TVR trademark up for sale

Al Melling has placed a bid for sports carmaker TVR’s trademark, with an estimated £10 million on offer. Melling is the man behind the original AJP engine that was used for a number of TVR models over the past decade. He most recently made headlines with the introduction of the 1,200bhp quad-turbo Hellcat concept, but Melling still requires a factory to build it. This is where TVR steps in.

The TVR trademark is up for sale, but owning it will give the buyer access to the Blackpool manufacturing plant, equipment, fixtures and fittings as well as moulds and tooling for the Tuscan, Tamora, Sagaris and T350 line of cars. It’s thought that Melling would also like to return the TVR Griffith to production.

The owner of TVR, Russian Nikolai Smolenski, split the company in order to move production to Italy where new cars will be built by coachbuilder Bertone. The winning bid for the TVR trademark will be revealed on the 23rd of this month.

[url]http://www.motorauthority.com/news/industry/tvr-trademark-up-for-sale/[/url]

well at least TVR will be built, but i'm not happy that it's not being built in Britain. Whenever you think of TVR you think of Blackpool, but i guess Italian TVR is better than no TVR, coz i always did love em

[QUOTE=Street_Dreamer]well at least TVR will be built, but i'm not happy that it's not being built in Britain. Whenever you think of TVR you think of Blackpool, but i guess Italian TVR is better than no TVR, coz i always did love em[/QUOTE]
Even if the italian option is over, Bertone could still help TVR with the styling... :rolleyes:

Maybe if they use the Melling engine, this might create some fuss over the TVR name.

What about reliability? Did they improve their cars at all?

From what I have read I doubt there will be any TVRs built in Italy.

Ken's Limos doesn't have the TVR brand, therefore, unless he is going to buy back Blackpool Automotive two months after selling it, he won't be making any TVRs.

The Melling bid is good news, but I am operating under the notion that TVR is dead, and will never make cars again. That way, if Melling is successful, I will be pleasantly surprised. (Until they go bust again.)

As for TVR "using the Melling engine" - they've been doing that (in a round about sort of way) since 1998.

[QUOTE=Coventrysucks]As for TVR "using the Melling engine" - they've been doing that (in a round about sort of way) since 1998.[/QUOTE]

I am referring to the engine that is currently under development. A V10 engine.

From my understanding Melling has acquired the rights to the name "TVR", not the company itself, right?

[QUOTE=lightweight]From my understanding Melling has acquired the rights to the name "TVR", not the company itself, right?[/QUOTE]

Melling has acquired nothing so far.

PFK seem to think that they have the TVR name to sell alongside BA, and there doesn't seem to be anyone contesting that.

So, if Ken's "TVR Motors" - the bit he ran off with - doesn't have the TVR name, and judging by the wording of the PFK listing and articles regarding Melling, the rights to build the Tuscan or Sagaris, what does it have?

I hope the situation will be very much clearer in a couple of months - the successful bidders for BA will have been announced, and we'll know what Ken is up to depending on whether the Typhoon appears at Geneva or not.

All I know is, at the end of all this I want TVRs to be made and I want them to try to make a comeback to the US.

At least melling is british