The Murtaya - TVR Alternative?
Discussion
JR said:
RichB said:
scotty_d said:
it looks to kit car at least TVR hide it a bit
Maybe that's because since the late 60's TVRs have not been kit cars? Always amuses and irritates me this - when talking about Morgans people go all gooey eyed and say how wonderful it is to see English craftsmanship making hand built cars, yet with TVRs, because they used GRP instead of wood they call them kit cars. Odd...
It's this one:
Hiryu said:
Pooh said:
JonRB said:
Was the Murtaya originally the Delfino Feroce ("ferocious dolphin", FFS) or was that another roadster based on Impreza running gear?
It was originally called the Minari and was based on the Alfa boxer engined 33 or Sud.Or at least that's how I've gathered the history over the last few years...
Mike
After several years of production, Minari Engineering developed the Delfino Feroce with some overseas investment (around 1999?) using the existing kit and Subaru mechanicals as the basis. The design ended up being a little cluttered, to say the least.
The Minari ceased production in 2000 and the original, Alfa based project was sold to Adrenaline in 2006. AFAIK, the Delfino still belongs to the guys who developed it and/or the foreign investor.
Adrenaline took the Minari design and tried to redevelop it to accept the Subaru mechanicals, but came to the conclusion that it would be easier to completely redesign the car. Although the overall shape is similar, I understand that the only thing that is the same is the screen.
Adrenaline originally intended to market the original kit too, but got too busy with the Murtaya and sold the project on to Peninsula Sports Cars in 2007 - Peninsula are now considering redevloping the Minari to take more modern running gear.
Although I would agree that the Murtaya is completely different to a TVR, I would say that it is a hugely fast, capable car that deserves respect and does not deserve to be dismissed as a mere "kit car".
Cheers
Gassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff