New TVR still under wraps! (Vol. 2)
Discussion
The wind turbine was initially refused planning permission but that was overturned on appeal to the High Court in July 2015. The old Tech Board factory - now new TVR - is to get discounted electricity from it.
https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/13635489.wi...
Maybe we shouldn't get too excited though as it appears to have taken 4 years to get to the Google Earth photo
https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/13635489.wi...
Maybe we shouldn't get too excited though as it appears to have taken 4 years to get to the Google Earth photo
N7GTX said:
The wind turbine was initially refused planning permission but that was overturned on appeal to the High Court in July 2015. The old Tech Board factory - now new TVR - is to get discounted electricity from it.
https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/13635489.wi...
Maybe we shouldn't get too excited though as it appears to have taken 4 years to get to the Google Earth photo
All good. I mean, what could possibly go wrong ?https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/13635489.wi...
Maybe we shouldn't get too excited though as it appears to have taken 4 years to get to the Google Earth photo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVHzfUWul2Y
bullittmcqueen said:
N7GTX said:
The wind turbine was initially refused planning permission but that was overturned on appeal to the High Court in July 2015. The old Tech Board factory - now new TVR - is to get discounted electricity from it.
https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/13635489.wi...
Maybe we shouldn't get too excited though as it appears to have taken 4 years to get to the Google Earth photo
All good. I mean, what could possibly go wrong ?https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/13635489.wi...
Maybe we shouldn't get too excited though as it appears to have taken 4 years to get to the Google Earth photo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVHzfUWul2Y
and its just a few metres from the factory........ 
N7GTX said:
bullittmcqueen said:
N7GTX said:
The wind turbine was initially refused planning permission but that was overturned on appeal to the High Court in July 2015. The old Tech Board factory - now new TVR - is to get discounted electricity from it.
https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/13635489.wi...
Maybe we shouldn't get too excited though as it appears to have taken 4 years to get to the Google Earth photo
All good. I mean, what could possibly go wrong ?https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/13635489.wi...
Maybe we shouldn't get too excited though as it appears to have taken 4 years to get to the Google Earth photo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVHzfUWul2Y
and its just a few metres from the factory........ 
(Massive smoke machine is going in next...... :-) )
Pour yourself a coffee (or a gin) and prepare for a rambling essay.
That’s it – my TVR dream is finally over. Despite getting my deposit back I’d actually held on to the TVR ‘fund’ in my piggy bank just in case it did get built. I might have given-up on my early build slot, but I could still own a new TVR at some point.
But time waits for no man, and I’ve finally bitten the bullet and bought something else. I keep my cars for a long time (I’ve had the 5.7 Hemi Jeep for 12 years, and the Masser for 15 IIRC) so the new car will have to do me until either I keel over, or they take my licence off me, or petrol cars get banned. So that’s in then…that’s my ‘car for life’ now. Jeez, I hope it was a good call!
What did I buy then?
I really wanted a front-engined car with a big V8 that was ‘reasonably’ practical and could be used as a daily-driver…but would also work on track now and again. Not too flash – an ‘everyman’ kind of sports car but hairy of chest. Of course, it had to sound glorious and look stunning. And apart from the fish-face the new TVR ticked all the boxes. I’ve always felt TVRs handled ‘well’ – but were primarily ‘fun and challenging’ rather than razor-sharp, and in truth I prefer that.
Between my current 2 cars (both elderly) there’s a Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi and a Maserati 4200. I did have an LS-powered Tuscan racer, but that got sold in anticipation of the new TVR ‘coming soon’. But for ‘fun’ (and progress) cross country I’ve always just chosen the Jeep – as while the Masser is faster on paper, you never get near the handling limits on the road and so ‘cornering fun’ only comes from going too fast for the conditions/street furniture really. The Jeep on the other hand has far lower limits and there’s a real satisfaction of ‘getting it right’ through a series of bends. Not that I subscribe to the ‘low powered cars are fun’ mantra, but I do appreciate there’s more fun to be had trying to extract handling performance from something challenging than just going round on rails where personal safety rather than driver skill sets the limit.
Enough of the intro – what about the usual suspects typically (and previously) listed?
McLaren 12C 3.8 S – not for me. Mid-engined, scared by service costs, not really practical as a daily driver (for me).
Mercedes-Benz AMG GT S – this was top of the list! I actually called-up dealers about a few used ones as I was picky on spec and colour and in both cases they’d just been sold. If I’d called a few days earlier than I’d be the proud owner of a blue GT S with premium pack, silver wheels and sports seats. But something else came in from left-field…
Lamborghini Gallardo LP550 – not for me, as per McLaren…plus the ‘image’ of having a Lambo. Shallow personality perhaps, but I just couldn’t countenance the ‘what do you drive mister?’…’A Lamborghini’. And I didn’t need or want to be the centre of attention everywhere.
Aston Martin DBS 6.0 V12 – I know I’m wrong, but AM’s just felt too pipe, slippers and tweed jacket. Or alternatively too debonair – I’m not a bow-tie and tux sort of guy.
Aston Martin Vanquish V12 – as above
Porsche 911 991 Turbo S – I had a 3.2 Carrera Sport years ago when Porsches were hairy-of-chest with no ABS, traction control and didn’t even have power steering. I adore the old air-cooled 911s and would love a Singer…but the new ones seem just too clinical and leave me cold.
Audi R8 5.2 V10 – nah…no matter how good it is, it’s an Audi. And it’s mid engined.
Ferrari California 30 4.3 – I have a real problem with Ferrari’s image – again I’m maybe missing out due to my shallow prejudices. But I just couldn’t countenance owning one. And let’s not get involved on the servicing costs.
Ferrari F430 4.3 F1 0 as above.
So out of that lot the AMG GT S was a clear winner. But I was also seriously considering a Corvette C7 Z06. I’ve rented a few regular C7s in the US and they’re absolutely fabulous cars. It’s the car TVR should have made in terms of stunning looks, performance, running costs and ‘everyman’ appeal. But again, I was picky on spec and although I found a few in the US I never bit the bullet and went down the import route. And while I could live with LHD, it was a negative that in the end prompted the AMG GT S to first place in my list. But I did find one in the UK that I started down the purchase route on, but it turned out to have not been converted to UK sat-nav/radio etc. Not insurmountable, but in conjunction with LHD I bottled it.
The list should also probably include Mustangs; fine cars with very good handling at last. But simply for personal preference they weren’t on my list.
But I did have a strange attraction to the Dodge Challenger Hellcat. I’d also rented regular Challengers in the US and found the handling extremely good; in fact I loved the cars. The problem was while all the testers raved that the motor was glorious and the handling was fine; put together the car simply couldn’t put all of its 700+hp down!
And so we get to almost the end. I love my old 5.7 Hemi Jeep, it’s like an old slipper in terms of fit and practicality; it handles pretty well (surprisingly), is fairly nippy, and sounds great. And when I saw the TrackHawk released last year I just loved the lunacy of dropping the HellCat motor in a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
So I’m now the proud owner of a new 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee TrackHawk. 6.2 litres of supercharged Hemi V8 with 710hp. It sounds like Armageddon, then the supercharger whine kicks-in – absolutely glorious. Obviously it’s a heavy thing, but even running it in, the sheer grunt (and noise) astonished me. Even on a ¼ throttle it just hunkers down, roars, and takes off! And it corners totally flat! Jeep have done a lot of work on the transmission and handling to make it drag-strip and track-day ready. It’s quite refreshing to read the owners manual when it covers what checks to do before and after track outings. None of this ‘you shouldn’t take your car on track’ malarkey. So once the newness wears off I do plan to take it on a few track days!
Now this may come as a surprise… My LS-powered Tuscan racer felt like nothing else I’d ever driven – truly a TVR on steroids. Massive power (500hp+) in a light chassis (1000Kg) and it just had a certain visceral feel with instant power and tight (but lairy) handling. After I sold it I never thought I’d ever drive anything that felt remotely like it again. But, and it surprised me too, the TrackHawk feels not too dissimilar! If TVR made SUVs! Sure, you sit higher and you’re carrying a lot more weight to corner and brake, but this thing really does have an old-school ‘TVR-feel’ to it.
Still running it in and the launch control isn’t enabled until 500 miles – but it should do 0-60 in 3.4 (there’s an on-board timer so you can save your best times!) on all-season tyres. Top speed is not governed or limited, but the aerodynamics of a brick keep it down to 180. I just need to find a 25mph tail-wind!
The final clincher that made me buy the TrackHawk and not the AMG was road-testers’ attitudes. With the AMG folks were mostly very serious and reviewed it ‘sensibly’. With the TrackHawk, I think just about every reviewer just laughed out loud every time they floored it…and after waiting the best part of 5 years for the TVR I felt I needed some laughs in my life.
Have I made the right decision? Who knows – time will tell – but a nondescript 710hp daily driver sounds fine to me right now.
That’s it – my TVR dream is finally over. Despite getting my deposit back I’d actually held on to the TVR ‘fund’ in my piggy bank just in case it did get built. I might have given-up on my early build slot, but I could still own a new TVR at some point.
But time waits for no man, and I’ve finally bitten the bullet and bought something else. I keep my cars for a long time (I’ve had the 5.7 Hemi Jeep for 12 years, and the Masser for 15 IIRC) so the new car will have to do me until either I keel over, or they take my licence off me, or petrol cars get banned. So that’s in then…that’s my ‘car for life’ now. Jeez, I hope it was a good call!
What did I buy then?
I really wanted a front-engined car with a big V8 that was ‘reasonably’ practical and could be used as a daily-driver…but would also work on track now and again. Not too flash – an ‘everyman’ kind of sports car but hairy of chest. Of course, it had to sound glorious and look stunning. And apart from the fish-face the new TVR ticked all the boxes. I’ve always felt TVRs handled ‘well’ – but were primarily ‘fun and challenging’ rather than razor-sharp, and in truth I prefer that.
Between my current 2 cars (both elderly) there’s a Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi and a Maserati 4200. I did have an LS-powered Tuscan racer, but that got sold in anticipation of the new TVR ‘coming soon’. But for ‘fun’ (and progress) cross country I’ve always just chosen the Jeep – as while the Masser is faster on paper, you never get near the handling limits on the road and so ‘cornering fun’ only comes from going too fast for the conditions/street furniture really. The Jeep on the other hand has far lower limits and there’s a real satisfaction of ‘getting it right’ through a series of bends. Not that I subscribe to the ‘low powered cars are fun’ mantra, but I do appreciate there’s more fun to be had trying to extract handling performance from something challenging than just going round on rails where personal safety rather than driver skill sets the limit.
Enough of the intro – what about the usual suspects typically (and previously) listed?
McLaren 12C 3.8 S – not for me. Mid-engined, scared by service costs, not really practical as a daily driver (for me).
Mercedes-Benz AMG GT S – this was top of the list! I actually called-up dealers about a few used ones as I was picky on spec and colour and in both cases they’d just been sold. If I’d called a few days earlier than I’d be the proud owner of a blue GT S with premium pack, silver wheels and sports seats. But something else came in from left-field…
Lamborghini Gallardo LP550 – not for me, as per McLaren…plus the ‘image’ of having a Lambo. Shallow personality perhaps, but I just couldn’t countenance the ‘what do you drive mister?’…’A Lamborghini’. And I didn’t need or want to be the centre of attention everywhere.
Aston Martin DBS 6.0 V12 – I know I’m wrong, but AM’s just felt too pipe, slippers and tweed jacket. Or alternatively too debonair – I’m not a bow-tie and tux sort of guy.
Aston Martin Vanquish V12 – as above
Porsche 911 991 Turbo S – I had a 3.2 Carrera Sport years ago when Porsches were hairy-of-chest with no ABS, traction control and didn’t even have power steering. I adore the old air-cooled 911s and would love a Singer…but the new ones seem just too clinical and leave me cold.
Audi R8 5.2 V10 – nah…no matter how good it is, it’s an Audi. And it’s mid engined.
Ferrari California 30 4.3 – I have a real problem with Ferrari’s image – again I’m maybe missing out due to my shallow prejudices. But I just couldn’t countenance owning one. And let’s not get involved on the servicing costs.
Ferrari F430 4.3 F1 0 as above.
So out of that lot the AMG GT S was a clear winner. But I was also seriously considering a Corvette C7 Z06. I’ve rented a few regular C7s in the US and they’re absolutely fabulous cars. It’s the car TVR should have made in terms of stunning looks, performance, running costs and ‘everyman’ appeal. But again, I was picky on spec and although I found a few in the US I never bit the bullet and went down the import route. And while I could live with LHD, it was a negative that in the end prompted the AMG GT S to first place in my list. But I did find one in the UK that I started down the purchase route on, but it turned out to have not been converted to UK sat-nav/radio etc. Not insurmountable, but in conjunction with LHD I bottled it.
The list should also probably include Mustangs; fine cars with very good handling at last. But simply for personal preference they weren’t on my list.
But I did have a strange attraction to the Dodge Challenger Hellcat. I’d also rented regular Challengers in the US and found the handling extremely good; in fact I loved the cars. The problem was while all the testers raved that the motor was glorious and the handling was fine; put together the car simply couldn’t put all of its 700+hp down!
And so we get to almost the end. I love my old 5.7 Hemi Jeep, it’s like an old slipper in terms of fit and practicality; it handles pretty well (surprisingly), is fairly nippy, and sounds great. And when I saw the TrackHawk released last year I just loved the lunacy of dropping the HellCat motor in a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
So I’m now the proud owner of a new 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee TrackHawk. 6.2 litres of supercharged Hemi V8 with 710hp. It sounds like Armageddon, then the supercharger whine kicks-in – absolutely glorious. Obviously it’s a heavy thing, but even running it in, the sheer grunt (and noise) astonished me. Even on a ¼ throttle it just hunkers down, roars, and takes off! And it corners totally flat! Jeep have done a lot of work on the transmission and handling to make it drag-strip and track-day ready. It’s quite refreshing to read the owners manual when it covers what checks to do before and after track outings. None of this ‘you shouldn’t take your car on track’ malarkey. So once the newness wears off I do plan to take it on a few track days!
Now this may come as a surprise… My LS-powered Tuscan racer felt like nothing else I’d ever driven – truly a TVR on steroids. Massive power (500hp+) in a light chassis (1000Kg) and it just had a certain visceral feel with instant power and tight (but lairy) handling. After I sold it I never thought I’d ever drive anything that felt remotely like it again. But, and it surprised me too, the TrackHawk feels not too dissimilar! If TVR made SUVs! Sure, you sit higher and you’re carrying a lot more weight to corner and brake, but this thing really does have an old-school ‘TVR-feel’ to it.
Still running it in and the launch control isn’t enabled until 500 miles – but it should do 0-60 in 3.4 (there’s an on-board timer so you can save your best times!) on all-season tyres. Top speed is not governed or limited, but the aerodynamics of a brick keep it down to 180. I just need to find a 25mph tail-wind!
The final clincher that made me buy the TrackHawk and not the AMG was road-testers’ attitudes. With the AMG folks were mostly very serious and reviewed it ‘sensibly’. With the TrackHawk, I think just about every reviewer just laughed out loud every time they floored it…and after waiting the best part of 5 years for the TVR I felt I needed some laughs in my life.
Have I made the right decision? Who knows – time will tell – but a nondescript 710hp daily driver sounds fine to me right now.
Max_Torque said:
That's not a wind turbine it's actually a big fan. TVR have installed it to blow air to keep their models cool whilst they lounge around on the long hot bonnets of the cars coming out of the factory....
(Massive smoke machine is going in next...... :-) )
A relative of mine was at that motor-show, where the models went nude (IIRC, other manufacturers had topless models before, TVR pushed the boat out)(Massive smoke machine is going in next...... :-) )
He recalled that one of the girls draped herself over the bonnet of a car, which had been sat under lights for hours, and she burned her arse!
Fermit and Sexy Sarah said:
Max_Torque said:
That's not a wind turbine it's actually a big fan. TVR have installed it to blow air to keep their models cool whilst they lounge around on the long hot bonnets of the cars coming out of the factory....
(Massive smoke machine is going in next...... :-) )
A relative of mine was at that motor-show, where the models went nude (IIRC, other manufacturers had topless models before, TVR pushed the boat out)(Massive smoke machine is going in next...... :-) )
He recalled that one of the girls draped herself over the bonnet of a car, which had been sat under lights for hours, and she burned her arse!
tvrolet said:
Have I made the right decision? Who knows – time will tell – but a nondescript 710hp daily driver sounds fine to me right now.
Only think I'd be scared of Barr the fuel bills is the depreciation.
Have they sold many in the uk? What sort of discount was there versus list?
I recently sold both my GC and my T350 to narrow down to one car and briefly thought of the trackhawk, played safe in the end and opted for an Rs6 performance instead.
tvrolet said:
So I’m now the proud owner of a new 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee TrackHawk. 6.2 litres of supercharged Hemi V8 with 710hp. It sounds like Armageddon, then the supercharger whine kicks-in – absolutely glorious.
Still running it in and the launch control isn’t enabled until 500 miles – but it should do 0-60 in 3.4.
Have I made the right decision? Who knows – time will tell – but a nondescript 710hp daily driver sounds fine to me right now.
Congrats, sounds absolutely right to me. And you won't have wasted 5-7 years waiting for a car that might still not make an appearance.Still running it in and the launch control isn’t enabled until 500 miles – but it should do 0-60 in 3.4.
Have I made the right decision? Who knows – time will tell – but a nondescript 710hp daily driver sounds fine to me right now.
I've just bought some shares in Shell now......
baconsarney said:
tvrolet said:
Stuff, way too much stuff, like loads of stuff. Never ending stuff...
He could have said 'I've bought a TrackHawk it's fecking awesome'Job done.
Wasted half an hour of my life.............
Track Hawk is going to be worth absolutely nothing in five years time. Which is such a shame, but nobody wants a car like that outside of the USA. Slightly secondhand ones are a lot lot cheaper than new.
pincher said:
There’s porn on the internet?!? Where? Why did nobody tell me this before?!? 
Apthttps://youtu.be/aVTOk5p5iqo
Tyre Smoke said:
baconsarney said:
tvrolet said:
Stuff, way too much stuff, like loads of stuff. Never ending stuff...
He could have said 'I've bought a TrackHawk it's fecking awesome'Job done.
Wasted half an hour of my life.............
Track Hawk is going to be worth absolutely nothing in five years time. Which is such a shame, but nobody wants a car like that outside of the USA. Slightly secondhand ones are a lot lot cheaper than new.
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