Al Melling makes bid for TVR
Engine designer plans to revive the Griffith
Return of the Griffith?
Melling has entered the bidding process for TVR and reckons that it will take some £10 million, including the purchase price, to get the Blackpool car company back on its feet again.
Melling has made millions designing engines all over the world -- he said a number of the top mechanics in the world's racing teams started at Melling's shop. He also co-designed the AJP engine that appeared first in the Cerbera and then, after the demise of the Rover V8-engined cars, every TVR from the Tuscan onwards.
He recently made headlines with the concept of his new, stripped-out road racer, the £185,000 Hellcat, whose 1,200bhp quad-turbo 6-litre V10 is aiming to strip the 252mph Bugatti Veyron of its 'world's fastest road car' epithet. But although he plans only to build 20 Hellcats a year, he needs premises and people to build it. Enter TVR.
Melling outlined his plans for TVR to PistonHeads yesterday. After the three to four months he said it would take to clear up the mess the factory has become, TVR could start producing cars again out of the Bristol Avenue premises in Blackpool.
Melling said that one of the biggest problems he's had when planning production of the Hellcat was finding the right kind of experience to build the car. With only about 50 miles and an hour's drive from his base in Rochdale to Blackpool, he believes that the right experience exists within TVR's ex-workforce who, if his bid succeeds, will be re-employed to build it.
"I want to take the people who used to work at TVR and have them continue at the Bristol Avenue factory," he said. "If I can't deal with Peter Wheeler to buy the plant, then I'll talk to Blackpool Corporation about other premises."
He also plans to revive the TVR Griffith, which kick-started the glory years for TVR in the 1990s, when its curvy, retro-look and gloriously burbling cars turned the company into a big profit generator. The new Griff will be powered by a V8 -- either a Melling designed motor or an AJP8. "It was a lovely car", he said. "It should never have been dropped."
But there's a lot to do before that. It will take time to clear up the factory and get it into a state where it's possible to work and make cars, said Melling. "I went to look at it yesterday, and it's a mess. There's all sorts of stuff lying around, with cars half-built with no components to build them."
Melling plans to export most of the cars he'd build, with most exports going to the USA. He said he has dealers in Florida and Silicon Valley lined up, and knows how to get the cars through California's stringent crash tests.
On the back of that, he plans to enter the Wildcat -- a racing version of the Hellcat powered by a 5-litre Melling V8 -- into US race series such as American Le Mans, as well as starting a US version of the Tuscan Challenge using the new Griff as a base.
On his plans for the UK, Melling was less forthcoming, and wouldn't discuss plans for rebuilding TVR's UK dealer network, for example.
The bidding is a closed envelope process -- a process that Melling said ought to be open -- and the highest bidder, and presumably the winner, will be revealed on 23 February.
Picture by Peter Reeson
Revive the most 'classic' TVR of all time? Check
Keep production in Britain? Check
Try to keep production at Bristol Avenue? Check
Bring back the laid off workers? Check
Instigated by the man who helped design the legendary AJP8?
C'mon Al - you're almost certainly the best hope for TVR
Instead of the negativity - how about we get behind this guy. He's got petrol running through his veins like us, and may actually know how to run a company
I'm no accountant..... But surely before quoting a price for a car you intend selling, wouldn't you need to know some small points like
Who's going to make it
Where's it going to be made
Does he know what it's going to be made out of yet ?
Would be much better with an American "crate" engine IMHO. Cheap and excellent reliability. Latest TVRs have all looked good, but they have spent too much time on the back of a flatbed recovery truck.
Revive the most 'classic' TVR of all time? Check
Keep production in Britain? Check
Try to keep production at Bristol Avenue? Check
Bring back the laid off workers? Check
Instigated by the man who helped design the legendary AJP8?
C'mon Al - you're almost certainly the best hope for TVR
Instead of the negativity - how about we get behind this guy. He's got petrol running through his veins like us, and may actually know how to run a company
Too right! I for one hope he succeeds and makes a real go of it!
Everything is just so right. Good luck Al
Would be much better with an American "crate" engine IMHO. Cheap and excellent reliability. Latest TVRs have all looked good, but they have spent too much time on the back of a flatbed recovery truck.
Yep, LS1,3,5,7 engined TVR's would be grand!
Would you revive the Griffith? This idea sounds a little to me like NAC selling the MGTF again - it's an old car, surely a fresh new design, maybe rekindling the Griffith nameplate is more the go?
Hope it all works out, good luck if you get it Al and lets hope some profits are made again.
Ali.
Just imagine.......
As I understand it alothough Mr Melling design the AJP it was tinkered with by TVR later.
ETA: Loving the sounds of that article as well, though perhaps declaring your bid in a closed auction isn't the best idea!
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