ambitious plans for sales to Canada. Automotive News reported that by late 1985 the company had exported five cars to the country with plans to reach annual sales of fifty cars per year in that market, where the car sold for CDN$20,000. A planned restyling of the car by Richard Oakes, designer of the Nova/Sterling kit car, did not happen. Production of the TMC Costin ran from 1983 to 1987. Although TMC claimed to have built close to one hundred cars, the total number of cars produced is typically reported to have been either twenty-six or thirty-nine units. In 1988 TMC sold the rights to the chassis to Daniel (Dan) Panoz, son of Don Panoz, an American businessman who owned a pharmaceutical firm based in Ireland. The younger Panoz had applied for a job at TMC. Some references say that he briefly worked for TMC, while others say that the company went out of business before he could start. With financial backing from his father, Dan Panoz acquired the plans and jigs for the chassis, as well as parts for two complete cars, which were shipped to the United States. He also hired TMC engineers Sean Thompson and Mick Murphy. Panoz established Panoz Auto Development (PAD), and used the TMC Costin's chassis design as the basis of the Panoz Roadster" Features Production versions of the TMC Costin use Ford engines or derivatives. The base engine was a Ford Crossflow. A version with the Ford CVH engine was also offered. For even more power the car could be fitted with Cosworth BDA or BDR engines. Power outputs are . The space frame chassis was designed by Costin. It is noteworthy for being a union of three modules or cells: a front frame to which the engine and suspension are bolted, a triangular centre section for the driver and passenger, and a rear section to support the rear suspension and roll bar. The structure was particularly effective at increasing stiffness in the cockpit/passenger area. The chassis was designed for an engine output in the vicinity of . With a 100% design safety margin, the structure is theoretically capable of managing up to . The front windscreen is a bespoke item made by Pilkington exclusively for TMC. The car's doors are hinged on the A pillars and pivot up and forward when opened. The large triangular B-pillar and roof hoop enclose the rollbar,