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TVR T350T Nearly Crashes in Mercedes-AMG S63 Cabriolet Drag Race

Mercedes pretty much rules the drag racing scene with an iron fist. There's the king of 2 Liters the A45, the AMG GT sports car and the new E63 that has AWD. But a plucky British old-timer thought it could race an AMG, and it nearly cost him.
TVR T350T Nearly Crashes in Mercedes-AMG S63 Cabriolet Drag Race 3 photos
Photo: YouTube screenshot
TVR T350T Nearly Crashes in Mercedes-AMG S63 Cabriolet Drag RaceTVR T350T Nearly Crashes in Mercedes-AMG S63 Cabriolet Drag Race
TVR made a lot of cars in the 2000's. The Sagaris was the most famous, but there was also the T350 series, based on the TVR Tamora. The name is derived from the 350 HP, which was produced by the 3.6-liter straight-six engine.

Compared to modern cars, the T350 isn't all that special. Because it's naturally aspirated, there's only 390 Nm of torque (290 lb-ft), plus it's available at the very top of the rev range. But it was light, giving it a power to weight ratio of over 300 HP per ton.

The T350 is supposed to hit 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds and max out at an estimated 310 km/h (190 mph), though officially stated at 175 mph. There's no fancy launch control, only your right foot, and the 5-speed manual gearbox.

They are kinda rare and expensive. The cheapest is at least €25,000 while a top-spec late model with a factory-fitted 4-liter can cost double that.

The problem with the Mercedes-AMG S63 Cabriolet is that it's very fat. Sure, the 5.5-liter makes 585 HP and 900 Nm of torque, pushing it to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds. But shifting 2.1 tons isn't an easy task, not even for an AWD system. Or is that the new S63 with the 4-liter engine? That would explain the AMG license plates.

The TVR and Merc are nearly tied down the runway. However, the T350T driver almost loses it as the back end tries to step out. We also see the new C63 S Coupe and the old W204 C63 sedan drag racing their S-Class counterpart. Everybody looks fast, but only the guy in the TVR had the chance to die like a man.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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