Discussion
Did anyone read this yesterday?
Been following this one in the background... sad times.
The Blackpool era's over, but TVR is here to stay. That's the message from TVR boss David Oxley and owner Nikolai Smolenski, who say the firm's future is assured, and it's heading for good times, with a new 600bhp model due late this year. What's more, TVRs look set finally to get traction control and possibly airbags, too.
Late last year TVR signed deals with Ricardo (near Cambridge) to supply engines and gearboxes and IM Kelly (Coventry) to supply trim, and it has now signed up to outsource body and chassis construction to Jimmy Price, a South African who already makes Nobles and Superformance Cobra replicas. Instead of heading to Blackpool, all components will go to Bertone for final assembly in Italy, as reported by Autocar last year.
The proposed new TVR range will consist of the Tuscan, Tuscan convertible and Sagaris. Assembly is due to start in around April, with the intention of building 480 cars in 2007, but up to 5000 cars a year thereafter.
TVR is also planning a new Typhoon with 600bhp and a £100,000-plus price. Only 60 will be made, with the first cars being delivered later this year. It'll use a carbon monocoque and possibly carbon brakes.
Further in the future, there's a new Cerbera planned for 2010, and designed with help from the engineering and design departments of Manchester University.
Been following this one in the background... sad times.
The Blackpool era's over, but TVR is here to stay. That's the message from TVR boss David Oxley and owner Nikolai Smolenski, who say the firm's future is assured, and it's heading for good times, with a new 600bhp model due late this year. What's more, TVRs look set finally to get traction control and possibly airbags, too.
Late last year TVR signed deals with Ricardo (near Cambridge) to supply engines and gearboxes and IM Kelly (Coventry) to supply trim, and it has now signed up to outsource body and chassis construction to Jimmy Price, a South African who already makes Nobles and Superformance Cobra replicas. Instead of heading to Blackpool, all components will go to Bertone for final assembly in Italy, as reported by Autocar last year.
The proposed new TVR range will consist of the Tuscan, Tuscan convertible and Sagaris. Assembly is due to start in around April, with the intention of building 480 cars in 2007, but up to 5000 cars a year thereafter.
TVR is also planning a new Typhoon with 600bhp and a £100,000-plus price. Only 60 will be made, with the first cars being delivered later this year. It'll use a carbon monocoque and possibly carbon brakes.
Further in the future, there's a new Cerbera planned for 2010, and designed with help from the engineering and design departments of Manchester University.
If there is truth in the report then:
1) Adding traction control and airbags is a smart and required move. The current line up alienates potential buyers who require such basic safety equipment as standard. ABS would be a huge boon, but as an expensive addition it is probably in the sidelines to be added if the venture is a success.
2) S6 engine to be put together by a highly professional engine builder. Excellent move. This should lead to more consistant build quality and quality of parts, plus be a major marketing tool in the huge job of undoing all the bad press from this engine. Good PR.
3) Outsourcing body and chassis to a well respected and proven specialist supplier. There was probably nothing wong with TVR's inhouse version but what this achieves is the shift of a huge potential draw on the company's books in way of labour and site costs. Using Jimmy Price reassures us that they will be built properly.
4) Trim is supplied by an English firm, so even the jingoists amongst us can at least rest assured that thier precious behinds are resting on English leather, only previously touched by a fellow Englishman.
5) Put together in Italy by Bertone. A good move. Italy has a good cache for class and style which will be excellent PR for selling the cars across Europe. Italy is also a relatively neutral country and there are few Europeans with strong feelings against them. Imagine if they were to be built in Germany and how the average Sun reader would feel. The added bonus here, is that Bertone have a reputaion to protect and so should put a lot of effort into quality control before a car leaves them. It is their reputation being put on the line. Nice move.
6) Restricting the innitial model range to effectively 2 cars. Sensible for many reasons.
7) Launch the new venture with a barnstorming, front page grabbing supercar. Very prudent and wise PR. They just had beeter make damn sure that the thing works and then when hammered by brutal journalists things don't fall off it. (double screw and glue absolutely everything this time).
This is a high risk strategy but with excellent merits. If it works it will be absosutely fantastic. So, if the story above transpires to be true then it has my full support and I really look forward to seeing it come to fruition.
1) Adding traction control and airbags is a smart and required move. The current line up alienates potential buyers who require such basic safety equipment as standard. ABS would be a huge boon, but as an expensive addition it is probably in the sidelines to be added if the venture is a success.
2) S6 engine to be put together by a highly professional engine builder. Excellent move. This should lead to more consistant build quality and quality of parts, plus be a major marketing tool in the huge job of undoing all the bad press from this engine. Good PR.
3) Outsourcing body and chassis to a well respected and proven specialist supplier. There was probably nothing wong with TVR's inhouse version but what this achieves is the shift of a huge potential draw on the company's books in way of labour and site costs. Using Jimmy Price reassures us that they will be built properly.
4) Trim is supplied by an English firm, so even the jingoists amongst us can at least rest assured that thier precious behinds are resting on English leather, only previously touched by a fellow Englishman.
5) Put together in Italy by Bertone. A good move. Italy has a good cache for class and style which will be excellent PR for selling the cars across Europe. Italy is also a relatively neutral country and there are few Europeans with strong feelings against them. Imagine if they were to be built in Germany and how the average Sun reader would feel. The added bonus here, is that Bertone have a reputaion to protect and so should put a lot of effort into quality control before a car leaves them. It is their reputation being put on the line. Nice move.
6) Restricting the innitial model range to effectively 2 cars. Sensible for many reasons.
7) Launch the new venture with a barnstorming, front page grabbing supercar. Very prudent and wise PR. They just had beeter make damn sure that the thing works and then when hammered by brutal journalists things don't fall off it. (double screw and glue absolutely everything this time).
This is a high risk strategy but with excellent merits. If it works it will be absosutely fantastic. So, if the story above transpires to be true then it has my full support and I really look forward to seeing it come to fruition.
I hope that somebody has done the sums for the shipping costs to transport various components to and from Coventry, Cambridge, South Africa and Italy. And then back again to the dealers.
And that they've thought about who has overall responsibility for the finished car and therefore be the ones to fix it should it break - outsourcing looks great on paper but can end up with lots of finger pointing between component suppliers when something breaks.
And that they've thought about who has overall responsibility for the finished car and therefore be the ones to fix it should it break - outsourcing looks great on paper but can end up with lots of finger pointing between component suppliers when something breaks.
BossCerbera said:
jeremyc said:
...outsourcing looks great on paper...
Wise words mate.
I agree. Having carried out and been involved in various outsources (IT Systems and services)I can assure you that the financial benefits are probably overstated / over optimistic and that the unforeseen problems and costs will make it very very hard to work. they will need some damn good processes, contracts, rates, QA's, management competence, relationships etc to make this work.
...and not much precedent for associating any of those with NS-era TVR. 
bob1179 said:
jeremyc said:
bob1179 said:
5000 cars the year after?
What are these people smoking?
Up to 5000 cars. What are these people smoking?
Remember, 2 cars annually is still up to 5000 cars.
This is true, I believe 5000 is a fantastically optomistic number. Where do the powers that be find these numbers?
I suspect that it is indeed a pie in the sky figure but when putting together the paperwork for the spec and tenders they would have had to have provided a top and bottom figure in the plan. 5000 is a nice round number and enures that you don't do a deal with a supplier who is suddenly going to run out of capacity for you if you start making more than a few cars a week.
Horse_Apple said:
I suspect that it is indeed a pie in the sky figure but when putting together the paperwork for the spec and tenders they would have had to have provided a top and bottom figure in the plan. 5000 is a nice round number and enures that you don't do a deal with a supplier who is suddenly going to run out of capacity for you if you start making more than a few cars a week.
HA - your logic is, of course, logical. And for that reason more than any other does not apply. 5,000 comes from "Aston Martin did it".
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