NS would be out of the picture in any case, as he's just publically stated he's not going to do anything with TVR... And methinks the - apparently pretty friendly - contacts of former TVR key people with VAG's senior engineers would not take that much to rekindle?

If you really want a revived TVR then the best thing is to make one of the T cars exactly as it was. Engineering changes will be expensive and will always be subject to knock on effects that will result in more expense and changes somewhere else. Keep production small, possibly selling the car as a part built kit. Sell body panels and engine bits to existing owners to help with cash flow. Only make changes that are absolutely essential for legislation reasons or to correct serious known faults. Changing the styling is likely to be a very expensive thing to do so should be avoided untill the new company has built at least a hundred cars.

Who actually has the body molds and chassis jigs?
Who actually has the rights to the AJP V8 and the Speed 6 engines?
Are the T cars now out of copyright anyway?
In other words, does it matter who owns what any more, could a company called RVT, TrVoR, Griffith Motors or T-Cars be perfectly safe making any of the T car variants?

In the longer term a new chassis in backbone style but made out of CNC cut and folded sheet steel (a kind of Lotus backbone but with modern build tech) or out of composites (you could stack these in an autoclave as they would be far smaller than a full car body) with bonded in fixings for everything) would give a more accurate, cheaper and stiffer base. Fitted with a revised suspension it could be fitted under a minimum change T car.

Changing the engine is going to be a very expensive process, it isn't just the engine, it's also everything that fits round it or on it. A bought in straight six is going to restrict you to the Volvo/Ford 3.2 or BMW 3.0 as I don't think anyone else makes one unless you go to Aston Martin (their recent S6) or to Falconer (their 5.0 liter six) for a race derived unit.

How much do people pay for a top spec Cobra replica or Ultima? Why should a new T car be any different?

The existing chassis was good enough and molds could be taken from existing cars.

Reproducing an existing T car would also help re-establish the new company (with a new name) as the successor to TVR, not just a different car with with letters T, V or R somewhere on the name plate.

Doing anything else to restart the company is a very high financial risk, even higher than what I've proposed!

It may be possible to do a small number of effective changes to the existing design to improve the chassis, stiffness isn't that far behind other small volume cars and the geometry can be changed as on the later T cars. There must be a few engineers on PH who'd do it free just to be involved.

Well it would be very high risk but on the other hand we have Caterham, Morgan, Ariel and Ginetta who all face very similar engineering, financial and legislative issues.

?

A resurrected TVR would need to build up slowly and involve TVR suppliers and owners from the begining.

It would go something like this:

• Choose a name that evokes TVR, say Griffith Motors or TrVoR.
• Get, and keep, involvement of owners club and current TVR suppliers. Sell the idea as future business for all.
• A T car chassis with known, proven, suspension wheel/tyre/brakes/geometry changes built in.
• A body from a mold taken off an existing car. Changes for legislation and/or copyright reasons only. Ideally no change at all.
• Speed Six engine with known, proven, changes built in. For example Syvecs, FFF head, TVR power internals and block.
• the result will be similar enough to be a recognisable continuation, benefit from existing know-how but (just) different enough to get round any remaining legal obstacles.
• consider supplying in a partly disassembled form, just at or above a top end kit (Cobra or Ultima for example) price.

All the above would ensure continuity and at least some by-in from interested parties. If you don't do this you run the risk of being another "Sniff Petrol" supercar with no link to TVR other than the claims of the creators to be making cars in the right spirit.

• after 100 cars slot a new chassis in with better stiffness, see post above for possible tech details.
• offer parts for sale that can be retrofitted as improvements or replacements (suspension mods, new S6 engine, body panels) to the existing cars
• consider selling shares in the new company with every car or part that is sold. The ultimate aim being that those who drive, build, repair and work at the company actually own it and, via shareholders meetings, run it. Lets face it, you'd all love to do that.

You may find that there is more support than you think, after all the owners club, power, the FFF and all the other spares and upgrades only exist for as long as the cars do. More cars equals more future.

The point being that for anyone who actually has cash at the moment why would you invest in a highly risky venture of selling expensive sports cars to a group of people with no money when you can lend your cash to govt backed green schemes with very low risk and enormous yield?

'Cos it's more fun? If I were independently wealthy, I'd be looking into how to spend my days doing something I'm passionate about rather than how to become er, more independently wealthy. You can't take it with you, anyway...

I have a distinct feeling people tend to forget that time, not money is our most valuable asset.

I'm sure PW must have thought along similar lines.

Ah. Sorry. Shocking speller. Plus iPhone. Not a great combo.

Ginetta?
Caterham?
ultima?
kirkham?
Ariel?

Ginettas -- As mentioned a handful of roadcars, probaly around 100 race cars now but over a 7 - 8 year period
Caterham- Proper brand been going for years
Ultima- Like it or not they're a kit car and the majority wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot barge pole, again going for years, be interesting to know how many they've sold and how many of those are actually on the road
Kirkham -- Who? Unless you mean the Cobra replicas by Hawk? Again Kit car
Ariel -- Started small, niche product being going for about ten years slowy ramped up but not a copy of anything.

By the time your replicas had sold anything like the numbers you're talking about you'd have closed.