TVR founder dies at 85

Legendary founder of TVR, Trevor Wilkinson, has died at the age of 85.

Wilkinson set up the eponymous sportscar company in 1947 after building his first car – a two-seater based on an Alvis Firebird chassis. He had studied engineering after leaving school at the age of 14.

By 1949 TVR had built its first unique car, the Mk1, and in 1954 the first production model appeared, the Mk1-based Grantura. Powered by a four-cylinder Ford engine, the lightweight Grantura featured glass-reinforced plastic over a tubular steel chassis – hallmarks which would remain with TVR cars until the 1980s.

TVR enjoyed racing success at Le Mans and Sebring during the 1960s thanks to a succession of ever more powerful engines finding their way under the Grantura’s bonnet, most famously when Jack Griffith wedged in a 4.7-litre V8 from the AC Cobra. The 1990 TVR Griffith was named in his honour.

But by then Wilkinson had long since left TVR, parting company with the maker in 1962 to set up a fibreglass engineering business. He retired to Minorca, Spain, where he lived until his death on Friday 6th June 2008.

Wilkinson’s iconic British car make flourished under the ownership of Peter Wheeler during the 1980s and 1990s, with cars such as the Chimaera, Cerbera, and Tuscan emerging from the company’s Blackpool headquarters.

However, in 2004 Russian millionaire Nikolai Smolenski bought TVR from Wheeler and saw production drop dramatically, eventually sending the company into administration. Nonetheless, Smolenski has regained control of TVR and is rumoured to be restarting production, aiming to sell 2,000 new cars this year.