Nikolay Smolenski was 24 years old, filthy rich and full of swanky ideas on how to keep TVR viable in 2004. Production dropped, workers were laid off, TVR loyalists took to the streets. By 2006, the company had split TVR into at least three different entities. Finally, Smolenski had to wave the white flag and, on June 6th, 2013, sold his entire ownership of TVR to a British buyer.
The buyer is known as TVR Automotive and the director, Les Edgar, is the front-man for the company. Not a bad job at all when you are the mouthpiece for a company that is resurrecting a brand beloved by so many.
This isn’t Edgar’s first foray into cars, he was responsible for getting Aston Martin back into the GT Racing game and is familiar with how to handle a cottage-industry car builder with historic roots.
Due to non-disclosure agreements, Edgar could not reveal any more information, but does stress that he and his associates will respect TVR’s heritage… and Britishness (and yes, for our purposes, that is a legitimate word). All we have is the company’s website, which has given us a full onslaught of optimism in the past weeks with one-liners like: “Never Say Never” and “Roaring Back”
There’s no word yet on when we will see a new TVR or what type of TVR we will see, but we have to rally behind Edgar and his company because they are making every effort to keep TVR in British hands and maintain the company’s unique heritage.
“You can’t let these great brands disappear or go abroad” says Edgar.
I say, let them go abroad for sale, but let them forever be hammered together in Blackpool.
Speaking of British sports cars, check out this video of an 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drop Head Coupe!
