Trevor Wilkinson - Purveyor of Affordable Exotica
Many aficionados of boutique British sports cars may have noticed the NY Times obituary on June 13 for the legendary Trevor Wilkinson, founder of carmaker TVR.
The true extent of Wilkinson's influence on modern sports car design may not ever be completely acknowledged, being a contemporary of Colin Chapman, whose on track success far exceeded any of those of TVR. However history ultimately views his accomplishments, he had a legion of fans both in the UK and US and many of the sometimes outlandish (both in name and styling) vehicles he created are sought after classics - Griffin, Tuscan, Sagaris, Cerbera.
Many of the early TVRs were available as kits, with parts being sourced from the entire spectrum of British auto manufacturers. Driver/passenger comfort and street practicality were not hallmarks of TVR design - most proved woefully inadequate in those respects. It was on the track prowess that made them capable weekend club racers.
posted by Chasmo at
7:47 AM
2 Comments:
I had the good fortune of driving several TVRs when I was living in the UK, and they were amazing cars. The last Tuscan, Tamora and T350 were ferocious cars to drive and made the most amazing noise. I'm sure Trevor was a little dismayed to see the current state of TVR in the hands of Smolenski, but I'm sure he enjoyed the stuff that the previous owner, Peter Wheeler, churned out of the factory in Blackpool.
RIP Trevor.
Tim-
Thanks for sharing your TVR experiences with us - you're right, it is a little disheartening to see TVR in disarray - I recall on my last visit across the pond in 2004 doing full Yank rubber neck as I drove past a TVR dealership at a roundabout west of Heathrow and then seeing one 2 hours later come at me head-on on a one lane country road in the Cotswalds - I willing yielded.
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