The "world's fastest, most dramatic, most economical production automobile”, such was the claim that heralded the arrival of the Griffith Series 200, the machine that would introduce the Griffith name to the world. Not exactly a modest claim, but then the Griffith Series 200 was not exactly a demure automobile. The brainchild of Jack Griffith, the 200 was his attempt to out-Shelby the AC Cobra, a car that Griffith himself was an authorized dealer for at his Long Island Ford dealership. And it followed Shelby's Cobra recipe: take a light, nimble British sports car chassis and insert Ford's new lightweight 289 cubic inch V-8. But as the chassis Griffith chose was TVR's tiny Grantura Mk III, a car smaller even than the AC Cobra, the combination was that much more explosive.

In a recent interview between Matthew White, editor for The Diecast Magazine and Andrew "Jack" Griffith, Matt asked what was the inspiration for the Griffith. Jack's reply: "I was racing a Cobra as the East Coast end of Carroll Shelby's racing team. Mark Donohue was Vice President of my company and drove the Cobra. Carroll and I were talking one night in a bar in New York City and I said 'I think I can build a car to be faster and less expensive [than the Cobra]'. We had both been drinking, and the next morning I said, 'What did I say last night?' That's how it all started."