Following the news that Blackpool sports car maker TVR is in new ownership and planning a new car the deposit books are due to be opened on July 7th, much sooner than originally planned. Little detail is known about the car other than that it will be powered by a Cosworth V8 and is to be designed in conjunction with Gordon Murray, the man credited with penning the iconic McLaren F1. The car is due to debut in 2017 with annual production planned in the low hundreds to begin with.
When these first details were announced it naturally caused a flurry of interest from fans of the brand. TVR's Operations Director, John Chasey, said: "We've been totally blown away by the reaction to the new car. Our phone lines and online enquiry system went into meltdown when the news was announced, and we decided that we must begin to bring a structure to the enquiries and build a delivery pipeline well in advance of production. Volumes in year one will be limited as we ramp up production, so this allows us to reward those individuals prepared to make a financial commitment at this early stage."
In addition to nailing down designs for the new car, TVR's new owners are also working on developing a network of dealers that will be able to accommodate both TVR Heritage and TVR Performance customers. Many of these may well turn out to be former TVR dealers but sources involved in the process have indicated that there will also be new partners recruited.
Anything else?
To get your name down on one of the early TVRs, you will need to stump up £5,000. Should you be a member of the TVR Car Club for more than 6 months there is a limited quantity of reduced deposit places at a cost of just £2,500. Les Edgar, Chairman or TVR, said: "We feel it is important to reward those people who have been such enthusiastic ambassadors for the TVR brand. The club is a wonderfully active and loyal community of people who simply love the cars, so it seems fitting that they should be offered a reduced deposit and a promise of some of the early production units. With initial production in 2017 to be in the low hundreds, the early units are likely to be much coveted."