automotive limited type private industry automotive founded 1947 blackpool tvr motors company limited 2013 guildford tvr automotive limited headquarters guildford surrey area served europe japan products automobiles automotive parts owners syndicate of british businessmen website tvr.co.uk tvr is an independent british manufacturer of high end sports cars . the company manufactures lightweight sports cars with powerful engines and was at one time the third largest specialised sports car manufacturer in the world offering a diverse range of coup s and convertibles . the company is planning to bring a range of new cars to market from 2017 with partners gordon murray and cosworth . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 wilkinson era 1.1.1 founding 1.1.2 one off specials tvr one two and three 1949 1953 1.1.3 sports saloon 1953 1955 1.1.4 ray saidel and the jomar 1.1.5 open sports and coupe 1956 1958 1.1.6 introduction of the grantura 1.1.7 layton sports cars and grantura engineering 1.1.8 aitchison hopton and tvr cars ltd. 1.1.9 the griffith and 1965 collapse 1.1.10 trident 1.2 lilley era 1.2.1 introduction of the vixen 1.2.2 new models and move to bristol avenue 1.2.3 sm zante concept 1.2.4 m series 1.2.5 tasmin 1.3 wheeler ownership 1.4 smolensky ownership 1.5 current ownership 2 model list 2.1 gallery 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit the history of tvr can be divided into several eras each of which is associated with the company s owner at the start of that period 1947 1965 founder trevor wilkinson who left in 1962 1965 1981 martin lilley 1981 2004 peter wheeler 2004 2013 nikolay smolensky 2013 present syndicate of british businessmen led by les edgar wilkinson era edit founding edit trevor wilkinson 14 may 1923 6 june 2008 2 was born in blackpool and left school at 14 to start an engineering apprenticeship at a local garage . 3 in 1946 he purchased an old wheelwright s workshop in beverley grove blackpool to start an engineering business that he named trevcar motors . initially the company performed general engineering work not always automobile related and would also refresh and service cars and trucks . 4 in 1947 local auto enthusiast jack pickard joined the company . trevcar motors was subsequently renamed to tvr engineering dropping several letters from wilkinson s first name and it continued to find general mechanical engineering work through the following years . 5 one off specials tvr one two and three 1949 1953 edit in 1949 tvr built its first original chassis . the hotchkiss style rear suspension used the live axle from a morris eight and the front suspension was of an independent trailing arm design . the engine was a ford 1172cc sidevalve from a 1936 van tuned to 35 hp . even before the car was bodied it was crashed by the man hired to create the bodywork les dale . after repairs the body was styled and built from aluminium and painted british racing green . although neither wilkinson nor pickard found the finished bodywork to be very aesthetically appealing it was functional and the two men conducted the first successful test drive on the runway at squires gate aerodrome in 1949 . later that year tvr number one was sold to wilkinson s cousin for 325 . it was later crashed and salvaged for parts . 6 tvr no. 2 after its body refresh . photographed at lakeland motor museum newby bridge cumbria tvr number two began with the same chassis design found on the first car using the rear axle springs dampers brakes and steering from the morris eight as well as the same sidevalve ford engine . however the front suspension design was changed to use wishbone control arms and a single transverse leaf spring . the bodywork was again constructed by les dale and it was similar in appearance to the first car . an auto enthusiast local to blackpool purchased the car for use in competition although it was eventually registered for road use in 1952 . around this time the car was refreshed it received a new body style with a lower nose and some different instrumentation and equipment including a tachometer from a supermarine spitfire and marchal headlamps from a delage . 7 after the sale of the number two car tvr began work on number three which again used the same chassis and suspension design . instead of the sidevalve ford engine it was fitted with the 1200cc 40 hp ohv four cylinder engine from an austin a40 . this car was painted yellow and in contrast to the rounded bodywork of the first and second cars it was styled with a blunt nose and a squarish vertical panel as the grille . driven by wilkinson in a number of car club events such as sprints and hillclimbs in 1952 and 1953 the car was quick enough to earn several awards . it was during these club events that one david hives was introduced to the tvr management and he would become a key tvr employee a decade later . 7 hives helped set up the production line at griffith motors in syosset new york . sports saloon 1953 1955 edit in the summer of 1953 wilkinson and pickard began working on the design of a new chassis which was intended to accept the engine gearbox and other components from the austin a40 including the independent coil spring front suspension and rear axle . significantly it did not incorporate an upper body frame and the engineers intended to provide the car for sale as a kit with a fiberglass body . approximately twenty of these chassis were built although only three were purchased as a kit with the fiberglass bodyshell that wilkinson had originally selected ; these three cars used an rgs atalanta body manufactured by special builder richard g. shattock . with the atalanta body included in the kit the car was named the tvr sports saloon . the kit was first offered for sale in 1954 for 650 . it was with this car that tvr first produced a brochure to advertise a product it quoted some figures such as the car s 1400 lb weight and 0 60 mph time of 13 seconds . it was also on the sports saloon that the first incarnation of tvr s badge appeared designed by a young art student and wilkinson s friend john cookson . 7 the first sports saloon was finished in spring 1954 and wilkinson first campaigned it in the morecambe rally from 21 to 23 may . he used it in a number of other events to increase exposure to tvr s products and would drive the car regularly in competition and on the road over the next eight years . the chassis built by tvr were all provided to customer specification and therefore no two of them left the factory in exactly the same configuration . the extra exposure created by using the sports saloon in competition led to potential customers inquiring about the availability of other body styles . tvr sold kits with microplas mistal bodies and at least two different styles from rochdale motor panels & engineering ltd. the engines fitted were typically the ford 1172cc sidevalve or austin a40 1200cc ohv . there was at least one instance of a car being fitted with the 1489cc bmc b series engine as fitted to the mga and one chassis was built to accommodate a customer s 2 litre lea francis engine . 3 ray saidel and the jomar edit in 1955 the company started development of new semi spaceframe chassis with a central backbone . this chassis used outriggers and a steel bulkhead to carry mounting points for doors . in contrast to the earlier chassis the new design allowed for the seats to be mounted low six inches from the ground on either side of the backbone tunnel . the trailing arm suspension from the volkswagen beetle was used for both the front and rear suspension setting the precedent of all independent suspension for tvrs in the future . 3 later in that year tvr engineering received a letter dated 29 august from one ray saidel in manchester new hampshire . saidel was a successful racing driver and owned the merrimack street garage in manchester . he indicated that he would be interested in purchasing a tvr chassis fitted with a coventry climax fwa engine . tvr completed the chassis in may 1956 and it had arrived in new hampshire by june of that year where it was given an aluminum body . this car was the first of several to be designated jomar mk2 the name being derived from saidel s children joanna and marc and the fact that this generation of the car was the second after the first dellow chassis jomar . 7 around this time bernard williams a motoring enthusiast who lived in lytham st annes expressed interest in becoming involved in the company . by july 1955 he had been hired as the director of tvr engineering . wilkinson and pickard were amenable to this because of their limited interest in financial and business administration ; both were more interested in the chassis and components engineering . with renewed optimism about the future success of tvr wilkinson moved operations from the beverley grove garage to three buildings at fielding s industrial estate in hoo hill layton blackpool . the buildings occupied by tvr engineering were somewhat in disrepair ; holes in the glass roof panels admitted snow in the winter . 7 even before receiving his first chassis in june 1956 saidel had placed orders for two more chassis . tvr engineering bolstered by the influx of sales hired two more employees stanley kilcoyne a welder and josef mleczek a general components fitter . in the following years mleczek nicknamed the pole would become an expert fibreglass laminator and would ultimately direct operation in tvr s body shop . also around this time bernard williams introduced a wealthy investor named fred thomas who would join tvr as a director . 6 open sports and coupe 1956 1958 edit in mid 1956 wilkinson and pickard undertook to create the first original tvr body style which would be fitted on the jomar style chassis . the body shape was created with the use of two microplas mistral nose sections one for the bonnet and one reversed for the rear . although never officially named this car is usually referred to as the tvr open sports . the first car painted red and fitted with a coventry climax engine was tested successfully by wilkinson at the aintree motor racing circuit in the summer of 1956 . either three or four tvr open sports were built in total although the true number is not known due to incomplete records . one of the cars was provided to autosport magazine writer francis penn for testing . he drove it at aintree and described its steering response and grip as superb . 7 to address feedback from customers about the open sports lacking daily use practicality the designers at tvr created a fixed head notchback coupe body . this body was fitted to the same semi spaceframe chassis to create a car that became known as the tvr coupe . as with previous models it was offered with the choice of several engines including the ford 100e sidevalve the coventry climax fwa and the 1489cc mga engine . when the ford sidevalve was selected the customer had the further option of fitting a shorrock supercharger . one of the coupes was used by the factory as a demonstrator model and was driven by mike hawthorn . 7 on 10 january 1958 the tvr coupe made its first public appearance at h & j quick ltd showroom in manchester england the designers are mr. trevor wilkinson and mr. bernard williams who run the t.v.r. engineering company at layton