London show: TVR resurrected

AFTER a turbulent decade, iconic British sportscar-maker TVR is gathering resurgent momentum ahead of its first new-model debut for more than ten years, with the brand confirming it will put in an appearance at the London motor show this month.

While TVR will not unveil the new production car at the United Kingdom event, it will reveal more information and a full-sized teaser impression of the enigmatic vehicle, for which the company has already started taking orders.

Critically though, the confirmation of its presence in London is indicative that TVR is close to a line-up resurrection, after years of being hand-balled and devoid of new product – the Typhon and Sagaris launched in the middle of the last decade.

While the company has not yet revealed its stance on the possibility of an introduction Down Under, its right-hand-drive layout and focus on high-powered rear-drive sportscars has the potential to succeed in Australia.

Little detail has been revealed about the new car other than its T37 codename, but it is known that respected high-performance car designer Gordon Murray is leading the vehicle’s development, and that it will be the classic British sportscar layout of front-engined, rear-drive and with a manual gearbox in the middle.

Mr Murray is behind some of the most diverse and extreme vehicles produced to date, including the McLaren F1, McLaren Mercedes SLR and, more recently, has been involved with more environmentally sustainable cars such as the Shell concept car and Riversimple Rasa.

Power will be courtesy of a V8 supplied by British race and high-performance engine manufacturer Cosworth, while construction will incorporate carbon-fibre, taking the form of both coupe and convertible.

TVR chairman Les Edgar said the London motor show attendance would maintain the anticipation and excitement for a resurrection of TVR with its new model.

“We have built enormous momentum over the past 12 months, to the point at which we now hold more than 350 deposits from enthusiastic individuals who are keen to be proud owners and drivers of the new TVR,” he said.

“Our appearance at the London Motor Show will be a perfect platform for us to show a physical representation of the car and we hope to use the opportunity to tantalise the public and provide a strong indication of the look of the production vehicle. It’s an important next step in bringing the new car to market.”

With a new car in the TVR stable the car-maker can start to put its chequered history behind it, which started with the company’s descent into financial struggle before an eventual by-out by Russian entrepreneur Nikolay Smolensky in 2004.

The nine-year tenure under Russian ownership failed to produce a single model, after plans to resurrect the Sagaris failed to eventuate, before the company was handed over to its current owner, TVR Automotive under the direction of Mr Edgar and operations director John Chasey.

The company’s name is derived by removing the vowels and one R from the founder’s first name Trevor Wilkinson, who started the company in 1947.

Until the factory closure under Russian ownership, TVRs were produced in Blackpool in the UK’s North, but the company’s new manufacturing facility is located in Wales.