Last week - for the first time in five years - I visited the TVR factory in Bristol Avenue. The fact that PH received an invitation is testimony to the new spirit evident an the Blackpool factory.
From meeting with Managing Director David Oxley to the quick tour of the factory, it's clear that there's a new way of thinking present at TVR.
Credit must go to Peter Wheeler for turning the company into a manufacturer that is now recognised the world over. Wheeler transformed the company from one that made scores of cars into one that made thousands. New challenges await though in the 21st Century.
New owner Nicolai Smolenski is now charged with transforming TVR into a company capable of competing on the world stage. It's certainly not going to be a quick process and the changes required have necessitated a period of silence which has left many of us TVR fans wondering what was occurring.
Much of what has happened was a simple tidying up of practices, structures, policies and the factory itself. Factory security is improved, development cars are now hidden away and the yards are no longer littered with remnants of TVR history. Sad in some respects, but necessary if TVR is to operate as a world class manufacturer. Factory servicing has gone and Blackpool is focusing 100% on being a manufacturer.
One of the more obvious signs of the desire to present a better image is that Smolenski recently insisted on the delivery lorries being replaced. Gone are the 1970's style trailers and in came two purple, enclosed, articulated lorries emblazoned with the TVR logo.
The company itself has been split into seperate divisions. A development division are responsible for designing the new cars, TVR Engineering Ltd build them and TVR Cars buy them from TVR Engineering and sell them to the dealers. TVR Cars are also responsible for telling the development team what they want from new models.
MD David Oxley was bullish about the future for TVR. He told me that Smolenski has a clear plan for the next five years and it's down to the new management team to execute it. NS is happy to spell out his plans and leave the new team to execute them with visits to Blackpool from the Russian owner taking place every fortnight.
What the boys at Blackpool have up their sleeve is now harder to find out than in the Wheeler era. Secrecy has been upgraded to the standards you'd expect from any manufacturer. Oxley hinted at long term plans of production levels of 5,000 cars a year but it's clear that he's intent on getting the right foundations in place on which to build the future of TVR.
The bottom line is that TVR isn't being run as it was previously. NS has injected a significant amount of money in the company to facilitate its growth. No longer should it be hamstrung by cashflow problems as it had been in the latter years of the Wheeler era.
I'm guessing that it could be a couple of years before we see the first 100% Smolenski inspired car launched. In the meantime the range of cars is likely to be refined and developed based on traditional TVR technologies.
Rumours of the Typhon's death are said to be premature so don't write that project off yet either. Initially it was a somewhat superficial homologation exercise for racing activities but I was told that work continues on producing proper road going versions now. We await news with interest.
As I left I was given details of the new warranties which are now offered on both new cars and approved used cars within the dealer network, and with a new price list.
The new price list makes interesting reading. TVR have opted to supply their models in 'standard' form and let owners decide which options they want. As a result the basic prices do look more attractive than in recent years (prices include VAT)
- Tamora 3.6: £36,425
- T350C 3.6: £38,775
- Tuscan 4.0 targa/convertible: £39,950
- Sagaris 4.0: £49,350
18 inch wheels will cost you £1100+VAT and full hide trim another £1000+VAT but it does offer a simpler pricing structure than had been present in recent years.
The sense I got whilst in Blackpool was that we shouldn't expect too much too quickly but the company is being put on a sound footing and is concentrating on getting the basics right.
We'll be following progress with great interest as ever.
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