WHEN we think of the powerful and imposing performance cars produced by TVR in the past the mind may drawn to the very fast six and eight-cylinder models that fuelled the Blackpool-built range's sporting image.
But back in the 1960s and early 70s there was a neat four-cylinder TVR which the fans loved and which is now a prized collectors' piece.
The Vixen started life in 1967 and took the reins from the Grantura which had attracted a healthy number of fans who loved its fast hard-riding approach to driving.
The Vixen may have been the TVR for those who couldn’t afford anything more powerful, but its hidden strength was the fact that it kept the TVR books in the black for some of the time.
It was standardised around the Ford Cortina GT engine though some versions featured the MGB power unit.
In fact the only external difference between the Grantura and Vixen S1 was a larger bonnet vent.
But it was a great advance on the previous model because the S2 version featured the company's longer 90-inch wheelbase with the body bolted on rather than bonded – a great help to restorers.
The S2's bonnet had a long bulge running from front to rear, which has subsequently become known as the 'sausage' bonnet.
Required to clear emissions equipment for the US market but unpopular with British buyers, the 'sausage' was later replaced by the bonnet from the Tuscan model.
The year 1970 saw the Vixen S3 which was externally unchanged apart from the fitment of the alloy wheels from the Tuscan and revised air vents on the front wings.
Mechanically the car now had the more powerful engine from the Ford Capri 1600GT. A small number of Vixen S4s were built in 1972-73 - identical to the S3 except for the use of the chassis from the forthcoming M series cars.
The Vixen was the one to have if you wanted a more affordable hand-built sports car.
The body was made of glass fibre built around a tubular frame. It had double-wishbone suspension at both ends and disc brakes at the front with drums at the back.
It was significantly lighter than mainstream competitors such as the MGB GT and offered class leading performance and excellent fuel economy for a sports car.
TVR has had a turbulent ownership history and whether we will see it rise once more to the prominence it enjoyed is a matter for conjecture.
But what is fact is that the company once produced some of the most exciting sports cars in British automotive history and the Vixen, although the cub of the range is a name that still stands proud.