RE: New TVR - the update
Discussion
mikebrownhill said:
It's interesting to see the comparisons to Porsche, Lotus etc but the one I haven't seen is probably closer in the marketplace in many respects - don't laugh - its the Morgan Aero 8 or even the Plus 8:
- the point however is that Morgan have found their own bit of space in a world full of Porsche 911's and are making a good go of it, so hopefully TVR can as well - I really hope they do for the sake of Britishness...
Morgan is the Inconvenient Truth for those who say TVR has no chance.- the point however is that Morgan have found their own bit of space in a world full of Porsche 911's and are making a good go of it, so hopefully TVR can as well - I really hope they do for the sake of Britishness...
Perhaps hard to comprehend on these pages, but some people can't connect with Porsche, Lotus etc.
They want something different.
DonkeyApple said:
True but hopefully you don't have to be over 75 to own one or be married to a lady that resembles a deflated party balloon? 
Ah, yes that old stereotype; personally I have always found the pulling power of a Morgan to be pretty good and all the other owners that I know are younger than me (and I'm not 75, yet, either) but that one can go on the list as well thank you - Fanny Magnet - keeping this on topic I'm sure the new TVR will excel in this area too.i think the biggest issue here is they have dragged this out so long, and made such a huge mountain out of it, its going to have to be bloody amazing to meet the hype and expectation.
I agree that the target market might not be your typical "main stream" sports car, but at £90k there are all sorts of decent options out there and people just aren't prepared to put up with crap build quality or reliability at that sort of price point. Ditto people will want a network of dealers and not have to drive 200 miles + for a service.
Hope it's a corker.
I agree that the target market might not be your typical "main stream" sports car, but at £90k there are all sorts of decent options out there and people just aren't prepared to put up with crap build quality or reliability at that sort of price point. Ditto people will want a network of dealers and not have to drive 200 miles + for a service.
Hope it's a corker.
mikebrownhill said:
Sorry, I meant Brand rather than specific models; Morgan is over 100 years old (1909) and the article said 70 years old for TVR I thought... so neither exactly are start ups, hence the similarity in comparison.
His point being that TVR IS a start up.Only the name is being carried over, not the bodies, chassis, engines, staff, factory....
RobM77 said:
Ekona said:
I'm glad it's going to exist again, but I'm never going to be spending £100K on a TVR. Even if I had it in the first place.
What do you mean by 'a TVR' though? This is a completely different chassis, engine and engineering team. They could have called it anything.but when embracing the company and ethos of TVR , i GUESS they are building a car that has the character and style of lets say a TVR ?
I'm really in two minds about all this. On the one hand it's good to see another low-volume British car maker having a crack but the posters above are right; it's not TVR. Take the badge away and it's 'just another wannabe car maker'; it has zero connection to the TVR of old and is purely being used to tug the heartstrings of misty-eyed car enthusiasts.
Remove the badge - how would a new British car-making startup who want to charge six figures be received? Even with the background Les has, it's still an enormous punt on a car no-one's even seen yet. Which is my other point; the cloak-and-dagger secrecy is actually getting boring - I have a horrible feeling it may well be met with 'oh' rather than 'WOW!' after all this time.
Probably a good thing I'm not even remotely their target market really!
Remove the badge - how would a new British car-making startup who want to charge six figures be received? Even with the background Les has, it's still an enormous punt on a car no-one's even seen yet. Which is my other point; the cloak-and-dagger secrecy is actually getting boring - I have a horrible feeling it may well be met with 'oh' rather than 'WOW!' after all this time.
Probably a good thing I'm not even remotely their target market really!
Funk said:
not TVR. Take the badge away and it's 'just another wannabe car maker'; it has zero connection to the TVR of old and is purely being used to tug the heartstrings of misty-eyed car enthusiasts.
LE bought the company so however much (or little) it has in common with any other TVR the new model is a TVR.TA14 said:
Funk said:
not TVR. Take the badge away and it's 'just another wannabe car maker'; it has zero connection to the TVR of old and is purely being used to tug the heartstrings of misty-eyed car enthusiasts.
LE bought the company so however much (or little) it has in common with any other TVR the new model is a TVR.TA14 said:
Funk said:
not TVR. Take the badge away and it's 'just another wannabe car maker'; it has zero connection to the TVR of old and is purely being used to tug the heartstrings of misty-eyed car enthusiasts.
LE bought the company so however much (or little) it has in common with any other TVR the new model is a TVR.Go and tell it to Rolls Royce, Bentley, Bugatti, etc.
What have these current entities got in common with Mr Rolls and Mr Royce and the other people who started those companies? Nothing except an ethos about how cars should be.
Given staff turn over in companies it's unlikely there's anyone left at Lotus who had anything to do with even the original Elise let alone anything before that. Colin Chapman is just a bloke in photos on the wall who's thoughts about how a car should be still inform their designs.
While Morgan, Ferrari and Porsche still have the real DNA in the boardroom (I think), once everyone around the table gets the idea, the bloodline is just nice to have.
What have these current entities got in common with Mr Rolls and Mr Royce and the other people who started those companies? Nothing except an ethos about how cars should be.
Given staff turn over in companies it's unlikely there's anyone left at Lotus who had anything to do with even the original Elise let alone anything before that. Colin Chapman is just a bloke in photos on the wall who's thoughts about how a car should be still inform their designs.
While Morgan, Ferrari and Porsche still have the real DNA in the boardroom (I think), once everyone around the table gets the idea, the bloodline is just nice to have.
swisstoni said:
While Morgan, Ferrari and Porsche still have the real DNA in the boardroom (I think), once everyone around the table gets the idea, the bloodline is just nice to have.
I remember in the eighties a coachbuilder had built a special based on a Porsche for a motorshow, not too dissimilar to the Panamera, only to be told the day before the show opened, by Porsche that they were to remove it because Porsche don't build four door cars. Cross them off the list.mikebrownhill said:
DonkeyApple said:
True but hopefully you don't have to be over 75 to own one or be married to a lady that resembles a deflated party balloon?
Ah, yes that old stereotype; personally I have always found the pulling power of a Morgan to be pretty good and all the other owners that I know are younger than me (and I'm not 75, yet, either) but that one can go on the list as well thank you - Fanny Magnet - keeping this on topic I'm sure the new TVR will excel in this area too.
Funk said:
I'm really in two minds about all this. On the one hand it's good to see another low-volume British car maker having a crack but the posters above are right; it's not TVR. Take the badge away and it's 'just another wannabe car maker'; it has zero connection to the TVR of old and is purely being used to tug the heartstrings of misty-eyed car enthusiasts.
Remove the badge - how would a new British car-making startup who want to charge six figures be received? Even with the background Les has, it's still an enormous punt on a car no-one's even seen yet. Which is my other point; the cloak-and-dagger secrecy is actually getting boring - I have a horrible feeling it may well be met with 'oh' rather than 'WOW!' after all this time.
Probably a good thing I'm not even remotely their target market really!
Most niche marques evolve over their lifetime, and the market changes (unless you're a 911... but even then..). So demanding that only the original thing be regarded as a TVR is missing the point of what Peter Wheeler did over the lifetime of his tenure. Remove the badge - how would a new British car-making startup who want to charge six figures be received? Even with the background Les has, it's still an enormous punt on a car no-one's even seen yet. Which is my other point; the cloak-and-dagger secrecy is actually getting boring - I have a horrible feeling it may well be met with 'oh' rather than 'WOW!' after all this time.
Probably a good thing I'm not even remotely their target market really!
TVR had a feel to them, just as Lotus does - and if LE can bring together a team that can respect that feel, and they own the TVR brand, then I'm happy to call it a TVR. We'll only know for sure when the first cars are in people's hands, but there is a subtle difference between 'wannabe startup car company' and genuine niche player. For sure we see renderings and optimistic projections of proposed cars every other week - if this one turns up and delivers, then it marks it out as a rare thing indeed. I'd be delighted to see that happen.
Tuna said:
Most niche marques evolve over their lifetime, and the market changes (unless you're a 911... but even then..). So demanding that only the original thing be regarded as a TVR is missing the point of what Peter Wheeler did over the lifetime of his tenure.
Good point. Many on here say a TVR is a front engine crate V8 with a seventy year history but in reality the V8 cars were introduced by PRW (ignoring the handful of sixties cars) barely twenty years time span with V6 cars over a longer time and Trevor was amazed and disappointed that they never produced a mid-engine car.blade7 said:
TA14 said:
Funk said:
not TVR. Take the badge away and it's 'just another wannabe car maker'; it has zero connection to the TVR of old and is purely being used to tug the heartstrings of misty-eyed car enthusiasts.
LE bought the company so however much (or little) it has in common with any other TVR the new model is a TVR.As TA14 says, for better or worse this isn't the old TVR, it's a new TVR.
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