Melling's Griffon.......latest article

[rigga]

I know this has been discussd before,but this is in general and yesterdays date so looks a recent update.... can he do this regarding the shape of the car as its very similar to the original ? whats it made of,composite or steel bodied? with his history of failed projects in the car and bike world.... will this ever happen?

http://www.autocarmag.com/News/NewsArticle/AllCars...

[hiltonig]

Hmm a showroom in Vegas bit different to Blackpool then !!, hope it works so good luck to him and the business. and its got a v8 !

[TT Tim]

Live rear axle! Aghhhh.

This has got to be a re-body of an existing chassis hasn't it? Unless the only market is intended to be the US.

Tim

[thenick]

Mr Melling said:

the car the TVR Griffith should have been

Mr Melling said:

Suspension is by double unequal length wishbones in front and there is a coil-sprung live rear axle, with four locating links.

So does this mean Melling is recommending all you Griff owners change to a live rear axle then??

[Stevie Mojo]

I thought this was a great Idea at first but now it looks like the Griff is going to be Americanised with bigger proportions and a live axle. He may aswell go the whole hog and use leaf springs. I do quite like American cars and I love American V8s but I think he should stick with TVRs proportions and keep away from live axles.

[jagdpanther]

Live axle might have something to do with the american market, plus the option is there to change the spec prior to purchase, so I'm guessing, IF this car goes on sale, the majority of Uk buyers will be dumping the live arrangement for something slippy

[tvrolet]

Remember that Shelby is based in Vegas, and that's where the Shelby Mustangs are made (just back from Vegas yesterday, and was driving this all week....


So there is clearly a factory capable of assembling/modifying live axle V8 cars in LV. Otherwise LV would be a strange place for a green field assembly operation I'd guess.

[Lensey]

Not as good looking as the Griff IMO

[Griftwood]

I like the wider back end, but whats the crack with the roof!? or lack of one/somewhere to put one, I notice also he's gone for the Tasmin/Hillman Imp external hinges on the boot!?

[Apache]

Lensey said:

Not as good looking as the Griff IMO

I think it's a very fine looking beast and honours the old gal quite adequately, good motor/gearbox, new chassis, 'different' suspension and subtle compared to Shelbys latest as well.....in fact subtle compared to most modern behemoths

[Rocket Pepper]

That's a pretty nice looking sports car. What's the matter with some folk?

[Flintstone]

Might look ok but as I'm sure you know there's a lot more to a car than just looks. For £45,000 I'd want more than this appears to be offering.

[Mustang Baz]

tvrolet said:

Remember that Shelby is based in Vegas, and that's where the Shelby Mustangs are made (just back from Vegas yesterday, and was driving this all week....

William - how did you find the Shelby GT-H? I hired the coupe a couple of years back and really enjoyed it and am taking 3 days in the convertible next month whilst on hols back in California. Very much looking forward to it.

[julianc]

tvrolet said:

Remember that Shelby is based in Vegas, and that's where the Shelby Mustangs are made (just back from Vegas yesterday, and was driving this all week....


So there is clearly a factory capable of assembling/modifying live axle V8 cars in LV. Otherwise LV would be a strange place for a green field assembly operation I'd guess.

Snap! We had one for over 3 weeks in June (rented from Vegas) so I recognise the picture. Didn't like the auto gearbox, but it sounded great.

Julian

[tvrolet]

Mustang Baz said:

tvrolet said:

Remember that Shelby is based in Vegas, and that's where the Shelby Mustangs are made (just back from Vegas yesterday, and was driving this all week....

William - how did you find the Shelby GT-H? I hired the coupe a couple of years back and really enjoyed it and am taking 3 days in the convertible next month whilst on hols back in California. Very much looking forward to it.

Sounds great. You do realise that if you trawl the net that you can find out how the traction control button has been locked on...

...not that you heard it from me.

Edited by tvrolet on Friday 8th August 12:25

[Terminator]

If Melling ever did build it in Vegas, it would more likely be in room 3026 at the MGM Grand, than persuade Shelby to build it. When I was last at Shelby, they were too busy upgrading their Mustangs to worry about anyone's pipe-dream.

[grahamw48]

thenick said:

Mr Melling said:

the car the TVR Griffith should have been

Mr Melling said:

Suspension is by double unequal length wishbones in front and there is a coil-sprung live rear axle, with four locating links.

So does this mean Melling is recommending all you Griff owners change to a live rear axle then??

Hey....worked on the MK3 Cortina.

[Green Montego]

I work at Melling and I will try to answer your queries:

1 Production. The Wildcat is in production now against orders and Melling only planned to produce 2 Wildcats/month in Britain. There are three at present being built.
2 The Live axle. The car was intended for quick acceleration and a Live Axle is far quicker. It seems to be a myth that a live rear axle gives poor handling. The tests we have done so far shown that it's the best set up for packaging, reliabilty etc. It also handles a lot better than a Griff with its current set up. If it ran with leaf springs rather than fully adjustable shocks then I can see there would be an issue! Also, Nascars race well at Laguna Seca with a similar set up.
3 Engine. If you get a Spec list from the factory, you have a choice, which is one of the main features of the Wildcat. The chassis is designed for any V8. One is being built now with a BMW V8 and Al. Melling's Wildcat will be built with a Viper V10!
4 Roof. If you get the Options sheet you can see a choice from Canvas Top to Hard Top.
5 Hellcat. The Hellcat is in development and will come out next year.
Also, the Wildcat and Hellcat have their very own Melling Brakes, shocks and forged aluminium wishbones, unlike the TVR "Service change" wishbones.

Hope this helps.

[RichB]

Green Montego said:

...The Live axle. The car was intended for quick acceleration and a Live Axle is far quicker. It seems to be a myth that a live rear axle gives poor handling...

Why do you say it's a myth? I'm not a chassis designer but I do know that racing & sports cars (not stock cars) have been using independent wishbone suspension at the rear for 50 years and more and it's the design of choice. Seeing as an old-fashioned solid rear axle & diff is much cheaper I doubt they would have done that unless they thought it better to use IRS all round. Personally I think I trust the preference of the European designers over the Yanks, with all due respect.

[900T-R]

Apart from that, a live axle seems to me the most unsuitable choice possible for a very high powered road car that's meant to shine on country lanes rather than dragstrips.