What draws 150 Irish owners and, now, a Russian tycoon in his twenties to a traditional British sports car builder? Michael McAleer reports
It's one of the most fiercely independent marques on the market, in the best traditions of the British car industry: all engineering and little marketing spin. The end product is nothing if not striking - and fiendishly fast.
So what's the attraction of TVR for a 24-year-old Russian multi-millionaire? The answer is investment potential - and the chance to bring in some modern business methods without killing the grease, sparks and overalls that are at the heart of this hand-built sports car brand.
TVR has its detractors in the motoring press, but even in the small Irish market there are 150 devoted owners, half of them members of the TVR owners' club.
Nikolai Smolensky picked up the TVR firm for an undisclosed sum, estimated to be about €22 million. There were plenty of rumours in the industry that Peter Wheeler, a former North Sea oil engineer who bought the company 23 years ago, had been considering selling and had hoped it would go to an enthusiast. There's further comfort in the fact that Wheeler will be staying on to oversee styling and engineering.
He and his deceased spaniel, Ned, have become industry legends: Wheeler for styling the best-selling Tuscan on the back of a Marlboro pack and Ned for biting a chunk out of a foam prototype, creating what became the front light apertures of the Chimaera.
The downside of such tradition and legend - of the type normally associated with the old workshops of Daimler and Benz - has been a reluctance to invest in new technology. Wheeler is reputed to have said of TVR: "Nowhere in the car industry are so few cars built by so many staff."
At present TVR turns out 2.5 cars a year for every member of staff. Wheeler was very proud of this fact, saying it highlighted the handbuilt nature of the cars, with all the care and attention that comes with 800 working hours devoted to each one.
The name says it all. TVR Engineering. It's an engineering firm first and a car-maker second. It gets into the nitty-gritty of every detail, making the dashboard, the pedals, even the gear knob.
Engine blocks are built by a Birmingham firm with only two other customers, Ferrari and Jaguar Formula One teams. Once the blocks arrive at the Blackpool plant they are bored and reworked by TVR staff.
This personal touch, combined with incredible performance, has attracted over 150 Irish motorists to TVRs, according to Philip Kennedy of Parkgate Motors in east Belfast, Ireland's only official TVR dealer. "It's similar to Morgan (Parkgate is also the Morgan dealer for Ireland) only with more staff and less output."
Prices start at £36,500 for the entry-level Tuscan. "In the South that would equate to about €68,000 including the various taxes. But for that price you get a 350bhp handbuilt car that does 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds and 0-100 mph in 9.4 seconds."
Kennedy is very optimistic about TVR's potential in Ireland once it gets more investment and is able to increase its production.
However, the firm will reap most of its success in coming years from the US where TVRs have featured in several recent movies, among them John Travolta's Swordfish, feeding a seemingly ever-growing demand. However, as TVRs have not yet met US car sales regulations, all this demand has gone unrequited.
Now, with the Russian funds arriving courtesy of Nikolai Smolensky, the hope is that some modern business practices can be moulded into the traditional workings of the sports car manufacturer.