| Author | Message | ||
     Rocketman |
Al Melling makes bid for TVR Thursday 8th February Engine designer Al Melling plans to buy TVR -- and bring back 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. ............... Rocket | ||
| Liquorwhere |
No idea what a TVR is...but the guys next door to us make these..  | ||
| Rocketman |
Especially for you Dale.  Rocket | ||
| Rocketman |
 Rocket | ||
| Rocketman |
The Speed 12 never made it to production. I'm unsure if more than one road car was built, though the one above I have seen painted silver as well as red. Speed 12's were very successful in Sports Car Racing. By far the most powerful car on the grid and the highest top speed, though it wasn't always a winner.  This was the last prototype seen. Whether it will ever make production, if TVR is resurrected, remains to be seen. Rocket | ||
| Rocketman |
Here's a stunning Taimar, circa 1977 - 1980  This is a rare, as in only 10 were ever built, wide bodied Turbo model. Capable of around 160mph it was a very fast car in its day. I own a Taimar, but not the Turbo, though I've spent the past year or so since the Buell was 'finished' collecting go faster goodies for the TVR rebuild happening shortly. I'm aiming for over 200bhp. Came new with 137bhp so it's a pretty big jump. Especially for a sportscar weighing a mere 900kg. Rocket | ||
| 2kx1 |
Rocket, Do you have any idea why Smolenski even bought TVR? Why would someone buy a company and then just close it down it makes no sense,I thought by now they would be back in the US or just a few more months away. I never expected him to just close up shop and try to move production . Hopefully they will resume production soon. | ||
| Bcordb3 |
In the mid 60's you could get Griffith (TVR) with Ford 260 V8 (the same engine that was used in Sunbeam Tiger and the very early AC Cobra's. That engine was also in the high performance Falcon's circa 63,64 and the first Mustangs in 64. The Griffith was a very sharp car. | ||
| 65460 |
I really favor the early TVRs such as the black one pictured above. The frist time I saw one was in Germany back in 1971. The newer ones are "ok" but the wedge shaped one, which Im guessing were built in the 80s, I didnt care for at all, they reminded me of the TR7s. | ||
| Liquorwhere |
Sean my friend those are some nice cars...were I into cars I am sure I would not be able to shut up about them, I like that 1977 actually that one is sweet! Alright bro thanks for the education. | ||
| Nutsnbolt |
I remember this conversation before, Rocket. If I remember right, you were in a pretty heated discussion with "Brucelee." Is that right? I hope another one doesn't start. Nice cars, though. Later. | ||
| Rocketman |
Smolenski claimed he spent millions more than he expected, and to continue with TVR the way it's been for years, that would see his projected investment (if memory serves) over £40 million. My view is, Smolenski is too young and inexperienced to have continued. Somewhere along the line he's been advised to bail, no matter what. Remember, this young man was talking entirely new fresh models, and motorcycles too. At one time he was allegedly interested in buying Benelli, until the Italians kept Benelli in Italy no matter who owned the company eventually. Smolenski wanted to bring Benelli production to England it was reported. MCN commissioned the great motorcycle designer, and all round nice guy, Glynn Kerr (he worked for a very short time with TVR) to sketch up what he imagined a TVR bike could look like. The streetfighter was stunning. Pity it was just Glynn's vision. I'd have sold everything to own a TVR bike that looked this great.  Rocket | ||
| Rocketman |
Al Melling (the link is right at the top in the first post) is the man behind TVR's own engine, the AJP V8. 'A' is for Al. The V8 was modular in design, so became the V12 which is in the red TVR above, and was TVR's Sports Car race engine also. The AJP V8 incidentally was borne of TVR's need for replacing the venerable Rover V8 engine they previously used before BMW bought Rover. Peter Wheeler, then TVR's owner, refused to have anything German in his cars. The AJP first saw the light of day in TVR's Tuscan race cars, as raced in the Tuscan Challenge. Then the fastest one make race series in the world. The late model cars are predominantly straight six, as in the yellow T350 above. Basically the V12 chopped in half. That's a tried and tested 190 + mph car up there for £42000! Interestingly, Al Mellings Norton Nemesis is said to have a great deal in common with its V8 engine, to his AJP V8 TVR engine.  Rocket |
