Je partage une info que j'ai reçu par mail aujourd'hui de TVR.
La news confirme bien l'arrivée d'une nouvelle auto qui est en cours de développement par notamment Gordon Murray et Cosworth.
Cela semble plutôt de bon pour l'Avenir :-)
Longue vie à TVR
"TVR TO RETURN TO PRODUCTION WITH STUNNING NEW CAR DESIGNED IN COLLABORATION WITH GORDON MURRAY DESIGN
• Revered British sports car brand, TVR, is roaring back to production with an incredible all-new Cosworth powered sports car, engineered in collaboration with F1 and road car design legend, Gordon Murray
• TVR has developed a product and launch programme that will see at least four new models brought to market over the next ten years
• Positioning and pricing set to be consistent with TVR’s past market positioning and highly competitive within its segment
The iconic British car brand, TVR, has today announced that it will return to the market with an all-new British designed and built sports car. The company, which boasts an outstanding new management team, has developed the new car in collaboration with Gordon Murray Design and Cosworth, each providing much of the core design and engineering capability for the all-new TVR. This incredible project is already well advanced with over a year of development completed so far.
TVR will issue more specification details and early images later in 2015, but the car will continue the tradition of a classic British two-seat sports car with a composite ground effect aero chassis and body package using Gordon Murray Design’s innovative iStream® technology. Enthusiasts will also be delighted to know that the car will feature the traditional TVR DNA of a front engine with rear wheel drive and a manual transmission, powered by a normally aspirated, dry-sumped, V8 engine, developed and engineered by Cosworth.
Les Edgar, Chairman of TVR said: “We know that a new TVR has to be better than just good – it has to be outstanding. From the outset we only wanted to work with the best partners in the business, and both Gordon Murray’s and Cosworth’s track records within motor sport and high performance car design and engineering speaks for themselves. GMD and Cosworth are the perfect partners for TVR and together, we will deliver a truly exceptional new car.”
Production of the car will begin in 2017, and will be offered to the market at a competitive price point within its segment and consistent with TVR’s positioning in the past. TVR has prioritised the company’s position as an all-British institution, and the cars will be completely produced in new UK factory premises.
Gordon Murray, Chairman of Gordon Murray Design comments: “TVR is an iconic brand which has been an important part of British sports car manufacturing for many decades. Its return to manufacturing is an exciting development and the car deserves the best chassis and powertrain that can possibly be delivered. To that end, I am delighted that our company is involved with the project, and that TVR are using our iStream® technology.”
Bruce Wood, Cosworth Technical Director, said: “We are proud to see Cosworth’s industry-leading engineering at the heart of the revived TVR brand. Our team has been working closely with TVR and Gordon Murray Design to develop a powertrain solution that perfectly complements the exceptional performance characteristics of the new car. It’s an exciting project and one which well suits Cosworth’s engineering expertise.”
Edgar continues: “We are a well-funded, well-supported organisation and boast a vastly experienced management team. We are here to stay and we have a fully evolved ten year plan for product and business development, and are committed to deliver on all the targets we have set ourselves - as we have done to date.
“Despite very deliberately maintaining a low profile since completing the acquisition of TVR two years ago, we have had an enormous amount of unsolicited interest from businesses, individuals and investors internationally. Such is the strength of the brand and the passion of its followers. It is a real privilege to be a part of the revival of a great British marque - one that will succeed through our single-minded desire to produce exceptional sports cars.”
C'est encourageant. A lire les détails de la méthode Murray (iPanel, etc) je me dis léger et solide avec des matériaux moins chers que le carbone. Cosworth a une bonne réputation au niveau motorisation, c'est tout bon sur papier. Reste a voir les premières ébauches et le prix des bêtes. TVR était toujours moins cher que la concurrence avec un produit moins fini, cela va t'il continuer (et pour combien de temps) ?
ATTENTION! Piloter une TVR peut créer exaltation,palpitations,essoufflement,flux sanguin augmenté et même une perte de contrôle de la vessie. Il est possible que votre égo se gonfle et que le sexe opposé trouve le pilote plus attrayant. Les Edgar (trad.)
TVR will celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2017 in the best way possible: by unleashing an all-new, back-to-basics sports car.
It will be no mean feat. Blackpool-based and rather beardy niche Brit car maker TVR enjoyed a typically rollercoaster existence for most of its life. But in the 1990s, TVR saw its stock go through the roof thanks to a series of splendidly deranged rocketships, like the Chimaera, Griffith and Cerbera (pictured above).
The company was piloted by the eccentric and much-missed Peter Wheeler, who ploughed such a furiously idiosyncratic furrow that even his dog Ned was said to be part of the design team. Rarely an issue of the magazine or an episode of TopGear went by without someone rhapsodising about these wonderful cars. Usually out of the side window.
Wheeler bailed in 2004 after selling up to youthful Russian son-of-an-oligarch, Nikolay Smolensky. A difficult, decade-long hiatus followed, until news broke in 2013 that a new consortium, headed by former computer games company entrepreneur Les Edgar, had rescued the company from a seemingly terminal decline. More radio silence ensued. Then earlier this week TG.com confirmed that New TVR would unite former Brabham and McLaren technical genius Gordon Murray with engineering powerhouse Cosworth. This is very good news indeed.
Allergic to hype and determined to get on with the job rather than spewing a load of hot air, TG.com still managed to pin down Les Edgar for a debrief. We have reason to believe that, after all TVR's ups and downs, the best is yet to come.
TG.com: TVR. Gordon Murray. Cosworth. You've answered a very specific set of prayers there...
Les Edgar: I think we have, mine included. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. But how else could we bridge the credibility gap when it came to bringing TVR back from the dead?
TG.com: This is a big project. Clearly you're a man who's up for a challenge.
LE: With the partners we have, how could you not be? We started by looking at many, many people, but came to the conclusion that you have to go for the best. Whether we could afford the best was another issue. When we approached Gordon Murray and Cosworth, they were incredibly excited and motivated by the prospect. That motivated us even more, not that we needed it.
TG.com: TVRs have always majored on raw thrills. What's your feeling about the latest generation of high performance cars? Is the time right for something a bit more primal?
LE: The over-sized, over-hyped, over-priced thing does grate with me a bit, although clearly the current wave of supercars has its place. The more complex systems you build into a car, the more things there are to go wrong. But it also detracts from the driver experience. Personally speaking, I'd rather feel through the seat of the pants what's happening with a car than be informed by a computer display.
Not to say that there isn't a place for that - probably - just not inside the new TVR. A car like the Nissan GTR is fantastic, but it's a computer on wheels at the end of the day, so when you drive it you have no idea how good a driver you are. All you know is that it's a brilliant car.
TG.com: What can you tell us about the new TVR, due in 2017?
LE: It'll be similar in size or possibly a little bigger than the last generation of TVRs. The chassis and hard points were all confirmed a year ago, and the body stylists haven't been allowed to impinge on that in any way. It'll be a British sports car - powered by a big engine, rear-wheel drive, great looks, lots of noise. The Britishness of it is really important to the brand. TVR owners are in it together, regardless of the model they have. There's a real sense of community, a classlessness. I like that. It's certainly the approach we're trying to take with the new car.
TG.com: TVR flourished in the 1990s under Peter Wheeler, partly because ‘uncompromising' was pretty much his middle name. Do you see yourself in that lineage?
LE: TVR wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't for Peter Wheeler, and his character was part of it. But it also had its drawbacks, and when you decide to build your own engine and basically kill the company, well that's clearly a mistake. I suspect Peter struggled with the lingering idea that TVR was a kit car company - which it never was, of course - and one way to combat that was to build his own engine. It was an admirable move, but it coincided with a time when every other car company in the world was saying, ‘we should go to the experts in every area.' When the customer looks at a brake caliper, they want to know it's come from a specialist.
TG.com: What can you tell us about the new engine? [Ford's Mustang 5.0-litre V8 is the front runner]
LE: The credibility issue is relevant here again. We knew if we revived the Speed Six - and we looked at doing so - it wouldn't last long in terms of emissions demands. So we had to base our engine on a block that would be ultra reliable, and devised a short-list. The work Cosworth is doing will transform the base block, to the extent that where it actually comes from is almost irrelevant. Which is why I won't say anything else...
TG.com: OK. What can we expect from the car's design? A Griffith reboot? Or something more radical?
LE: The Griffith is stunning. We have one here, along with a Sagaris and a T350C, and we've tried to work out what they have in terms of common design DNA. Not that much, is the answer. I don't think the new TVR should be an updated Griffith, or as outrageous as the Sagaris, as much as I love it. We're looking at a more modern approach than a retro one.
TG.com: Does that also extend to the build process? Gordon Murray's iStream suggests a more ‘techy' approach.
LE: It's techy but simple. The last TVRs used a spaceframe reinforced with composite panels, so the iStream idea follows on very nicely from that. But the main reason we've chosen iStream is that it's a very scaleable process. The crash structure you can build around the iStream frame is amazingly high performance, and the torsional rigidity will be superb. I don't think we're going particularly hi-tech. I think people just want to know if the chassis is going to be awesome. TVRs have always been light. What we're really doing is refining the construction methods we already had. Gordon has done the ultimate refinement of a spaceframe-type approach.
TG.com: How's he been? He's another famously uncompromising individual...
LE: Working with Gordon is fantastic. He is demanding, but he's not demanding to be pernickety or because it's the way he's always done things and he won't change. He explains why it's done a certain way. It never ceases to amaze me when the man who more or less invented modern aerodynamics stands in front of a white board and explains why the ground effect is going to be awesome on this car... what's not to like?
TG.com: What about the truism that says to make a small fortune in the car business you have to start with a large one?
LE: [laughs] No, that's motor racing.
TG.com: But you've talked about having a 10-year business plan, right?
LE: Yes. But that's standard in the car business, although who knows what could happen in that time. That's fine, so long as you're fleet of foot and can read the changes as they happen. Reducing start-up costs is another big benefit of iStream. We're making some big assumptions about our costs, our likely volumes, and what sort of appetite there might be for this car. Some online forums have said, ‘great, if they can sell a car for £30k, I'll have one', which makes me wonder about some of the expectations. You can buy a Ginetta for that, and we are not building a Ginetta. Lotus makes a well-priced car, until you get to the Evora.
Our new car will be more of a GT, a two-seater coupe you might occasionally take on the track. There will be great materials inside, and we'll do something spectacular with the interior design. The attention to detail will also be second-to-none. It has to be. Frankly, we'll be doomed if it isn't.
TG.com: Do you want to take sales away from Aston Martin, Lotus, Porsche?
LE: Take back, you mean? In Europe the segment we're looking at is maybe 55 to 75,000 cars per year. I don't think we'll expand that, but I do think there's a gap for us. Our volume aspirations are very realistic - around 1500 cars per year. The area we're looking at - £55-£85k - is a good place to be, for a relatively small volume car maker. We're focused on the UK, with expansion into the hot spots for our brand in Europe. We've stress-tested it, so that we know how much we can scale it back if we need to, without losing our shirt. But is it a risk? Yes, of course it is.
TG.com: Is the TVR fanbase - and its fanaticism - an advantage or a hindrance?
LE: It's a massive advantage. The brand punches so far above its weight. We suspected that was the case when we bought the company, but we still under-estimated the depth of feeling that surrounds TVR. As easy as it is to get carried away, we intend to keep our feet on the ground. I believe we can do it, although there are clearly going to be challenges. Money will always be one of the challenges, but there's lots of that out there. There's only one TVR.
ATTENTION! Piloter une TVR peut créer exaltation,palpitations,essoufflement,flux sanguin augmenté et même une perte de contrôle de la vessie. Il est possible que votre égo se gonfle et que le sexe opposé trouve le pilote plus attrayant. Les Edgar (trad.)
Ce qui est très bien dans ce projet c'est effectivement l'expertise Murray/Cosworth, mais aussi finalement le retour d'un V8 moderne... et fiable, de chez Ford donc.
Les principes de TVR paraissent devoir être totalement maintenus: design marquant, pilotage "humain" privilégié, intérieur spectaculaire, format contenu (mais en hausse).
La prise de conscience de la nécessité absolue d'une qualité dans les détails/l'électronique ne sera manifestement pas oubliée, heureusement; une des erreurs majeures de TVR dans les années 2000.
En revanche si je comprends qu'un petit constructeur soit vraiment obligé de dégager une forte plus-value sur chaque modèle pour se muscler les reins et survivre, c'est sûr que ça va vraiment faire réfléchir les acquéreurs potentiels de sortir autour des 100 000 Euros (quasiment 120 000 Euros pour le haut de la fourchette...) pour une marque qui devra encore reconstruire quasiment depuis zéro son image et sa crédibilité pour sa nouvelle clientèle (comme il est aussi écrit au-dessus, les fans de la marque espéraient des tarifs beaucoup moins violents).
La comparaison avec Lotus est pertinente en tout cas, à tous points de vue. En lisant cet entretien j'ai l'impression que TVR vise à devenir plutôt une sorte de Lamborghini à l'anglaise (mais sans les 4 roues motrices ni moteur maison).
Enfin ! Enfin TVR daigne nous donner de ses nouvelles depuis l’annonce de sa renaissance, en juin 2013. Deux longues années durant lesquelles on pouvait se demander s’il ne s’agissait pas une fois de plus d’un effet d’annonce sans suite. Mais voilà que dans un communiqué officiel, le constructeur britannique nous en dit un peu plus sur ses projets actuels et futurs. Et que de bonnes nouvelles !
En effet, on apprend qu’une toute nouvelle sportive a d’ores et déjà été développée, en collaboration avec deux grands noms: Gordon Murray Design (Gordon Murray est le père de la McLaren F1 !) pour la conception de base, et Cosworth pour la motorisation. Un premier projet qui, à en croire TVR, serait déjà bien avancé.
Avant de nous donner davantage de détails sur cette future sportive, et nous en dévoiler les premières photos, TVR nous donne quand même quelques infos. Le modèle sera une sportive deux places, avec un châssis aérodynamique composite à effet de sol, utilisant la technologie iStream de Gordon Murray Design pour le corps de l’auto (structure en tubes composites ultralégers, panneaux de carrosserie en plastique).
Dans la plus pure tradition TVR, le V8 Cosworth à aspiration naturelle sera installé à l’avant, il entrainera les roues arrière avec l'aide d'une transmission manuelle.
"Nous savons qu’une nouvelle TVR doit être meilleure que juste bien. Elle doit être formidable !" explique Les Edgar (à gauche sur la photo), le repreneur à la tête de TVR. "Dès le début, nous voulions travailler avec les meilleurs partenaires, et les antécédents de Cosworth en course automobile et de Gordon Murray en conception de voitures hautes performances parlent d’eux-mêmes. Gordon Murray Design et Cosworth sont des partenaires parfaits pour TVR, nous allons offrir une voiture véritablement exceptionnelle !"
De son côté Gordon Murray semble aussi ravi de cette collaboration : "TVR est une marque iconique très importante dans l’histoire de l’automobile britannique durant des décennies. Son retour aux affaires est très excitant et la voiture mérite le meilleur châssis et meilleur moteur qui puissent exister".
A noter que si TVR s’est attaché les services de ces deux partenaires, eux aussi anglais, c’est que le constructeur a la volonté d’en faire une auto 100 % britannique.
Pour voir la nouvelle TVR, il faudra se montrer patient. Si le constructeur nous promet des photos d’ici la fin de l’année, la production débutera, elle, en 2017. Et TVR de l’annoncer à un prix "compétitif sur son segment" et relativement proche de ce qui se faisait auparavant dans la gamme.
Depuis l’annonce de sa renaissance, TVR aurait reçu de nombreuses marques d’intérêts de la part d’investisseurs et clients du monde entier. De quoi être confiant pour l’avenir. Et d’ores et déjà annoncer le lancement d’au moins quatre modèles dans les 10 années à venir !
TVR, le retour du retour…
Par Hugo Sanner dans Actualité automobile le 9 juin 2015
Fondée en 1947, cette petite marque de voitures de sport anglaises se caractérisait par son attrait décalé pour les automobiles exagérément rapides, dessinées par un schizophrène sous MDMA et assemblées par Welsh Corgis avec un cruciforme en guise de queue.
Jeremy Clarkson, avec son acuité légendaire, avait résumé la marque ainsi:
« TVR a pour habitude de fabriquer une voiture, de la vendre, puis d’apprendre avec les retours clients comment elle se comporte. Le problème, c’est que ces premiers retours étaient toujours prodigués par un homme venu se plaindre d’à quel point il était mort! »
gordon murrayAmateurs de plastique et de sensations fortes, voici pourtant une grande nouvelle: Après une faillite et une tentative de résurrection avortée chapeautée par un consortium Russe, la marque TVR change une nouvelle foi de mains pour annoncer des projets bien plus solides:
Désormais, c’est Gordon Murray Design qui va se charger de la conception des autos. Si ce nom ne vous dit rien, sachez que Gordon Murray est le père de la McLaren F1, une des autos de routes les plus fantastiques de la fin du siècle dernier.
2 nouvelles TVR annoncées pour 2017
Et un total de quatre automobiles lancées dans les dix prochaines années. Déjà, un bureau d’études a été ouvert par la marque dans le sud de l’Angleterre. Le cahier des charges annoncé met en appétit:
– Caractère inéluctablement anglais
– Véritable ADN TVR
– V8 central avant, boite manuelle et propulsion
– Coupé 2 places ou cabriolet
– Une apparence et des performances à couper le souffle
– Un rapport prix/performance incroyable.
Les bruits de couloir font état d’une auto inspirée de la Sagaris, mue par un V8 cosworth sur un châssis tubulaire et une carrosserie composite. La marque a donc fait le choix d’abandonner leurs motorisations maison… Le dessin ci-dessous est une pure supposition créée par le magazine autocar. Cependant, la marque s’est engagée à présenter rapidement une maquette de la nouvelle auto.
Et vous, qu’en pensez-vous? Quelle serait votre TVR rêvée? Une nouvelle Sagaris? Tuscan? S3?
Et ça continue...
Il y a quelques jours TVR a distillé quelques intéressantes informations, à travers la presse d’outre-Manche, quant à son retour programmé autour de 2017-2018. Mais de plus récentes informations viennent alimenter les spéculations.
On sait que la TVR du renouveau attendue autour de l’année 2017 sera déclinée en quatre variantes (dont une pour la compétition) et disposera d’un V8 probablement d’origine américaine revu par les cerveaux experts du motoriste anglais Cosworth. Pourtant la marque n’écarte pas la possibilité d’accepter ultérieurement d’autres types de blocs.
Les Anglais d’Auto Express ont interrogé le patron de la marque, Les Edgar, au sujet d’une possible motorisation 4 cylindres pour des modèles à venir. Celui-ci a expliqué qu’il ne fallait pas négliger une telle piste. Rappelons au passage que les TVR étaient autrefois équipées de blocs 4 cylindres et que la marque entend produire à terme environ 2 000 véhicules par an. Elargir la gamme avec de telles motorisations ne serait donc pas sacrilège. Loin de là, même (on voit ce qu’est capable de faire Ginetta par exemple). Cela permettrait aussi de diminuer le niveau moyen d’émission. Bref, la porte est entre-ouverte.
Source : Auto Expres
Antoine faites comme les rapaces, détruisez les nuisibles, mangez des écologistes
