TVR does not build many cars like the TVR 400SE: a 2-door convertible with 3.9–4.4 , built from 1988 to 1991 in the age of turbocharging and the first electronic engine management. Its designer of record is Oliver Winterbottom.
How it came about
The TVR 400/450SE is a series of open sports cars designed and built by TVR from 1988 to 1991. The 400SE was introduced in 1988, the 450SE a year later. The 400SE was the last of the Wedges built, with the last cars being produced in late 1991 and registered in 1992. There were also a handful of special versions built, including two Sprintex supercharged 400SX in 1989, and three Griffith-engined 430SEs constructed in 1991.
The hardware
Under the skin sits 3.9–4.4 . The gearbox is a 5 spd manual. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Where it sits in TVR's history is not in doubt: the TVR 390SE came before it; the TVR Griffith followed it; it was built at Blackpool, England, United Kingdom. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Lexus LS, the Subaru Legacy, the Mazda MX-5. Its TVR stablemates include the TVR 3000S and the TVR 350SE.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the TVR 400SE — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.