American May Buy TVR

GTX said:
Gotta agree. Keep the 4.2L U.S. lump out of it. Keep the Speed 6
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Not that I am saying that the Speed 6 is a bad engine but what makes the 4.2L I6 a "lump"?
 
Keeping the originally TVR engines really depends on three things; first TVR needs to be sold and if it is sold the new owner will have to decide if the old engines fit into his ultimate vision of what the company will be. And the last one is that the engines must meet emissions standards, which I heard was one of the biggest hurtles to bring them to the States, that and crash safety tests needed to be done.
 
Now that the Speed Six engine is finally sorted, it's best to keep it, if it's a six cylinder engine they are looking for...

This engine was developed for and with TVR by race engine constructor Al Melling. But, then it was modified by TVR, so that they could call it their own and also because it was a bit too expensive as it was. This was completely countrary to what Melling recomended, resulting in the bad reliability with the most common faults being blown headgaskets, broken finger followers and failing valveguides, resulting in several top end rebuilds. This problem however was finally sorted when the Tuscan II and the Sagaris was introduced in 2005, shame it took them so long, in fact said cars were delayed a whole year, with extra R&D to make sure they were reliable.

The only GM powerplant TVR might be looking at is the LS6 or LS2, most likely the latter which Marcos is using, making 462 hp and 460 lb/ft in their TSO GTC.
 
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/03/06/straight-from-the-horses-mouth-heres-the-deal-at-tvr/

It seems that the never-ending story of TVR has been given a new chapter. Russian Nikolai Smolenski, just days after selling the company, has bought it back for an additional ?2 million. This time he has additional backing from two Americans. CAR Magazine interviewed all three of them to get the whole story in their own words.

Smolenski, apparently, will be a part-time partner. Jean Michel Santacrue and Adam Burdette from Florida will eventually take over the operation, with Smolenski backing away after he recovers some of the ?15 million he has dumped into the company so far. The Americans, meanwhile, plan to reintroduce and grow the marque. They say the plan is to sell 5,000 cars a year. They even say they already have 2,000 pre-orders from American buyers. A U.S. dealer network is also said to be in the works. Of the 5,000 units annually, 2,000 will go to the U.S., 2,000 to Asia, and 1,000 to Europe. Cars are expected to reach dealers as early as the end of this year or possibly the beginning of 2008.

U.S. sales will depend on TVR getting type approval, as the cars were never certified for American sale. If that goes through, actual production is still a roadblock. The company will most likely take manufacturing from Blackpool to Italy, where it is hoped either Bertone or Pininfarina will build the cars using many British components. Even British engineers and designers are being employed to develop two new models based on the Sagaris and Tuscan. It is, after all, the car's Britishness that makes it appealing to international buyers, according to its new owners.

The final question mark in all of this is whether TVR as a brand has sustained too much damage from two years of uncertainty. Santacrue, naturally, says TVR is definitely worth saving, 'The brand has been around for 60 years, I don't think two months of bad press will destroy TVR. The brand is still very strong.' We suppose that will depend on how many of the unanswered questions get answered, and when. We also predict that a lot rests in the hands of the designers. If the cars are as good as we hope they will be, then the sales will come.
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Car Online's TVR Interview

:?
 
I hope we can get it. We've been making fiberglass cars for years (Corvette) that don't smell.
 
jetsetter said:
Not that I am saying that the Speed 6 is a bad engine but what makes the 4.2L I6 a "lump"?
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the fact that's it a 4.2l with only 6 cyl.
that makes 700cc/cyl

you can't have a nice responsive engine with such big moving lumps of pistons
+ 700cc, you can only achieve with hugeass travel, killing all revs
or the piston would be more than 15cm in diameter, which would be to big to spread the combustion evenly over the surface
 
bone said:
the fact that's it a 4.2l with only 6 cyl.
that makes 700cc/cyl

you can't have a nice responsive engine with such big moving lumps of pistons
+ 700cc, you can only achieve with hugeass travel, killing all revs
or the piston would be more than 15cm in diameter, which would be to big to spread the combustion evenly over the surface
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Don't TVR only make 4.0L I6's and 3.6L I6's?
 
Yes, and Porsche's current flat six in the full FIA-spec 997 GT3 RSR has a 3,8-litre displacement...
 
And now TVR is finally screwed. Smolenski deserves to die after what he has done to TVR. I would tear him to shreds if only I could. There is a tradition that agile british cars have straight six engines. Present Speed-Six engines are very good and shouty. Putting a GM powerplant in the engine bay would be terrible. I once drove a 350c in the UK and that engine was fabuleous. I'm praying to God that this will never happen.
 
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I'm not so sure about this idea, Americans can build good cars but if they got TVR, I fear that it may ruin TVR due to strict car laws in the USA, but TVR would be more available. :)
 
sod the speed 6, if the yanks get the company back underway we might see the speed 12 engine make a comeback.
I for one completely disagree with the comments about TVR being more of an American company, it's about as British as you can get (especially where the name TVR comes from), it's king of the kit car basically.

I do hope the US take over the reigns and get back to building cars asap, Brit/yank relationtionships have made some great things in the past. The safety standards in the US may screw things up though. I know I prefer a standard FIA rollcage over an airbag any day of the week.
 
This is potentially the best automotive news I've heard all year. Finally, TVR will (once again) have access to the North American market. That rat-faced Russian kid deserved the company less than the British. Lets just hope TVR sticks with what worked for them: aggressive style, and overpowered straight-6's, a rarity around here.
 
AML said:
And now TVR is finally screwed. Smolenski deserves to die after what he has done to TVR. I would tear him to shreds if only I could. There is a tradition that agile british cars have straight six engines. Present Speed-Six engines are very good and shouty. Putting a GM powerplant in the engine bay would be terrible. I once drove a 350c in the UK and that engine was fabuleous. I'm praying to God that this will never happen.
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More than half of TVR's models used to be powered by the Rover V8, which was designed by GM. Get a clue for heaven's sake! :lol:
 
Yes, but that was a completely different pair of shoes. Now the company is using only pure straight-sixes.
 
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the buyers are the same guys from Evolution Imports who if i recall correctly screwed a bunch of people out of money for japanese import cars. saying they would all be street legal and what not... kinda makes me wonder about these guys
 
AML said:
And now TVR is finally screwed. Smolenski deserves to die after what he has done to TVR. I would tear him to shreds if only I could. There is a tradition that agile british cars have straight six engines. Present Speed-Six engines are very good and shouty. Putting a GM powerplant in the engine bay would be terrible. I once drove a 350c in the UK and that engine was fabuleous. I'm praying to God that this will never happen.
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what making the cars better to drive and more reliable is somehow a bad thing? its the amercans (our) fault if they put a big GM engine in it


i DONT want any of that GM v6 or i6 crap, sure its not terrible, but i don't think its nearly as exciting as the speed6 motor

with that said id love to see a seperate model with a huge 7ltr + american engine (tuned if possible), sure the car would be a bastard, but the Shelby Cobra was a bastard and to this day its one of the coolest cars you can own

actually i do think americans "sports cars" have ALOT in common with TVRs, both have large engines in a small car, with a really fast but also very difficult to drive (twitchy) suspension, the muscle car argument is stupid, but as far as comparing it to corvettes, vipers, and shelby cobras i think us americans have made similar types of cars, just not as crazy in design as what TVR does


also isn't they "americanized" Lotus Elise supposed to be the best model as well?
 
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