RE: TVR sold to British buyer?

[vixen1700]

touching cloth said:

Crap from Autocar

Dear oh dear!

[Garlick]

CDP said:

Garlick said:

Would you buy a TVR 'Elise' if it was priced similarly to the Lotus? I mean actually buy one if the two dealers were side by side.

I have no idea if they will produce a car like this, I'm just curious.

I think the original TVR formula of steel chassis based plastic shouty thing with a long bonnet is probably still favourite. It's likely to be the easiest to engineer too.

Keep it simple, light and as sensible a price as possible. Sebring seem to be a good example of how to do it.

I agree, I guess I can't help but feel they will need a (albeit small compared to Ford) volume car to keep profits up.

[rejn]

Seems like a good excuse for this gratuitous photo:


The best car I've ever owned.

[Apache]

JonRB said:

CDP said:

Surely they could use the original ECUs? If not the US tuning industry is massive so expertise in making these things run shouldn't be too hard to come by.

Indeed. There are plenty of aftermarket ECUs around. Syvecs, for example.

CDP said:

Personally I can't see a stigma with the idea of an LS engine. The Rover engine never hurt the Chimera, in fact a power unit with a known reliable heritage might be just be the reassurance a lot of previous owners might need.

I wouldn't say there is a stigma, as such, but with the LS going into almost everything these days (admittedly, much like the Rover did) there needs to be something to set it apart. Besides, the TVR Rover V8 (particularly in 500 form) had very little in common with the standard Rover engine.


It would certainly be a cheap and reliable way to big HP though, I agree. But something a little more special would be nice. As others have mentioned, a Jaguar V8 would be very much in keeping with a TVR.

While I don't particularly agree with you Jon, how about the Dodge V10, it's truck origins might sit well with TVRs crude image. Or there's always the Ford units as found in the Ford GT or Mustang Cobra avec blower

Edited by Apache on Friday 7th June 11:22

[JonRB]

CDP said:

But the LS range is special in it's own way and there are suitable manual transmissions that bolt straight to it. I'm not sure Jaguar would want a much lighter new gen TVR stealing the F-Type's thunder on performance figures either.

Also US power trains are astonishingly cheap, even in one-off crate form.

I don't disagree on any of those points. I'm just idly speculating that the LS is now so ubiquitous that a TVR using it wouldn't set it apart from any other small volume car also using it. But there is no doubting the sums add up for it.

[The Big G]

CDP said:

Personally I can't see a stigma with the idea of an LS engine. The Rover engine never hurt the Chimera, in fact a power unit with a known reliable heritage might be just be the reassurance a lot of previous owners might need.

TVR have bought in engines for most of their history, especially during the most sucessful years, mid 90s Griff and Chims. Personally I think the LS range would fit inperfectly. It goes from a good V8 up to the LS9. All with proper RnD which will last well if looked after, possibly if not! Easy drive train options for manual or DSG. Put it a steel chassis with a outrageous fiberglass body and you have yourself a new TVR. If only it was that simple.

I just hope they don't set their sights too high, start off producing only a small number of cars to get the demand growing before slowly scaling things up as demand increases. Similar to the way morgan go about things.

I will live in hope, fingers crossed.

[richb77]

MogulBoy said:

You win. My max bid was.



Edit. What an attractive power station that is on Mugabe's 500 buck note.

[smilo996]

and an updated website....

http://tvr.co.uk/

[J-P]

Garlick said:

Would you buy a TVR 'Elise' if it was priced similarly to the Lotus? I mean actually buy one if the two dealers were side by side.

I have no idea if they will produce a car like this, I'm just curious.

Personally, if it drove well, then yes but it's not TVR heartland, so I would be more interested in straight six or V8 powered, hairy-chested monster for a reasonable price.

[DonkeyApple]

JonRB said:

I wouldn't say there is a stigma, as such, but with the LS going into almost everything these days (admittedly, much like the Rover did) there needs to be something to set it apart. Besides, the TVR Rover V8 (particularly in 500 form) had very little in common with the standard Rover engine.

It would certainly be a cheap and reliable way to big HP though, I agree. But something a little more special would be nice. As others have mentioned, a Jaguar V8 would be very much in keeping with a TVR.

It's worth considering that if you want to monetise the element of the deal that is the rights to manufacture parts for the old cars then you would take the new car upmarket into a new price bracket.

This would drag values up on the old cars and ensure more are kept going using your parts etc. plus, you'd sweat out all the existing servicing firms if you were going to be very serious about this.

[CDP]

JonRB said:

CDP said:

But the LS range is special in it's own way and there are suitable manual transmissions that bolt straight to it. I'm not sure Jaguar would want a much lighter new gen TVR stealing the F-Type's thunder on performance figures either.

Also US power trains are astonishingly cheap, even in one-off crate form.

I don't disagree on any of those points. I'm just idly speculating that the LS is now so ubiquitous that a TVR using it wouldn't set it apart from any other small volume car also using it. But there is no doubting the sums add up for it.

If it's got the styling and interior to follow on from the recent TVR models they will easily stand apart from most other small or large volume manufacturers. How many cars can you think of that look half as good?

[Pat H]

Garlick said:

Would you buy a TVR 'Elise' if it was priced similarly to the Lotus? I mean actually buy one if the two dealers were side by side.

I have no idea if they will produce a car like this, I'm just curious.

Nope, definitely not.

The days of the Grantura, the 1600 Vixen and the 1600M are long gone.

TVR has evolved and the DNA now contains a thundering great engine as a key ingredient.

Lotus has survived on handling and heritage. We forgive them their often modest engines.

A new TVR needs to be more Griffith 500 than Elise.

But whatever happens in the future, the fact that the intellectual property is back under domestic control is a step in the right direction.

[fonoq35]

It would be great if this works. I love my tuscan, and as many others have pointed out the rebuilt and latest revisions to the S6 make it a an absolute belter of an engine.

The weird thing is TVR always got so much of the intangible stuff right - design (am I only one who see's sag/ tusc echo in a lot of exotics at the moment - its the lights I think), stomach wrenching perfomrance, passion, soul, feel etc. Towards the end I understand even the chassis was pretty sorted with more accessible handling etc. This is all the stuff the majors seem to miss.

Given the large numbers of production engineers trained up in Nissan, Honda, Toyota etc., and the expert engineering consultancies advising them (Sunderland isn't nissan's most productive plants world wide by accident) I really hope the spend some dosh on getting right people in to get the quality and finish right - so people really could make that choice between a cayman or whatever and a TVR. Even if this means a higher sticker price.

Because however much we (I) wish it wasn't the case (low price- high cost) x low volume does not a sustainable business make.

God I hope something a spine tingling as Jason from STR8SIX's supercharged Sag is the answer!!!

[toppstuff]

touching cloth said:

Nice to see Autocar extending journalistic excellence

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/tvr-thr...


Seriously?


So well known that they opted to use another car in the pic.


...and again


FFS, really!!

Bloody funny. Haymarket really does come across as a amateur student newsletter sometime, so poor is the general standard of writing.

Mind you if it was PH, they would have got the names exactly correct but probably spelt them wrong.

Clearly writing for a living does'nt set a very high bar these days.

[Garlick]

toppstuff said:

Mind you if it was PH, they would have got the names exactly correct but probably spelt them wrong.

My Chim is outside, I pop down with a pen and paper to check spelling before typing.

[seismic22]

JonRB said:

The Speed6 engine is actually an absolutely awesome engine now it has been completely sorted and the problems with the original design have been identified and rectified. There is nothing crap about it at all.

Maybe you could take your regurgitated second-hand Clarkson-inspired opinions elsewhere? Or get your facts right. Either works for me.

Hear Hear!

TVR had its only little niche in the market. OK so this wasnt ultimately sustainable but throw in some key individuals to improve business management and efficiency whilst ensuring improved finish quality then I think this niche is still there and has the ability to be profitable. Good NA Power, very low kerb weight, limited electronics/high driver involvement, noise, bonkers to look at and some reliability thrown in......

[CDP]

toppstuff said:

Clearly writing for a living does'nt set a very high bar these days.

I think the old maxim of getting what you pay for springs to mind and very few people pay anything these days.

[Twincam16]

CDP said:

Surely they could use the original ECUs? If not the US tuning industry is massive so expertise in making these things run shouldn't be too hard to come by.

Personally I can't see a stigma with the idea of an LS engine. The Rover engine never hurt the Chimera, in fact a power unit with a known reliable heritage might be just be the reassurance a lot of previous owners might need.

The problem with using an LS engine is that it puts whatever they come up with in the firing line of the Corvette, which will probably undercut it in every LHD market and make it look a bit pointless, especially once you've factored in the enormous GM dealer network.

I reckon they'd be better off cosying up to Jaguar. If you think about it, market forces have led us to a top-of-the-range F-type that is only available with a manual gearbox, weighs about the same as a landfill site and is stuffed full of very un-sporty electronic toys.

I've no doubt the F-type will sell well, but I reckon there's still a market - not enormous, but enough to sustain small-scale production - of people who really wanted a 'return to the E-type' and feel let down by the F-type.

Use the F-type's 5-litre V8, optionally supercharged, mated to an old-school six-speed manual gearbox. Put it in a lightweight glassfibre-bodied car. Carry over some of the EU-required electronics from the F-type to save money, throw in a Jaguar mechanical warranty and allow it to be serviced in Jaguar dealerships, and add an interior that's stylish and comfortable, but not overloaded with electronic tat.

Keeping the car simple and raw should also help to keep costs down, and getting the engines in a crate from Bridgend will avoid the pitfalls that come with attempting to build your own V8.

Be realistic about how many you'll build and I reckon it's a flier.

[SuperBaaaad]

[redacted]

[vixen1700]

Pat H said:

The days of the Grantura, the 1600 Vixen and the 1600M are long gone.

I do hope not!