TWR reborn as bespoke carmaker
Legendary British engineering brand name to begin new life as 'high-performance automobile' constructor
Tom Walkinshaw Racing needs no introduction on these pages. Whether for its success on the track or the numerous road cars it helped develop, the firm is rightly regarded as a legendary presence on the British scene in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and it was a sad day when the doors were forced to close following the demise of the Arrows F1 team. Now, a little more than 20 years later, TWR has announced its intention to return to prominence as a ‘world-class constructor’ of low-volume performance cars.
The latest venture is the brainchild of Tom’s son, Fergus, who quietly reestablished the business back in 2020, and has evidently spent the intervening years assembling a crack engineering team, ‘including some members who were part of the original TWR’ at a Newbury-based headquarters. The latest venture is technically a separate entity from the original firm (its assets and facilities were sold off back in 2002) but the team insists that ‘the new company will share much of the DNA and spirit that helped the original TWR brand to become a world leader in performance and motorsport engineering’.
If that prospect is already sufficiently brilliant to brighten up your Monday morning, rest assured there’s more. Part of the new TWR’s mission statement is apparently to ‘preserve and perfect the analogue driving experience’ and to avoid (or at least, deprioritise) the modern reliance on electronic systems. The firm reckons that by blending modern materials with a traditional engineering approach, it can build innovative cars with ‘a perfect balance of performance, style, functionality and quality’.
Needless to say, it isn’t the only carmaker attempting to exploit that very profitable niche, but fond memory of cars like the Aston DB7, the Clio V6 and several monstrous Jaguars among others ought to give the new TWR a significant leg-up when it comes to the job of establishing its position in a crowded marketplace. The father-son relationship obviously helps, too, and Fergus has made clear that he has ‘longed to find a way to continue the family legacy’ for some time.
“This new generation of TWR is first and foremost an engineering company that will make cars, rather than a car maker doing engineering,” he continues. “And that’s an important distinction. We will make use of cutting-edge technology, combining new expertise with traditional craft to build world-class products that make a statement of what this new TWR is all about. We aim to build some truly impressive and innovative automobiles, unconstrained by the rulebooks and styling demands of OEMs.”
Having said that, in the finest tradition of its spiritual predecessor, the newcomer is also looking to spend some of its time working with ‘class-leading brands to maximise the potential of their own products’, but clearly the focus, for now, is on launching its first custom-made project. Hence the teaser pic that accompanies the announcement. Perhaps we ought not to read too much into the fact that the filename is ‘TWRJAG’ but it’s hard not to let your imagination run wild when models of a certain vintage continue to get the collective blood racing. TWR promises more details soon. We can hardly wait.
More impressive than the JaguarSport parts bin use-up that was the XJr-15 was the engineering efforts put in to the Volvo BTCC cars. Anyone doing that much work to a 'standard production cylinder head' deserves a doff of the cap in my book. Also buoyed to read it'll be the engineering projects that TWR will be focussing on, as opposed to getting tied in to any one manufacturer.
“Tom, I always know when you’re lying because I can see your lips moving.”
a) Pots, kettles and blackness
b) It's so true
TWR under Tom's leadership "burnt" so many OEM for large sums of money (as to whether it was legal/illeagal is not for me to judge, but he was "sharper" in his contract terms than OEM's who were used to a more collaborative, trusting way of working and a lot of people ended up significantly "out of pocket"
I hope the new management of TWR Engineering has better business "ethics" if they want to enjoy long term relationships with OEM's
That is a massive task. Just ask McLaren. Good luck to them
(and if they can help TVR...finally do the same then all good. The last update from them on Social Media appears to be March 2020).
a) Pots, kettles and blackness
b) It's so true
TWR under Tom's leadership "burnt" so many OEM for large sums of money (as to whether it was legal/illeagal is not for me to judge, but he was "sharper" in his contract terms than OEM's who were used to a more collaborative, trusting way of working and a lot of people ended up significantly "out of pocket"
I hope the new management of TWR Engineering has better business "ethics" if they want to enjoy long term relationships with OEM's
Next up will we see someone bring back some of Robert Maxwell's companies, to benefit from all the positive associations?!
Next up will we see someone bring back some of Robert Maxwell's companies, to benefit from all the positive associations?!
Was Tom really that bad?
That is a massive task. Just ask McLaren. Good luck to them
(and if they can help TVR...finally do the same then all good. The last update from them on Social Media appears to be March 2020).
I'm none the wiser from the article what TWR plan to do. Build an entirely new car, or do tweaked versions of existing ones a bit like the old JaguarSport?
That is a massive task. Just ask McLaren. Good luck to them
(and if they can help TVR...finally do the same then all good. The last update from them on Social Media appears to be March 2020).
I'm none the wiser from the article what TWR plan to do. Build an entirely new car, or do tweaked versions of existing ones a bit like the old JaguarSport?
Next up will we see someone bring back some of Robert Maxwell's companies, to benefit from all the positive associations?!
Was Tom really that bad?
Paddock rumours tend to be just b0ll0x.
Motorsport is all about gaining an edge within the rules however sometimes the grey areas are the different between winning and loosing.
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