there's also hints at modernity with a large portrait-mounted infotainment system.

Developed, in part, by former F1 designer Gordon Murray the new Griffith will be built using the Kiwi engineer's innovative i-Stream manufacturing process at a new factory in Ebbw Vale, Wales.

Initially, TVR plans to sell 500 cars in 2019 with manufacturing beginning in 2018 before customers receive their first cars in Q1 of 2019.

Production will then ramp up to around 1000 cars a year. A second model, likely to be a convertible based on the Griffith, plus higher-power variants of the coupe, will finally push the total number of cars made at the new Welsh factory to around 2200 cars per year.

Early on, the priority will be fulfilling orders for the UK market before expanding into Europe.

There's no word on whether the reborn British car maker has any plans to export to Australia.