Trevor Wilkinson was the classic example of the English tinkerers known as the “Men in Sheds.” Unhindered by structured education in engineering principles, most of these lads were self-taught or took their instruction on the fly when they could. Even before Trevor Wilkinson formed Trevcar in 1957, he had been building specials for himself and customers…
TVR: An intriguing example of Britain’s automotive cottage industry By Harry Newton A few years ago, while we were cruising along on the Autobahn at a brisk 160 clicks toward Stuttgart, a low-slung coupe flew by us as if we were at anchor. Journeymen automotive journalists pride themselves on their encyclopedic ability to identify just about…
By Paul Richardson After my father Ken’s Competition Department at Standard Triumph was closed in the early ’60s (due to the Leyland takeover), he was invited to join the TVR sports car company in Blackpool as Competition Manager. The family moved north from Coventry, and I also joined TVR. I worked in the Experimental Department,…
Of all the specialist British car makers of the 1950s, the TVR Company of Blackpool, Lancashire, had the most intimate relationship with America. In fact, the company’s early survival was due primarily to one Ray Saidel, who was the proprietor of the Merrimack Street Garage in Manchester, New Hampshire. Ray’s father opened the garage in…
After I bought my TVR 2500 some two years ago, I started to cast about for an appropriate name for it. Then one fateful day it acquired a name—easily! The Carlisle Import Auto Show in May is a favorite event of mine to attend. As I drove out the 132 miles from Philadelphia to Carlisle,…
