This year TVR will be celebrating its 70th anniversary, and recently some former workers along with enthusiasts and owners, gathered for the initial marking of what will develop into a celebratory year for TVR.
These select few met up at a hotel by the coast in Blackpool, the town where TVR began in 1947 when Trevor (that’s where ‘TVR’ came from) Wilkinson renamed his fledgling business, Trevcar Motors, to TVR Engineering.
To celebrate the anniversary, TVR plan to host a series of events and rallies later in the year when the weather is a little more forgiving. Current owner, Les Edgar, has already done much to ingratiate himself to TVR’s band of enthusiasts and supporters, with the launch of TVR Parts Ltd to guarantee availability of parts for classic models and the confirmation that TVR would be building a factory in Ebbw Vale in Wales. It’s safe to say that this, along with the arrival of a brand new V8 Cosworth powered super-coupe, means there is much to be excited about and to celebrate in TVR land.
Ebbw Vale and Circuit of Wales
The Ebbw Vale factory will give employment to around 150 people and will be close to the new Circuit of Wales racetrack, giving new owners a chance to test the handling and power of their new purchase.
This new ambitious Welsh track project is a privately funded (to the tune of £425million) project – an ‘automotive centre of excellence and a vibrant location for business, sports, leisure, culture and the arts’ according to the website. The site is made up of 830 acres near to Cardiff and will host many major motor sport events along with music festivals and events. Impressive.
The low key Blackpool event was attended by Martin Lilley who owned TVR from 1965-82 and who cut a cake to celebrate and launch the year’s events at the Morrisy Hotel, where owner Leigh Edwards has shown his love for TVR by decorating some of the hotel interior with TVR themes.
Of course, inviting enthusiasts along means you will never have to worry about not having enough wonderful looking cars to drool over, like the gold, fully restored Chimaera, owned by Heath Briggs who’s company X Works Service TVR, carried out the Chimaera’s full restoration.
One of the events to look forward to will be a summer ‘sight-seeing’ drive starting in Blackpool and taking in all the sites that have been involved in TVR production in some way or another, culminating in an arrival at the new factory in Wales; nostalgia and the future of TVR meeting head on.
In many ways, this could be TVR’s year and we look forward to more and larger events as the year progresses.
If you happen to own a classic TVR, our sponsors Performance Direct specialise in classic sport car insurance.
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