TVR's in New Zealand
Discussion
Heheh glad ya don't have tha balls Kylie 
.... ya must be post-op then eh?
I'd LOVE to come out to a Lotus Track day but alas, my car will not br ready for this.... this is probably a 3-year project (the engine transplant is merely the first step) and it's going to eat up elise-type money by the end of it. No matter.... I've got the stickability and the motivation to o it... it's just a matter of time, and saving
.... ya must be post-op then eh? I'd LOVE to come out to a Lotus Track day but alas, my car will not br ready for this.... this is probably a 3-year project (the engine transplant is merely the first step) and it's going to eat up elise-type money by the end of it. No matter.... I've got the stickability and the motivation to o it... it's just a matter of time, and saving
darren said:
Of course, it then has to comply with the frontal impact regulations.
Actually, wouldn't it mean they don't have to comply with frontal-impact regulations? Otherwise there's no difference to the way things are now.
I heard the Low Volume boys were pushing the LTSA to increase the total production number to 2000 (from 200) to bring it in line with European legislation. I believe the original rule was supposed to be 200 models per manufacturer (i.e. 200 Tuscans, 200 Cerberas) but the LTSA cocked it up.
The thing I find really hard to swallow about all this (apart from some suit in an office telling me what car I can and can't own!) is that it's all done in the name of safety. Yet, I could quite happily import a twenty-year-old Vauxhall Astra. Now which would you think is safer, an aging poorly designed and built hatch-back or a sports car based on the same chassis that has been raced and crashed for over a decade and is fitted with a rollcage, massive brakes etc?
The other point is that frontal impact protection is about protecting me. So if I drive a car which hasn't been tested to some EU standard, then thats my call. I am taking the risk. I know it doesn't have an air bag, traction control, ABS. I'd rather concentrate on NOT having an accident than to be surrounded by safety devices that lull me into a false sense of security.
I can happily go down Wellington and buy a superbike capable of obscene speeds which I can drive in my t shirt and jeans (helmet obviously). Wheres my frontal impact protection there?
I can happily go down Wellington and buy a superbike capable of obscene speeds which I can drive in my t shirt and jeans (helmet obviously). Wheres my frontal impact protection there?
One thing you must realise Richard is that under NZ's wonderful leftie government we've been beaten into this state.... the regulations are there primarily to stem the flow of used, cheap, 2nd hand imports flooding the market as has been the case in recent years, with NZ becoming the dumping ground for Japan's cast-offs..... it's just an unfortunate coincidence that those same rules stop us from importing the cars WE love...in NZ they don't give a toss about road-safety, that much is clear.... if they did, our speed-camera fleet would be outside schools at 8am in the morning instead of behind a bush on a ribbon-straight downhill stretch of SH1, and for that matter, SH1 would be a dual-carriageway the length of the country.... but they don't and it's not.
Amen
I probably fit into this bracket but meh.
Im amazed the number of times I hear. "Im ...and I just bought my first car and its an Evo (or similar) and now I cant find insurance. Its so unfair"
If they started with a mini like I did and worked their way up maybe theyd be able to get insurance.
*disclaimer* I dont own an Evo and dont plan to
I probably fit into this bracket but meh.
Im amazed the number of times I hear. "Im ...and I just bought my first car and its an Evo (or similar) and now I cant find insurance. Its so unfair"
If they started with a mini like I did and worked their way up maybe theyd be able to get insurance.
*disclaimer* I dont own an Evo and dont plan to
TVR takeover article said:
TVR's 400-strong workforce were told on Tuesday that Nikolai Smolensky planned a substantial investment to take the Blackpool company into North America and other global markets.
YOU LITTLE RIPPA!!!!
Come on, bring em to NZ
Lets hope this is the begining of an ever golder golden age for TVR
I wouldnt be so sure its a good thing
Sure its good for Americans but I bet it makes everyone else worse off. Just look at the Past
MG concentrates on America and destroys their cars with heavy bumpers raised ride heights and emmissions gear that weighs more than the engine
Lotus goes back into America and starts using the poor Toyota 1.8 engine that from the 2005 model year wont even be available in the Celica and MR2 over there
Sure its good for Americans but I bet it makes everyone else worse off. Just look at the Past
MG concentrates on America and destroys their cars with heavy bumpers raised ride heights and emmissions gear that weighs more than the engine
Lotus goes back into America and starts using the poor Toyota 1.8 engine that from the 2005 model year wont even be available in the Celica and MR2 over there
dejoux said:
Lotus goes back into America and starts using the poor Toyota 1.8 engine that from the 2005 model year wont even be available in the Celica and MR2 over there
Yeah I wonder how much longer the toyota engine will be California-compliant? I mean surely if the engine isn't in their market then they won't waste development money keeping it up to their ever-tightening restrictions.... I wonder if Lotus knew of this Celica/MR2 pullout before they developed the federal Elise?
Well there you go, straight from the horseskies' mouth! TVR will be producing cars to be exported to, amongst others, the USA!
So, in a couple of years time we can expect to see TVRs back in NZ. Probably just as the LTSA wake-up and smell the cow-poo, and relax their daft rules.
I bet one thing though - they'll be expensive, much more expensive than they are now. If he wants to build future cars to the necessary standard AND improve quality you're going to be looking at at least a 30% price hike. Still cheap, but if for example a T350C was 55k GBP instead of 40k GBP will the market be as lucrative?
I'm also interested in the comment about moving away from the GRP over space-frame comment. I hope this is a reference to the way some of the race cars have been built and we'll see a central monocoque/tub with space-frame attachments front and rear. Personally I don't think the TVR method of build is bad it's just some of the execution that lets them down and more than anything else consistency!
So, in a couple of years time we can expect to see TVRs back in NZ. Probably just as the LTSA wake-up and smell the cow-poo, and relax their daft rules.
I bet one thing though - they'll be expensive, much more expensive than they are now. If he wants to build future cars to the necessary standard AND improve quality you're going to be looking at at least a 30% price hike. Still cheap, but if for example a T350C was 55k GBP instead of 40k GBP will the market be as lucrative?
I'm also interested in the comment about moving away from the GRP over space-frame comment. I hope this is a reference to the way some of the race cars have been built and we'll see a central monocoque/tub with space-frame attachments front and rear. Personally I don't think the TVR method of build is bad it's just some of the execution that lets them down and more than anything else consistency!
The gold one's oft spotted.... used to have nitrous IIRC and it lives in Remuera..... I'd guess that the silver one you saw didn't have a rollcage if the back part of the hood was up.... any struts you likely saw were the aluminium stays for the folding rear section of the hood.... I could be wrong though. There's also a dark blue one that parks in the Saatch & Saatchi building on the strand they're all gorgeous
they're all gorgeous
on opposite page.I know the guy who brought that Gold Griffith in (the one in the trader not the nitros car - that car was a bag of poo when I first looked at it - it was blue with half hide, filthy, had no clutch and was in very poor condition) and I can say with all honesty that it is the most disgusting colour combination ever - I'm surprised Wheeler allowed it out of the factory!
If the silver Griffith in question was more of a graphite colour as apposed to the silversone metallic like my Chimaera, it could be Mr 'Chocolate' Whittaker's Griffith which IS fitted with a roll bar, 5-stud Cerbera style wheels and four-pot calipers. It's also got a very powerful pre-Griffith 500 5.0litre and rock-hard suspension. Apparently it cost a fortune and Mr Whittaker had a big bust-up with Peter Wheeler over it. It's a very nice car and was for sale a few months ago for 70k.
I've seen an RS2 for sale on TradeMe - is it the same one? Good value for money (at approx. $40k). The ultimate family car!
If the silver Griffith in question was more of a graphite colour as apposed to the silversone metallic like my Chimaera, it could be Mr 'Chocolate' Whittaker's Griffith which IS fitted with a roll bar, 5-stud Cerbera style wheels and four-pot calipers. It's also got a very powerful pre-Griffith 500 5.0litre and rock-hard suspension. Apparently it cost a fortune and Mr Whittaker had a big bust-up with Peter Wheeler over it. It's a very nice car and was for sale a few months ago for 70k.
I've seen an RS2 for sale on TradeMe - is it the same one? Good value for money (at approx. $40k). The ultimate family car!
George, if it were me sorting the car, I would fix it up with the std engine and equipment and sell it. Sounds a little harsh but for all the expensive energy you plan on doing to it, you may not get your money back if you intend on selling it later on. At the end of the day you will always want that Griff or other super car. Pls forgive me if I am totally wrong though, just seems that from what I know of you and where your heading you might as well tuck into a newer treat while you can. Soon there will be the wife, the kids, morgage and before you know it no money for serious toys Just jokes about the family stuff....for now!!
>> Edited by kylie on Sunday 17th October 07:06
Just jokes about the family stuff....for now!! >> Edited by kylie on Sunday 17th October 07:06
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