RE: TVR To Return With US V8s

[Derek Smith]

Number 7 said:

As I said earlier, I wish Ginetta every success. However, having just looked at their website, it would appear that the Walklett brothers (who created the company and ran it for 30 years) have been completely written out of the history of company, as has Martin Phaff. There is no mention of them at all, which I do find rather strange. I suppose egos are involved

Perhaps it is because of DARE? But seems very odd. I know the history page is very brief but even so, just a couple of words.

[V8TVR1978]

VPower said:

Making them in Germany would not be good marketing I suspect.


TVR have a bit of a specilist following in the USA.
A TVR made a huge impact in a BlockBuster Movie in the USA.
Being a British Sports Car perhaps means something in the USA.
If you going to want to sell the car outside the UK then the biggest market is the USA.
Fitting well known and reliable drivetrains from the USA will endear it to the USA.
Britain is best of allies of the USA and vice-versa.
Gran Tourismo has been played by millions of kids in the USA, ask them their fav car?

If you were thinking of selling to the USA, where would you make a TVR bearing in mind it's History?


Now if he does, I suspect that production inside the F1 Triangle could be a good move??
Or a shed in Blackpool?? Come on!

If he wants to make it down in the South of England, I'm a Mechanical Engineer and would love to work there!!

Well I could make the TEA!

TVR does have a following in the USofA and just north of them is a country that has a few LHD TVRs and several of the RHD models that get used by their owners on a regular basis. We do what we can to keep the TVR name out where others will stop and spend some quality time asking questions about our cars.(Next paragraph is just an example of what TVR owners are up against while doing our part for the TVR marquee on this side of the pond.)

Last year at an All British Car Show and Shine here in Canada my daughter comes to our car and asks if she can show an older gentleman who had 2 British cars entered in the show and had owned many British cars over the years, two books that we had with us. (TVR an Illustrated History by John Tipler and TVR All The Cars by Iain Ayre.) He had stopped by our daughter's supercharged 2500M and was trying to make her look uninformed about TVRs as he was telling her that she had a "KIT CAR" and she was trying to explain that at one time that there were "KIT CAR" connections (for tax or Vat reasons) and that parts for TVRs over the years were borrowed from many other sources. She also told him and his two friends that her car was a stock factory car except for the supercharger and 5 speed Toyota tranny that we installed to improve car performance and that the car next to hers was 1 of 7 that the Canadian importer ( John Wadman) had converted to a V8 when new with the factory's blessings. At this time I came to my daughters rescue (but she was doing good on her own) and showed these three proof that he was wrong. As they were leaving (tails between their legs) without even looking at my V8 Taimar I heard one of the guys tell the older gentleman that he should go back and apologize to the young girl and he said something like "Her and her Dad don't know what they are talking about." With young people like my 2 daughters, the TVR name may struggle but the cars will have a strong following.

At the present the US has a 25 year import law and Canada has a 15 year import law. A buddy/mate in Ontario has been importing some Griffs and Chims to Canada but they are RHD and I feel it would be unsafe for me to drive a RHD on our roads here but that is just my feelings. What I have been trying to do is find a good clean well maintained LHD from Europe and import that to Canada to get some extra "Grins." Biggest problem there is that I have to depend on friends who now live in Italy and Greece and a LHD model there is selling anywheres from twice to three times the money that the same car but RHD is selling for in the UK.

So to sum things up, if "Pigs were to fly" and TVR were to start up again with whatever engine and drivetrain the Russian decided on, I personally don't believe North America would catch the TVR bug/craze it once had but would be accepted by us diehard fans of the marquee.

[VPower]

You never know?

Just one film could do it.

I can see it now >>> Transporter X.
Jason Statham showing them Retro Muscle Cars a clean pair of wheels for two hours might do it?

Well I can hope for decent film?


By the way, why would you feel unsafe in a RHD car?
Loads of people drive LHD over here in Blighty.
I can't believe Canadian drivers worse than our average road using muppets!

[V8TVR1978]

By the way, why would you feel unsafe in a RHD car?
Loads of people drive LHD over here in Blighty.
I can't believe Canadian drivers worse than our average road using muppets!


[/quote]

Sorry to all that feel that I have sort of gone of original topic a touch.


I should have worded the "unsafe" comment differently. I have driven RHD cars here in North America and I feel that I can't take full advantage of a car's performance while operating it from the right side over here. Yes I know about track days but you have to be able to use a car for more than just track days. It is just the way I feel. You have to pay more attention with what you are doing while operating a car on the opposite side of the road than what it was built for. Don't get me wrong as I had a blast driving my buddy's RHD V8S in the Toronto area this summer but I do like to push the envelope and a TVR can be a handfull at the best of times. Our daughters supercharged 2500M with 128 HP at the wheels gives you the "TVR Grin" and our 2 North American V8 Taimars (235HP and over 400HP) get the juices flowing while pushing the "go fast petal."

For awhile now I have a friend in Italy and another in Greece looking for a pre 1998 TVR that is LHD so I can import it to Canada as we have a 15 year import law. What we have seen so far is that the asking price of a LHD is between 2 and 3 times the price of a similar RHD car in the UK. (But are they both the same condition????)If we don't find a suitable TVR for me soon I know where there is a 1998 RHD Blackpool Special Griff 500 that can't be legally road registered where it is but I can register it legally here in 22 months and a frame off restro to the standards that I would want with that car would eat up most of that time.

So a RHD car driven here or a LHD car driven in the UK needs a driver that is more aware of their surroundings so that they have a safe enjoyable drive.

Edited by V8TVR1978 on Sunday 6th February 20:49

[dvs_dave]

Been driving RHD cars on the right and vice versa for years.

Trust me it makes no difference. Only faff is at toll booths when alone. For overtaking you simply drop back a bit further and can see just fine, or if you’re not happy with that install a small forward facing camera on the passenger wing mirror linked up to your satnav/head unit.

From significant experience it's purely psychological and if you can't get over that you should be questioning your special awareness skills.

[VPower]

That camera idea is very good!

What sort of sat-nav allows a camera input?
Built-in, or do portable ones allow it?

Must say that back in the day when driving the old road to Le Mans was very exciting in a RHD car on French roads!
I can hear the passenger still "NO Something is coming"!!

I've driven LHD hire cars on US and various European holidays, but that was on the right hand side of the road.
So do agree it's the vision thing.

Anyway back On Topic - Any News of TVR production??????

Especially as it is now accepted as fact that the Speed 6 engine has been sorted and any new manufacturer would obviously build to the latest spec?

[tejr]

Alpine DVD screens have camera inputs and even the single DIN JVC DVD players have a camera input which is handy.

[dvs_dave]

One of these 20x25mm cams fitted into the passenger side wing mirror would do the job nicely.