I don't know about you, but I'm excited to see how the new TVR turns out. The British company made its name through a simple formula: a lightweight, rear-wheel drive chassis, plenty of power, a unique interior, and absolutely no electronic safety net. It died of neglect a few years ago, but a reborn TVR Tuscan is due in a couple of years and will be built in a new factory in Wales that uses Gordon Murray's clever new iStream process. Today, we got our best look so far at the new car when TVR released some teasers ahead of this week's Goodwood Revival.

The chassis is a mix of steel tubes with carbon fiber panels bonded to them for stiffness. In a nod to TVR's roots, the engine will be an American V8; a 5.0L Ford Coyote (out of the current Mustang) is coupled to a six-speed manual gearbox. Cosworth will then work its magic on the Coyote until it meets TVR's new power-to-weight goal. Target weight is 1,250kg (2,756lbs) and the engineers are trying to get to 400hp/tonne (5.51lbs/hp seems the easiest US conversion).

The teasers feature a tantalizing glimpse of the TVR's interior that immediately brings to mind the brushed steel and brass controls found in TVRs of the 1990s and 2000s. We believe the car's underbody will be specially shaped to make use of ground effects.

This new iteration of TVR appears to be a serious effort. It's being led by Les Edgar, founder of Bullfrog Productions—the developers who gave us Syndicate Wars, among other classics. Edgar and his partners are all long-time TVR drivers, so they understand the brand's core values. But at the same time, too much fan service could be problematic. TVRs might not have had airbags or antilock brakes, but that also meant cutting off a lot of potential sales from places like the US. And while most of the first 500 cars have already found buyers—who won't take delivery until 2019—one imagines that some degree of modern conveniences, or mandated safety equipment if you prefer, will be necessary.

The choice of Murray's iStream process is also deeply appealing to the nerd within. Murray went away and spent a long time thinking about how to build cars in a more efficient way with less environmental impact. But mainstream OEMs have shown scant interest, perhaps unsurprisingly; if you already have piles of money invested in building cars the conventional way, you don't have much incentive to try something new. But for what is, in effect, a startup, there's a lot less to lose and plenty to gain—particularly the association with one of the all-time great automotive engineers.

Listing image by TVR