The reborn TVR project is hoping that refurbishment work will soon start on its new factory, after the Welsh Government selected a contractor to take on the project.
The firm revealed the all-new Griffith at Goodwood last September, which it intends to build in a new factory on the Rassau Industrial Estate in Ebbw Vale, Wales.
But, as revealed by Autocar, progress on refurbishing the factory stalled because the Welsh government purchased a 3% stake in the company in 2018 alongside a £2 million loan. That meant the project became subject to European Union rules around state funding, so the tender for construction work on the dilapidated factory had to go out across the entire EU.
Ken Skates AM, the Welsh Minister for Economy and Transport, has now selected a preferred building contractor for the project, which TVR hopes will allow work to start soon.
In a statement on social media the firm said: “There are a few bits and pieces that need to be tied up before we can announce further details, but it’s fantastic news for all concerned as we can state publicly that the sound of squealing tyres and roaring engines will be coming to the Valleys very soon.”
TVR added that the delay in the announcement was due to “the need to clarify a number of unknowns within the building such as the discovery of some harmful and unusual substances, and the condition of the main roof and the fire system’s water storage tanks.”
TVR has originally hoped to make first deliveries of the 500bhp Griffith in early 2019, and has yet to give a revised date for when production will start.
Read more
TVR factory construction delayed by EU rules
TVR Griffith: full details of 500bhp British sports car
TVR's revival: a history lesson from the last Welsh manufactuter
Join the debate
Add your comment
It's been over a year since
It's been over a year since the first car was revealed. And apparently they still haven't manufactured the second one. Hmm...
Lets hope some of the Bringend staff get work there.
Lets hope some of the laid-off ex-Ford Bridgend employees will get work there or at Aston Martin!
jagdavey wrote:
Yep, that would be great.
Tried Valiant Resuscitation
I had three TVR S models and then a Griffith. I liked wrestling with it until I realized that it wasn't good enough and, for the same money, a two-year-old 911 was a better car. I didn't really shed a tear, I'd moved on. Like all these exhumed cars, this one probably has limited appeal. Every week it seems we have another of sometimes zero specialist or super-niche appeal like the Lister Knobbly or whatever it was the other month.
My concern now is that the this rehashed Griffith looks dated and is, I suspect two years away from launch. The delayed factory seems to be a little too conveniently blame-it-on-the-EU and there's not a whiff of development mules up and running. So, yes as @Bob Cholmondeley says, I suspect this won't happen. Time has moved on and I wonder if older ex-TVR owners like me would care and younger ones will laugh at a car that echoes one eschewing driver tech in a CarPlay, dynamically adjustable, PlayStation-inspired enthusiast market?