Hand axes are one of many ancient weapons which, although ubiquitous centuries ago, are now absent in the arsenal of the typical soldier.

They were however brutal and effective in their own way years ago, just like the TVR Sagaris.

It isn’t just the Sagaris, either; TVRs have gained a reputation as being more than stylish sports cars – they offer supercar levels of performance without all of that electronic safety assistance and features you would today find in your average budget city car.

Features like airbags, ABS, and traction control are not central to the TVR philosophy which shares more than a little of Lotus' ‘simple and light’ motto.

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The TVR Sagaris: Almost Everything You Need And Nothing You Don’t

TVR Sagaris, yellow, rear quarter, on grass
Via: Pistonheads

TVR - famous for the Griffith, Cerbera, Tuscan, and more also released the Tamora, T350-series and this, the Sagaris; the last models before it went out of business and started to suffer from very turbulent times.

After initially using Rover V8s, the AJP8 V8 was drawn-up in-house by TVR, but this would later be changed to a six-cylinder called the AJP6 which is present in these later models.

Based on the T350 C coupe – there was also a T350T Targa roof model – the Sagaris was a more hardcore version of the T350 with a focus on racing and would help TVR run a new one-make racing series akin to the Tuscan Challenge.

Like the T350, this car used the 4-liter straight-six engine which developed 400 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque, and all this power went down through an ancient-but-reliable 5-speed manual and would help shift the fiberglass supercar to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds and onto 195 mph.

All that power is sent through the back wheels and with no assistance like in a modern Porsche 911, it’s all down to the driver to keep the car’s rear axle in check under accelerating and not to overdo the braking when cornering.

There’s no safety net (apart from the roll-cage fitted to the Sagaris model) and you’re left with a brutally-styled and great-sounding car that is really built for serious gear heads.

RELATED: Here’s What We Love About The TVR Tuscan

TVR’s Sagaris: A Rare Supercar With No Compromises Or Comfort Features

TVR Sagaris, interior shot from driver's door
Via: Pistonheads

Nowadays, there are faster cars, sure; but it’s harder to find a better manual, non-turbo car with the heritage and unique style that a TVR offers and the Sagaris was the culmination of what the UK Blackpool-based company could do around 2004 when this car was new.

Nowadays, a Porsche 911 992 Carrera will offer 95% of the performance of a TVR Sagaris with bucket-loads more comfort and build quality, and one of those costs from $100,000 new before options.

A quick search for a Sagaris brings up only 3 results on UK classifieds and news site Pistonheads, these second-hand examples roughly equate to the same $100,000 price and mileage of between 25,000 and 60,000, one even has A/C.

Otherwise, you can get into a slightly less-hardcore T350 which is offered for around $40,000 – a comparative bargain.

If we had $100,000 to spend on a sports car with super-car-like levels of performance, we know we would prefer the brutal, honest, and hand-ax-styled TVR Sagaris over a safe, automatic, turbocharged car any day.