Your Tests: Vredestein Sprint Classic Tires on a 1972 TVR Vixen 2500

Vredestein knows that Classic Motorsports knows a thing or two about vintage tires. And they know that our readers do, too. That’s why they came to us with a simple request: Find five readers worthy of a set of Vredestein’s latest classic tire, their Sprint Classic. Over the next six months, you’ll be seeing feedback from these readers in the form of regular blog posts on our site.

Story and Photography by David Rose

I bought my TVR Vixen 2500 in 1972. It was a new car and quite radical in its day. My car is a hybrid model which utilizes the classic Vixen bodywork fitted to the new for 1973 “M” chassis. Only 96 of these cars were built. These cars weighed only 2,240 pounds and are half as wide as they are long, making them quite fast for their day—zero to 60 comes in 6.5 seconds—with remarkable cornering ability. Therefore, choosing tires for these TVRs is critical to their performance and safety.

I remember when I first drove my TVR just how impressed I was with its handling. It was a bit like driving a race car: as time went on and the tires wore down, I noticed a distinct loss of grip. After replacing the original set of tires, I never really felt the same degree of confidence in handling over the years. That is until now: I fitted a set of Vredestein Sprint Classic 86 H tires and the old car suddenly felt new again.

My driving style can be best described as spirited and I thoroughly enjoy driving the back roads of Northeast Pennsylvania with all the twists and turns of the Pocono mountain roads. The Vredestein tires make turning into the corners precise and unfaltering. I never thought I would regain the joy I had 46 years ago when I first bought my TVR, but thanks to acquiring these Vredestein tires, the car and I both feel 46 years younger when we go out for a drive.

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Comments

wspohn Dork
10/23/19 6:23 p.m.

For the purists it is worth noting that the factory never called these cars a Vixen 2500 - it was just a 2500 and when they switched the chassis, it became a 2500 M. The Vixen 2500 nomenclature was sponsored by the US dealers only, IIRC.

The M chassis was reputedly a big step up from the non-M chassis, but I raced a TVR with the early chassis for several years and it was very good indeed as well as significantly lighter than the M chassis cars.

It was obvious that the US was a pretty big factor for TVR, though. They never bothered to offer a Triumph PI engine in the 2500/2500 M, just the federalized 2500 carbbed version, which is a real shame as the carbbed engine had only 104 bhp vs. the injected version used in home market TR-6s which had an ouput of 150 bhp - a world apart as far as performance is concerned.