TVR's bigger V8 ran so hot in this wedge-bodied coupe that the bonnet vent had to be lopsided — pure function over form to keep the engine bay cool.
Median 170 hp across 17 similar cars
Lead trim: 400SE 3,948 cc TVR Power Rover V8 (275 bhp) · up to 320 hp
TVR Engineering Ltd 400SE / 450SE / 430SE1988–1991
- 0spots by members
- Unclaimednobody has spotted one yet
- 0sets it belongs to
Nobody in Burbles has spotted a TVR Engineering Ltd 400SE / 450SE / 430SE yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactTVR's bigger V8 ran so hot in this wedge-bodied coupe that the bonnet vent had to be lopsided — pure function over form to keep the engine bay cool.
The TVR 400/450SE is a series of open sports cars designed and built by TVR from 1988 to 1991, the last of the Wedges. The 400SE was introduced in 1988 and the 450SE a year later; the 400SE was largely similar to late 390SEs but featured marginally larger displacement, 3,948 versus 3,905 cc, with the body of the Series 2 390SEs, a more rounded nose and a large rear underbody aerofoil. An asymmetrically vented bonnet was deemed necessary to dispel the additional heat of the larger, more powerful engine, and ventilated front disc brakes and fifteen inch wheels were standard. Production of the 450SE, with an extra 45 bhp, ended in 1990 after 35 had been built; there were also two Sprintex supercharged 400SX in 1989 and three Griffith-engined 430SEs constructed in 1991, one shown at the 1991 Birmingham Motor Show. In total 287 were produced.
Collectors Spotted in the TVR Engineering Ltd 400SE Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the TVR Engineering Ltd 400SE yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
3 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400SE 3,948 cc TVR Power Rover V8 (275 bhp) | 1988–1991 | 3.9 L V8 | 275 hp | 270 lb-ft | 5.6 s | RWD | — | — |
| 430SE 4,280 cc TVR Power Rover V8 (280 bhp) | 1991–1991 | 4.3 L V8 | 280 hp | 305 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| 450SE 4,441 cc TVR Power Rover V8 (320 bhp) | 1989–1990 | 4.4 L V8 | 320 hp | 310 lb-ft | 5.2 s | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
In the Community
Open CommunityNo notes tagged with the TVR Engineering Ltd 400SE / 450SE / 430SE yet.
Photographs
Did you know the 400SE closed out an entire TVR era? It was the last of the wedge-shaped TVRs built, with the final cars made in late 1991 and registered in 1992.
TVR's bigger V8 ran so hot in this wedge-bodied coupe that the bonnet vent had to be lopsided — pure function over form to keep the engine bay cool.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
This was the year the Virage's automatic finally got a fourth gear — Aston swapped in a four-speed automatic to replace the original three-speed unit for the 1993 model year.
Audi's first drop-top since 1959 barely made a dent stateside: the V6 Cabriolet sold just 5,445 units across its entire five-year run in the US market.
This Azure's V8 exists because of a corporate grudge: when VW won the fight for Bentley, BMW threatened to cut off engine supply — forcing VW to rebuild the 6.75-litre V8 itself, twin-turbos and all.
Bentley never even considered a roll-bar for the Azure's convertible top — they just reinforced the chassis instead and let the design stay pure.
The F8 Spider's folding hardtop raises or lowers in just 14 seconds, and you can do it on the move, at up to 28 mph.
Bentley hid a charging nook for iPads between the rear seats of the Continental GT Convertible — a 2015 update that quietly conceded the future was tablets, not just wood veneer.
Bentley built just 710 of these second-generation Supersports worldwide, coupe and convertible combined — one of the rarest W12 Bentleys ever made.
The Auburn Twelve's V12 outlived the car by decades — its engine design became the basis for American LaFrance fire truck powerplants that stayed in service into the 1950s.