TVR's Italian move mooted
Rumours intensify around TVR's relocation
TVR Sagaris' at Bristol Avenue
This follows the company's cataclysmic announcement that it's to leave Blackpool, the town that it's called home since 1947. All production staff will lose their jobs.
Just as bad as the jettisoning of the loyalty of the company's workers is the likelihood that TVR will lose its British roots too, the bulldog character of which it so ably represented.
There's precious little information officially from TVR but sources from within the company -- PistonHeads' researches suggests they're production staff -- say that the rumours carry weight. People PistonHeads has spoken to are unable to comment, redirecting requests for information to the company's new PR company.
Autocar yesterday ran a story with more detail. It suggested that, despite a secret meeting between Lotus boss Mike Kimberley and TVR's new boss Nikolai Smolenski, Italy is to be where the company's new products will be built.
New cars
Some 500 cars a year assembled from Italian chassis and body component makers in the vicinity of Turin could be built, according to Autocar.
Engines will come from UK specialist engineering company Ricardo, with whom TVR signed a deal in July, when it announced that it had signed an agreement with Ricardo to develop the Speed Six engine to Euro 5 emissions compliance. Incidentally, Ricardo also designed the engines for JCB's recent successful attempt on the world diesel-powered land speed record (see link below).
There will be new versions of the Sagaris and Tuscan, plus a fastback Tuscan GT -- and maybe even a TWR-developed Le Mans/GT racer.
Background
This all follows a volatile period for TVR, when orders allegedly fell to close to zero, lay-offs followed lay-offs, and announcements about a new plant vacillated between staying at Bristol Avenue, moving to a place outside Lancashire, and then cutting a deal with Blackpool council to stay in the town. It was only in August that the company said it would be moving to a new purpose-built home on Blackpool Business Park within two years.
It seems that none of this was enough to keep the firm in the UK, despite Smolenski spending his own money to make good the company's £11.8 million deficit for 2005, on top of the £15 million he allegedly paid for it in 2004. The 2005 loss was about 70 per cent of that year's £16.7m turnover.
One worker told the local paper: "We will come in tomorrow as usual, make a cup of tea and start playing a game of cards or watching a DVD for eight hours - that's all we have done for months. And we will wait until the 90 days is up and they'll close it for good. It's a shame but what can we do."
Reaction
The response from the TVR community to events has been huge. The TVR Car Club has expressed its support for the workers who'll lose their livelihoods. "We will continue to support the hard workers at TVR through thick and thin. I'm sure a lot of what has happened this week is still sinking in for many of them", said TVRCC chairman Jeremy Blandford. The club plans to go ahead with its celebration in Blackpool next year to mark TVR's 60th anniversary.
Dave Smart from Automedon, a consortium of ex-TVR factory technicians and craftsmen and which now services and fettles TVRs, said that he was disgusted with the way that the company was walking away from Blackpool.
"TVR is a Blackpool firm. This is just taking away the soul of the firm", he told the Blackpool Gazette. "I just feel for my former colleagues. It's hard to imagine what they're going through."
One ex-TVR dealer said he wasn't surprised, because Blackpool was cut off from the primarily Midlands-based automotive suppliers. Sports car dealer John McGlynn said that many others had moved form the area in similar circumstances.
Related stories
The cars are no where near to have european homologation, that is a fact, just the engine (which is even not yet homologated!) is not enough, to homologate the whole car needs more than a few more steps, so it is clearly not for soon, whisch tleaves for "some" time UK as only possible market to see cars.
So the engines are still supposed to be build in UK...to be sent in Italy, to be put in a car there, which when finish will have to be sent to UK to be sold...well???
Car not european homolagated, almost no dealer network, brand not really well known by most people all over europe, and he expect to be rescue by european sale??
The cars are no where near to have european homologation, that is a fact, just the engine (which is even not yet homologated!) is not enough, to homologate the whole car needs more than a few more steps, so it is clearly not for soon, whisch tleaves for "some" time UK as only possible market to see cars.
So the engines are still supposed to be build in UK...to be sent in Italy, to be put in a car there, which when finish will have to be sent to UK to be sold...well???
Car not european homolagated, almost no dealer network, brand not really well known by most people all over europe, and he expect to be rescue by european sale??
It would be possible, with enough investment (which would inply a sensible business plan and that might be a bit of a stretch) to homologate for Europe.
Egines are a high value component, so it wouldn't be that unusual to ship them around a bit.
For many other brands there would be nothing wrong with building the cars in Italy.
For TVR that isn't the case (obviously!)
They could get away with a Noble style operation (body and chassis coming in from elsewhere) with final assembly and engine build in the UK.
www.chpltd.com/mgworld/modena.html
Now substitute key words like "MG" for "TVR" , "SV" for "Typhoon" , throw in "Ricardo Speed Six" and maybe add " Ford V8 option " , and imagine "(TVR Designed )Carbon Fibre built bodies by Belco-Avia"
. 
And if Bertone got the hand in it its something good, though still a bit strange to see TVR build in Itali but as long as they don't loose the TVR heart, I still would love one
here a TVR dealer;
www.tvritalia.com/
here the weblink to the UK Garage, look at theirs and pres on "UKG Gallery";
www.ukgarage.it/
GTRene
I'll be very surprised if this actually happens. If it was me and I was purely interested in building TVRs more cheaply, I'd move to eastern europe or the far east, China or India.
I'm still holding out hope that Smolenski will realise he's made a dreadful mistake and either sell TVR again or return to the UK with his tail between his legs.
I'll be very surprised if this actually happens. If it was me and I was purely interested in building TVRs more cheaply, I'd move to eastern europe or the far east, China or India.
I'm still holding out hope that Smolenski will realise he's made a dreadful mistake and either sell TVR again or return to the UK with his tail between his legs.
Like I said (maybe not very succintly)... you could offshore a load of labour intensive stuff and still assemble in the UK. Best of both worlds.
You wouldn't have to employ too many in the UK (sorry boys, but that's economics) so the sums would add up the right way (for once).
In the begining we tolerated the foibles,bits falling off and hopeless electrics but as the prices rose the quality seemed to get worse!
You always needed to own a second car to drive when your beloved TVR was at the dealers-again!
I've owned six TVR's and on a good day there was no finer car to have some real fun in.
I persevered for so long until I spent £2000 just make my T350 saleable.
Pity the Japanese didn't buy the firm.I think TVR is in it's death throes-not a pretty sight!
I now run a 300bhp Subaru Legacy import and a 430bhp Nissan gtr34 for fun.
Irest my case.
Considering how long it took for them to get around building the LHD cars (Nimag's demo, which was originally scheduled for July/August 2005 and has only been in since a month or so, plus a host of others that were ordered) as well as two Sagarii ordered by folks on here that we know of...
... maybe a lack of orders is/was actually the lesser of their problems... When they are given the orders to build, they work hard to fulfil the orders. It's hardly their fault if they are not given the orders, is it?
Julian
You're not a loner.
Marketing by suicide, imho.
The cars are no where near to have european homologation, that is a fact, just the engine (which is even not yet homologated!) is not enough, to homologate the whole car needs more than a few more steps, so it is clearly not for soon, whisch tleaves for "some" time UK as only possible market to see cars.
No, sorry, I don't follow you on that one.
So how come there are TVR dealers in Holland Switserland and one particular nutter in Germany, Tiger kit cars in Belgium, Marcos all over the place.. you get my drift.
Euro law says that any car homologated in a memberstate country is good to roll in another memberstate.
So the engines are still supposed to be build in UK...to be sent in Italy, to be put in a car there, which when finish will have to be sent to UK to be sold...well???
Well they won't win the Al Gore award for extra Kyoto points will they. Way to go at cost reduction Nico.
Car not european homolagated, almost no dealer network, brand not really well known by most people all over europe, and he expect to be rescue by european sale??
Oh TVR is pretty well known. Any car that outperforms a Lambo for a fraction of the price ànd is on Gran Turismo would be. There is a small dealer network but who cares. I mean it's not as though Wiesmann or Ferrari dealers are at every streetcorner are they? And they seem to do pretty fine.
He should expect to grow sales in Europe, and after ten years of honing the cars to US legislation maybe even there. But not buy killing off the fanbase.
As automotive gaffs go, the Edsel is nothing compared to this move.
Hits the nail on the head. I am yet to hear a valid advantage of moving to Italy.
Why move body and chassis production to Italy? Was that ever an issue? Could the Blackpool boys not do that bit right? If it aint broke dont fix it.
Why the hell keep on with SP6 production in the UK? Surely that is the core reliability issue of TVR? That needed addressing.
TVR should be doing what they do best, making the chassis that handle so well and bodies that look soooo stylish. They should admit defeat on the engine front and ship in some Ford crate engines. Stop spending so much money on in-house manufacture of cosmetic parts such as switchgear and interior trim. Raid the parts bins.
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