TVR Ever The Extrovert

By: Russell Hayes .

The TVR story reads like an automotive soap opera, with extraordinary characters, setbacks and triumphs. Born in a British seaside town adrift from the traditional motor industry, the company developed a reputation for fearsome road cars and an enviable track presence, as well as memorable appearances in Hollywood films.

TVRs always embodied one man's vision and each change of ownership brought its own change of character: inevitably bigger, louder and faster, with unique style and detail. Unlike many rivals, TVR remained defiantly British through good times and bad, a fact that endeared the company and its cars to many fans both at home and abroad.
From Trevor Wilkinson's specials to the astonishing Sagaris, this meticulously researched and generously illustrated book tells the whole colourful story. Each major model series is covered, supported by design and development stories from people who were there, technical data, real-world driving impressions and buying hints compiled with the help of experts steeped in the cars.

There is a liberal dose of memories and anecdotes from new interviews with TVR personnel, including the last interview with the late Trevor Wilkinson. Sections alongside the main text recount adventures in racing, key personalities and might-have-been models. The book concludes with a serious analysis of the controversial Russian takeover and the story of what seemed to be the end of TVR production in Blackpool.

Russell Hayes wrote for UK magazines such as What Car? and Complete Car before freelancing for national newspapers, BBC TV's Top Gear and Channel 4's Driven. He is the author of another title in the Haynes Classic Makes Series, Lotus: The Creative Edge.

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