Racing along a country road in a hand-built, open-topped high performance sports car is a marvellous experience but one that could soon be a thing of the past, writes Dick Ahlstrom.
Niche sports car producers are disappearing fast and those that remain will struggle to survive.
While this may represent a bleak view of the future, all is not yet lost, according to Mr Neill Anderson of TVR Engineering Ltd. TVR makes some of the best hand-built sports cars in the world and will continue to do so while demand remains.
Anderson detailed the difficulties facing niche manufacturers for Motors and the reasons why this important and historic component of the wider motor industry is in gradual decline. A range of diverse factors are conspiring to put a squeeze on the hand-built car sector, an industry that Britain has dominated almost since cars hit the road at the turn of the last century.
"There is no low volume industry anywhere else than in the UK," says Anderson, chief chassis engineer with TVR. For many years Britain also had almost total control over the equally specialist motor racing design and construction industry, still worth more than £1,000 million a year to Britain.
Some of this is now slipping away to Japan and Italy but Britain still controls about 85 per cent of the action, according to a study commissioned by the UK Motor Sport Industry Association, says Anderson. And there are strong similarities between the two sectors, which are typified by a small number of players producing a low volume but high cost output.
One of the key changes in both sectors is the intervention of the large motor companies. "This is the main thing happening over the years," says Anderson.
Big companies have bought up many niche manufacturers, for example Aston Martin by Ford or Lotus by Proton, he explains. The buyers seek profit but also credibility by taking over niche producers.
"The big companies have seen there is kudos in having an involvement in niche cars. The main thing they can do is like VW and Audi with Skoda - they can try things out."
However, big company involvement can also mean that the specialist car suddenly begins carrying production equipment taken from the host manufacturer. This works against the hand-built character of the traditional niche car such as TVR or Morgan.
TVR designs all of its components aside from stock items such as a clutch or tyres. It designs its own engine blocks and then commissions an aluminium caster to produce them. It makes its own valves and seats, heads and almost everything else, right down to the alloy wheels and disc brakes.
"We make all of the parts or they are made to our design," says Anderson. "This makes for a better vehicle but nine times out of 10 the price goes up."
Legislation also makes prices rise, he says. He agrees with controls on brakes, seat belts, safety and related issues, but some are nonsensical, he believes. One is the road noise limit, measured as a vehicle passes a given point. It can't be done on a windy or rainy day but most driving is done when it's windy and rainy. "Some of the legislation is valuable but who on a country road wants a quiet car to come up on them," he says.
Niche manufacturers can't spread these additional costs across a larger production run - TVR currently makes only 15 to 18 cars a week with a past peak at 35 cars. This will push up prices and possibly restrict an already restricted market still further.
"People looking to buy a TVR or Morgan are not looking for a car. They are looking for a leisure item," says Anderson. "They might just as likely buy a holiday home or a speed boat. This is one of the reasons you have to offer a very bespoke service."
TVR, of course, lets you choose the quality and colour of leather upholstery, but you can also choose the colour of the thread used to stitch it together and whether you want the steering wheel cover to match or contrast. You might also want monograms or family crests stitched into headrests or the carpet. Non-smokers might want a car without ashtrays or lighters. The choice is yours - you get exactly the car you ask for.
Another somewhat unexpected factor that threatens the specialist industry is a shortage of good engineers. Universities are producing engineers for the big manufacturers who have different requirements. Niche producers need "creative engineering", says Anderson.
Britain led the way in producing creative engineers but this is changing. "Out of the box, lateral thinking is done out of necessity" by niche producers, he says. "You get paid more when you work at Ford but you don't have such a large impact on the car itself." The opposite is true of niche production.
It's for this reason Anderson has such praise for the Formula Student competition which involves many British universities and now University College Dublin (see below). Students have a year to design and build a racing car, a challenge, which forces creativity and engenders problem solving.
"If you don't do Formula Student in America you don't get a good job in the motor design sector," he says.
Racing along a country road in a hand-built, open-topped high performance sports car is a marvellous experience but one that could soon be a thing of the past. Niche sports car producers are disappearing fast and those that remain will struggle to survive.
While this may represent a bleak view of the future, all is not yet lost, according to Mr Neill Anderson of TVR Engineering Ltd. TVR makes some of the best hand-built sports cars in the world and will continue to do so while demand remains.
Anderson detailed the difficulties facing niche manufacturers for Motors and the reasons why this important and historic component of the wider motor industry is in gradual decline. A range of diverse factors are conspiring to put a squeeze on the hand-built car sector, an industry that Britain has dominated almost since cars hit the road at the turn of the last century.
"There is no low volume industry anywhere else than in the UK," says Anderson, chief chassis engineer with TVR. For many years Britain also had almost total control over the equally specialist motor racing design and construction industry, still worth more than £1,000 million a year to Britain.
Some of this is now slipping away to Japan and Italy but Britain still controls about 85 per cent of the action, according to a study commissioned by the UK Motor Sport Industry Association, says Anderson. And there are strong similarities between the two sectors, which are typified by a small number of players producing a low volume but high cost output.
One of the key changes in both sectors is the intervention of the large motor companies. "This is the main thing happening over the years," says Anderson.
Big companies have bought up many niche manufacturers, for example Aston Martin by Ford or Lotus by Proton, he explains. The buyers seek profit but also credibility by taking over niche producers.
"The big companies have seen there is kudos in having an involvement in niche cars. The main thing they can do is like VW and Audi with Skoda - they can try things out."
However, big company involvement can also mean that the specialist car suddenly begins carrying production equipment taken from the host manufacturer. This works against the hand-built character of the traditional niche car such as TVR or Morgan.
TVR designs all of its components aside from stock items such as a clutch or tyres. It designs its own engine blocks and then commissions an aluminium caster to produce them. It makes its own valves and seats, heads and almost everything else, right down to the alloy wheels and disc brakes.
"We make all of the parts or they are made to our design," says Anderson. "This makes for a better vehicle but nine times out of 10 the price goes up."
Legislation also makes prices rise, he says. He agrees with controls on brakes, seat belts, safety and related issues, but some are nonsensical, he believes. One is the road noise limit, measured as a vehicle passes a given point. It can't be done on a windy or rainy day but most driving is done when it's windy and rainy. "Some of the legislation is valuable but who on a country road wants a quiet car to come up on them," he says.
Niche manufacturers can't spread these additional costs across a larger production run - TVR currently makes only 15 to 18 cars a week with a past peak at 35 cars. This will push up prices and possibly restrict an already restricted market still further.
"People looking to buy a TVR or Morgan are not looking for a car. They are looking for a leisure item," says Anderson. "They might just as likely buy a holiday home or a speed boat. This is one of the reasons you have to offer a very bespoke service."
TVR, of course, lets you choose the quality and colour of leather upholstery, but you can also choose the colour of the thread used to stitch it together and whether you want the steering wheel cover to match or contrast. You might also want monograms or family crests stitched into headrests or the carpet. Non-smokers might want a car without ashtrays or lighters. The choice is yours - you get exactly the car you ask for.
Another somewhat unexpected factor that threatens the specialist industry is a shortage of good engineers. Universities are producing engineers for the big manufacturers who have different requirements. Niche producers need "creative engineering", says Anderson.
Britain led the way in producing creative engineers but this is changing. "Out of the box, lateral thinking is done out of necessity" by niche producers, he says. "You get paid more when you work at Ford but you don't have such a large impact on the car itself." The opposite is true of niche production.
It's for this reason Anderson has such praise for the Formula Student competition which involves many British universities and now University College Dublin (see below). Students have a year to design and build a racing car, a challenge, which forces creativity and engenders problem solving.
"If you don't do Formula Student in America you don't get a good job in the motor design sector," he says.