Most liked posts in thread: TVR - Back from the dead....again?

Steve · Jun 11, 2013

TVR'S NEW OWNER: PH MEETS (PistonHeads.com)

Tuesday 11th June

Les Edgar, new owner of TVR, talks to PistonHeads about his plans for his new purchase

After almost 10 years in the wilderness, TVR is back in British hands after Surrey-based entrepreneur Les Edgar bought the company â€œlock, stock and barrelâ€ from Nikolai Smolensky. But who is Les Edgar and what are his plans? We called up to find out.

Edgar made his money as a computer games developer and now runs a country house estate. He freely admits he has no experience in the car industry, but he has serious form as a petrolhead. In 2002, he backed Aston Martinâ€™s re-entry into Le Mans for no reason â€œother than I wanted to see Astons back where they should be - in GT racing.â€

As for the lack of an auto industry background, maybe we shouldnâ€™t be worried. Peter Wheeler didnâ€™t have one either when he bought the company in 1989.

He says the sale involved â€œa substantial amountâ€ of items from the Blackpool factory but also he said wasnâ€™t about to resurrect the 2004 line-up, even though he could: â€œItâ€™s time to move onâ€. We still donâ€™t know what heâ€™s going to make, when itâ€™ll be made or who heâ€™ll partner with. On these and many other questions heâ€™s staying tight lipped until the project is much further forward.

â€œWe donâ€™t wantâ€¦ to carry on the bullsh*t that for years and years has been surrounding the marque.â€

He says we shouldnâ€™t worry: â€œI donâ€™t think anyoneâ€™s going to be disappointed with what we do.â€

---------------

What does TVR mean to you?
â€œIt probably means same as it means to many people on PistonHeads. Itâ€™s a very famous British sports car brand thatâ€™s well known for its power, for its slightly suspect styling, but nevertheless unique and fantastic in many ways.

â€œA lot of people are surprised to hear itâ€™s been around since 1947. It epitomises the British sports car manufacturing industry, from the early 30s when a lot of people did a lot of these companies on a shoestring. Sadly a lot of those marques have been swallowed up or disappeared altogether. TVR fortunately managed to make it into the new millennium, and people are still very much aware of it. Itâ€™s slightly ironic that some of the best cars where produced right at the point it was decided it should implode. If you ask what it means to me personally, I donâ€™t want to go into that because that gives a flavor of what Iâ€™m about to do next with it.â€

Have you owned TVRs in the past?
â€œYes.â€

Which cars?
â€œThat Iâ€™m not going to reveal. We are very conscious of that fact that anything that we say before weâ€™re ready to say it could easily be misconstrued.

â€œEven simple things like, I owned such and such a car. People start surmising thatâ€™s the sort of thing that Iâ€™m going to look to build in the future. It sounds minor, but what we donâ€™t want to do is to carry on the bullsh*t that for years and years has been surrounding the marque, we want to stop that now. Our target was to bring TVR home and then to finalise a plan that will reintroduce the brand in a meaningful way.

â€œI donâ€™t think anyoneâ€™s going to be disappointed with what we do. Obviously not everyone will agree with it, but others will think itâ€™s the best thing since sliced bread, but hopefully thereâ€™s enough of the latter to make u into a profitable car manufacturer.â€
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Read the rest of the interview: TVR'S NEW OWNER: PH MEETS

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