Trident Cars Ltd was a British car manufacturer based originally in Woodbridge , then in Ipswich , Suffolk between 1966 and 1974. The company produced a small series of sports cars with different engines from 1967 to 1977 and was later re-established in 1999.
124-481: Trident Cars has its origins in a failed project by the sports car manufacturer TVR . TVR went through a series of bankruptcies and takeovers in the early 1960s. Layton Sports Cars, founded in 1959 and renamed TVR Cars in 1961, was insolvent at the end of 1962 and was dissolved. The newly founded Grantura Engineering Ltd. took its place and continued production of the TVR Grantura at the same Blackpool facilities. At
248-553: A Ford 289 engine in a Grantura Mk3 chassis. This car would ultimately become known as the Griffith Series 200. In October 1963, Dick Monnich, Jack Griffith, and Griffith's race mechanic George Clark finished the prototype of the car named Griffith, developed by fitting a Ford 289 V8 into a Grantura Mk3. The accelerative performance of the car exceeded expectations, although the brakes and chassis had been left unmodified and, by all accounts, were woefully inadequate when matched with
372-625: A Jaguar XK engine in his sports cars. Shelby and Hall met Lister in England with the idea of swapping a Chevrolet small-block engine into the Lister body. They returned to Dallas with six cars, five of which they sold and the sixth they transplanted the Chevrolet engine into, which Hall raced in the SCCA National Championship. This was Shelby's first experience putting an American V8 engine into
496-488: A 0-60 mph time of 5 seconds. It was available as a complete car or in kit form. The cars were expensive, the kit version costing £1,923. The first 30 Clippers were equipped with eight-cylinder V-engines with a displacement of 4727 cm³ (289 cubic inches) from Ford, which delivered 271 bhp (275 hp; 202 kW) and in a similar form from 1962 to 1967, had been installed in the TVR Griffith 200 and 400. Shelby also used them in
620-534: A British sports car body. With funding from oil driller and amateur racer Gary Laughlin, in 1959 Hall and Shelby approached General Motors with the idea of creating a new sports car using the Chevrolet Corvette chassis and engine, but with an aluminum body much lighter than the factory-built Corvette, in order to make a competitive sports car for SCCA racing. Three cars were delivered and had new bodies designed by Carrozzeria Scaglietti installed, but after
744-506: A displacement of 5898 cm³. According to one source, a V8 engine from Ford was also available as an alternative. Trident wanted to enter the US market with this version. That didn't happen. Due to ongoing economic difficulties, only two copies of the new Clipper were built. One car had right-hand drive and the second left-hand drive. Along with the new edition of the Clipper in 1977, Trident also announced
868-429: A dock strike in the US severely damaged Jack Griffith's ability to import cars. Griffith was then unable to meet his financial obligation to Ford, which stopped supplying drivetrain components. Ties with TVR were also then severed, and the already-struggling TVR was no longer able to continue. In September 1964, a director meeting was held at TVR, and it was announced that the company would be stopping production and closing
992-616: A local garage. In 1946, he purchased an old wheelwright 's workshop in Beverley Grove, Blackpool, to start an engineering business that he named Trevcar Motors . Initially, the company performed general engineering work (not always automobile related), and would also refresh and service cars and trucks. In 1947, local auto enthusiast Jack Pickard joined the company. Trevcar Motors was subsequently renamed to TVR Engineering (dropping several letters from Wilkinson's first name), and it continued to find general mechanical engineering work through
1116-475: A manual four-speed gearbox. The car cost £2,298 (in kit form) ex-tax before taxes in 1971. Most sources assume that a total of 84 examples of the Venturer were produced until 1974. The British brand club, however, only assumes 49 vehicles. This coupé appeared in 1971. Instead of the eight-cylinder engine from Ford, it had a 2498 cc in-line six-cylinder engine from Triumph with fuel injection. It produced 150 bhp and
1240-540: A manufacturing arm of the new company. In 2004 Shelby Automobiles purchased Shelby American and the assets to the Series 1 model. On December 15, 2009, Carroll Shelby International announced in a press release that Shelby Automobiles was being renamed to "Shelby American" in celebration of the 45th anniversary of the 427 Cobra and GT350 . Carroll Shelby International was previously working with Texas-based Unique performance to create new Mustang -based Shelby cars such as
1364-417: A new double overhead camshaft V8 engine called " Northstar ", with the idea of Cadillac being the exclusive supplier of engines for this proposed new sports car. Landy was rebuffed so he approached Oldsmobile , who were building a 4.0 L version of the new V8 engine for their Aurora sedan. Oldsmobile had been in a significant sales decline since the late 1980s and Oldsmobile general manager John Rock believed
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#17328516179881488-730: A new "small-block" V8 engine of their own at the end of the year. In November 1961 Ford delivered a pair of "Windsor" V8 engines to Moon's shop, and AC's first body arrived in February 1962. Shelby and Moon installed the V8 engine and a Borg-Warner T-10 transmission into the AC body, creating the first of the cars Shelby named " Cobra ". In order to expand production Shelby needed a facility of his own. Coincidentally Lance Reventlow 's lease at his shop in Venice, Los Angeles , where his company built Scarab racing cars,
1612-590: A new assembly plant was being built near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway . The new car, called Series 1 , was shown as prototypes at the Los Angeles Auto Show and North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 1997. Unlike the arrangements Shelby American had with Ford and Shelby Automobiles had with Chrysler, financial support for the Series 1 came not directly from General Motors. Instead
1736-671: A new company similar to the original Shelby American. Shelby Automobiles, Inc. was founded in 1983 and began operation in 1985 out of a shop in Whittier, California , near the Chrysler-Shelby Performance Center, producing performance versions of Chrysler cars. The first product was the 1986 GLHS, a higher-performance version of the Omni GLH. With raised boost pressure and an intercooler the GLHS's 2.2 L engine produced 175 hp—29 more than
1860-502: A new six-cylinder version. As with the previous Venturer, the Ford Essex engine with a displacement of 3.0 liters and 138 hp was to be used here. There is no evidence of production of this new Venturer. TVR TVR Electric Vehicles Limited is a British manufacturer of sports cars . The company manufactures lightweight sports cars with powerful engines and was, at one time, the third-largest specialised sports car manufacturer in
1984-612: A new supply of engines they struck a deal with Shelby: they would ship bodies from their shop in Thames Ditton , Surrey to Shelby in California for installation of an American V8 engine, if a suitable one could be found. Shelby returned to GM, asking for a supply of Chevrolet V8s, but was refused again for fear a Chevrolet-powered European sports car would compete with the Corvette. Instead he sought an agreement with Ford , who were releasing
2108-490: A partnership with a new distributor, The TVR Centre of Reece Mews, South Kensington , London . Its owner was James Boothby, an ex- RAF pilot. After re-establishing a distributor partnership with TVR, the American Dick Monnich visited Blackpool and informed the directors that one of his colleagues, Andrew Jackson "Jack" Griffith, was a Ford dealer based on Long Island , and he had been experimenting with installing
2232-480: A select number of Oldsmobile dealers were sold the exclusive rights to sell the Series 1 cars for a $ 50,000-per-car deposit. This financial arrangement became untenable by 1998 and a 75% share of Shelby American was sold to Venture Corporation, supplier of the car's exterior body panels and many interior trim pieces. The production of Cobra replicas was not part of the transfer of ownership, with Shelby retaining those rights. Cars finally began delivery to customers in
2356-557: A specialist fiberglass engineering business. On retirement, Wilkinson moved to Menorca , Spain, where he died aged 85, on 6 June 2008. Despite the lack of success at Sebring, the company continued to enter international motor racing events in 1962, including the Dutch Tulip Rally in May, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The Tulip Rally resulted in one car finishing third in its class, but
2480-487: A technical description of the Grantura Mk1. The company continued to struggle with the rate of production, still only able to build about one car per month. With the order backlog having grown to around fifteen cars by the end of March, the board voted to replace Trevor Wilkinson with Henry Moulds as the new production manager. Moulds was a car enthusiast and friend of Bunty Scott-Moncrieff. Wilkinson would remain involved with
2604-614: A total of around 130 vehicles from 1967 to 1977, with one source even saying 225 vehicles. The British brand club sets the production figure even lower. By 2016, he had only been able to produce a total of 85 Trident coupés. In May 1999 the company was re-established in Fakenham . The first result of this new venture was the prototype of a two-seater spider, the Iceni, which was presented at the Birmingham International Motor Show
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#17328516179882728-586: A young art student and Wilkinson's friend, John Cookson. The first Sports Saloon was finished in Spring 1954, and Wilkinson first campaigned it in the Morecambe Rally from 21 to 23 May. He used it in a number of other events to increase exposure to TVR's products, and would drive the car regularly in competition and on the road over the next eight years. The chassis built by TVR were all made in accordance with customer specifications, and therefore no two of them left
2852-492: Is a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International, Inc. ( Expert Market : CSBI ), a holding company formed in 2003. Carroll Shelby International's other wholly owned subsidiary is Carroll Shelby Licensing, which licenses the name and trademarks associated with Shelby to other companies (including Shelby American). Shelby American was the first automobile manufacturer in the state of Nevada. Shelby American manufactures component automobiles, including replicas of
2976-699: Is built in his Manchester N.H. shop (the sports car chassis are built for him in England)." In 1959, Motor Sport reported: "The cars are made in Blackpool and the majority of the production is exported to America, where the sports version is known as the Jomar." Ray Saidel, enthusiastic about the prospect of selling TVRs in the United States, purchased several cars in addition to the rolling chassis that he had bought previously; he imported one Open Sports and three Coupes, with
3100-652: Is still in existence, renovated in 1996, and is now the location of the Qantas Freight Cargo Terminal located at 6555 W Imperial Hwy, Los Angeles CA 90045. The steel tracks used to move the cars during assembly are still partially visible. The GT350 was very successful in the SCCA B-Production class, winning the class three consecutive years. The offerings from Shelby American were expanded in 1966 to include an optional automatic transmission, and Shelby famously built special edition GT350s for Hertz . Hertz
3224-490: Is unclear how many Clippers were produced with Chrysler engines. One source assumes that only one exhibit was created, while series production did not materialize. The information on the production numbers of the Clipper varies in the literature between 35 and 39 vehicles in total. The British brand club, however, only assumes 30 vehicles. This would be consistent with the assumption that the Chrysler-engined Clipper
3348-520: The 1967 Trans-American Sedan Championship , with Jerry Titus winning the championship driving a GT350. The sales of Shelby Mustangs increased six-fold from 1966 to 1967, and for 1968 Ford encouraged Shelby to move production from California to Michigan to simplify the logistics of shipping bare Ford Mustangs from their plant in New Jersey to Shelby. In November, 1967 Shelby American's operations were split into three separate companies. Shelby Automotive,
3472-557: The AC Cobra 289 . The 30 Ford engines came from an order from Grantura Engineering before the bankruptcy. Bill Last had taken it over along with the Trident package. The retail price in its debut year was £1,923 before tax. This made the Trident £1,000 cheaper than the AC Cobra 289. After this supply was exhausted, Trident did not purchase any more engines from Ford. Some publications give
3596-565: The Aintree Motor Racing Circuit in the summer of 1956. Either three or four TVR Open Sports were built in total, although the true number is not known due to incomplete records. One of the cars was provided to Autosport Magazine writer Francis Penn for testing. He drove it at Aintree and described its steering response and grip as "superb". To address feedback from customers about the Open Sports lacking daily-use practicality,
3720-760: The Ferrari 250 GTO . For the 1964 season Shelby had Pete Brock design a new aerodynamic body for the Cobra chassis, which would make the car capable of speeds over 190 mph. The new car became known as the " Daytona ", named for its inaugural race at the Daytona International Speedway . Only one Daytona coupe was completed at Shelby American; the other five cars prepared for the 1964 World Sportscar Championship had their bodywork completed at Carrozzeria Gransport in Modena , Italy . Driven by Dan Gurney and Bob Bondurant ,
3844-471: The Freddie Dixon Challenge Trophy race series. Entwistle won the series in 1963, 1965, and 1966. The car was maintained by David Hives throughout this time. After this racing success, Entwistle stopped racing for a period of time and sold the car to Gerry Sagerman. By late 1962, the company was again in dire financial trouble. The Mk3 Grantura had been introduced later than expected, two of
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3968-643: The GT350SR and " Eleanor ". On November 1, 2007, Unique Performance was raided by the Farmers Branch Police Department due to VIN irregularities and subsequently declared bankruptcy , which effectively ended the Shelby continuation "Eleanor" production and the relationship. The Shelby Heritage Center is located at 6405 Ensworth Street in Las Vegas, Nevada. It includes a wide range of Shelby vehicles, from
4092-502: The International Manufacturer's Championship in 1966 . Shelby American cars finished first (Miles & Ruby again) and second (Gurney & Jerry Grant ) at Daytona, first at Sebring (Miles & Ruby), and first (McLaren & Chris Amon ) and second (Miles & Denny Hulme ) at Le Mans ; recalled in the 2019 film Ford v Ferrari . Gurney and Grant would have finished second at Sebring except their car broke down on
4216-737: The "tartan car" that was displayed at the International Automobile Show in New York, which he and Dick Monnich attended. After this, the Griffith factory established in Syosset, Long Island began completing cars from engine-less cars imported from the Hoo Hill TVR factory. Amidst the Griffith production (which required the TVR factory to build cars at a greater rate than ever before), Major Timothy Knott
4340-541: The 1960 season due to his persistent angina caused by a congenital heart defect . In 1961 Shelby founded the Shelby School of High Performance Driving at Riverside International Raceway near Los Angeles , hiring Pete Brock as a teacher, and obtained a distributorship for Goodyear tires and Champion spark plugs . He rented space for these other businesses from Dean Moon , at his shop Santa Fe Springs, California . Shelby contacted several European automakers with
4464-665: The Aitchison-Hopton Lotus /TVR dealer in Chester ) expressed interest in investing in TVR. During the Summer, Bernard Williams attempted to cement their interest by offering a Climax-powered Grantura Mk2 to the two men for a drive to the Monza circuit in Italy. During the trip, a portion of the exhaust system fell off the car on two separate occasions, but the two men were nonetheless impressed with
4588-468: The American racing car enthusiast, Mr. Raymond Saidel, of Manchester, New Hampshire, to design a racing chassis. For twelve months this chassis was tested and improved on tracks in the United States and in the last year a team of six T.V.R.s has been racing regularly in the United States." Competition Press reported: "Jomar has gone into Formula racing, too. The Jomar monoposto has been designed by Ray and
4712-550: The Atalanta body included in the kit, the car was named the "TVR Sports Saloon ". The kit was first offered for sale in 1954 for £650. It was with this car that TVR first produced a brochure to advertise a product: it quoted some figures, such as the car's 635 kg (1,400 lb) weight and 0-97 km/h (60 mph) time of 13 seconds. It was also on the Sports Saloon that the first incarnation of TVR's badge appeared, designed by
4836-634: The British designer Trevor Fiore to design a new body for the Griffith 200. He had previously tried in vain to recruit Frank Costin as a designer. Fiore designed a compact hatchback coupe, of which the Italian Carrozzeria Fissore produced a prototype with an aluminum body and an extended TVR chassis. Fissore presented it as the Trident at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1965. During the course of
4960-595: The Ford 100E sidevalve (normally aspirated or supercharged), the Ford 105E OHV unit, two different Coventry Climax units, or the MGA's BMC B-series. The interior of the Grantura was cramped, with the short doors and 17"-diameter steering wheel making it difficult to enter and exit the car. Climax-powered cars would be finished with a leather interior, while cars with the lower-specification engines were trimmed with vinyl. The TVR factory sent
5084-625: The GLH, and about 85% more than the standard Omni. With new suspension components to improve the car's handling its performance equalled or bettered its V8-powered , rear-wheel drive contemporaries from Ford and General Motors , and even surpassed the 1965 Shelby GT350. Shelby Automobiles produced special editions of the Charger (1987 GLHS), Dodge Lancer ( Shelby Lancer ), Dodge Shadow ( Shelby CSX ) and Dodge Dakota pickup truck ( Shelby Dakota ), before ceasing operations in 1990. Carroll Shelby consulted on
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5208-523: The GT40 program to Shelby American from Carroll Shelby's old associate John Wyer (who ran the Aston Martin racing program when Shelby won Le Mans in 1959). Under Shelby's management the GT40 driven by Lloyd Ruby and Ken Miles won the first race of the 1965 season at Daytona , and Miles and Bruce McLaren finished first in the prototype class and second overall at the next race at Sebring , but otherwise
5332-702: The GT40 program was a disappointment overall, once again failing to finish at Le Mans. By contrast the Shelby Daytona coupe had great success for Shelby, winning the GT Division III class on the strength of class wins at Daytona, Sebring, Monza and the Nürburgring . Shelby won a title in the International Championship for GT Manufacturers in the 1965 season with the Shelby Daytona car, thus becoming
5456-486: The JOMAR chassis upon which in 1956 and 1957 Saidel Sports-Racing cars of Manchester, New Hampshire , using aluminum bodies of their own design carried out extensive research and development. Through the efforts of both concerns the successful MK2 was evolved. Before the name "Grantura" was selected, some alternatives were briefly considered. A model name of "Trevor" was rejected, as was the suggestion of "Hoo Hill Hellcat" (which
5580-568: The Le Mans outing was fraught with unfortunate events for the TVR team. In the time leading up to the race, two of the cars slated to compete were crashed in different incidents and hastily rebuilt. The single car that started the race would badly overheat and retire during the third lap. David Hives described the event as a "fiasco", and noted that "it cost TVR a small fortune". TVR cars were driven to greater success by World War II flying ace Tommy Entwistle, who, in 1962 and 1964, finished as runner-up in
5704-508: The Lea Francis Francesa (a conceptual roadster that never reached production). Carrozzeria Fissore displayed a prototype Trident coupé at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1965. Despite very positive public reaction to the car, it was not well received by Jack Griffith, and the one prototype that had been shipped to the United States was returned to the UK in 1965. When TVR collapsed in 1965,
5828-544: The Lilleys were genuinely interested in the success of the business. The factory began to ramp up production of the Mk3 1800S. During the period, some partially finished cars were delivered as kits to Martin's Barnet Motor Co. car dealer business, where they were finished. Meanwhile, the company also gained positive publicity as Gerry Marshall had significant success in racing a factory-prepared Griffith. In America, Gerry Sagerman lamented
5952-654: The Mk II and Mk IV GT40s became redundant. Ford wound up the Ford Advanced Vehicles group and Shelby American withdrew from the World Sportscar Championship, transferring control back to John Wyer's J.W. Automotive Engineering (JWA). JWA GT40s won the 1968 and 1969 races at Le Mans, giving the GT40 program an unprecedented four consecutive wins (matched only by the Porsche 956 in the 1980s). While Shelby American
6076-421: The Mustang production arm, was set up in Livonia, Michigan and actual production moved to the facilities of fibreglass supplier A. O. Smith in nearby Ionia . The Shelby Racing Company moved from the hangar at LAX to a new office in Torrance, California . The Shelby Parts Company (later renamed to Shelby Autosports) moved to Torrance, and later to the Detroit area. After 1968 Ford took functional control of
6200-404: The Shelby American Daytona finished first in the GT classes and fourth overall at the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans , bested only by the prototype Ferrari 275 P and 330 P . The Ford Motor Company's new prototype, the GT40 , fared poorly; none of the three cars entered into the race finished. After the end of the Bahamas Speed Week in December—marking the end of the 1964 season—Ford handed control of
6324-544: The Shelby Mustang design and production, moving production in-house for the 1969 model year. After the 1969 racing season Shelby withdrew from competition. Carroll Shelby announced he was retiring from the automotive business in January, 1970, and Shelby American and its subsidiaries were essentially defunct. Carroll Shelby maintained ownership of his Goodyear tire distributorship and set up the Shelby Wheel Company in 1971 in Gardena, California , producing and selling aftermarket aluminum wheels , but he remained otherwise out of
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#17328516179886448-407: The Shelby sports car had the potential to reinvigorate Oldsmobile in the same way that Shelby's involvement with Chrysler and the Dodge Viper reinvigorated the Dodge brand. A new Shelby American, Inc. was founded in 1995 in Las Vegas . Don Landy was replaced by another of Carroll Shelby's business associates, Don Rager, and design of the new car began at Shelby's shop in Gardena, California while
6572-416: The TVR roots. Instead of an extended Grantura chassis like the prototypes, the production models in the first few years had Austin-Healey 3000 chassis. After production stopped in 1969, Trident used Triumph TR6 chassis , which were slightly lengthened. The driving behaviour was particularly problematic when cornering and braking. The car was claimed to have a maximum speed of 150 mph (240 km/h) and
6696-663: The Tina prototype project, and went to Italy with Arthur Lilley to inspect the car. He also accompanied Martin to the 1966 Turin Motor Show. Shortly after this, Hives was dismissed by Martin Lilley for unknown reasons; he was then approached by Bernard Williams and Bill Last to assist in the building of the Trident Clipper. Shelby American Shelby American, Inc. is an American high performance automobile company founded by driver Carroll Shelby . The Shelby American name has been used by several legally distinct corporations founded by Shelby since his original shop in Venice, California began operation in 1962. The current iteration
6820-455: The Trident project. In fact, the British TVR dealer William “Bill” Last had previously acquired the rights to Fiore’s design and the moulds for the Trident body. Bill Last founded Trident Cars, initially in Woodbridge, using the premises he previously used for manufacture of the Peel Viking Sport . The company later moved to Ipswich. The newly founded company presented a fourth prototype at the Racing Car Show at Olympia in 1966, but little more
6944-481: The assets of TVR to mitigate their personal losses of £2,000 worth of TVR shares. TVR Engineering Ltd. was then formed on 30 November 1965, with Arthur as chairman. Arthur approached David Hives and offered him the position of General Manager and Senior Designs and Development Engineer, which David accepted. After two years of this arrangement, Hives asked Arthur Lilley to appoint his son Martin as managing director whilst Hives went to America to talk to Gerry Sagerman about
7068-509: The automotive industry until 1982. His old friend Lee Iacocca had become president and CEO of the Chrysler Corporation , and contacted him with a proposition: Chrysler would set up a new Chrysler-Shelby Performance Center in Santa Fe Springs, California (not far from Dean Moon's shop where the first Cobra was assembled) so that Shelby could assist Chrysler's engineers to create high-performance versions of their cars, similar to his relationship with Ford almost 20 years earlier. Shelby assisted with
7192-459: The body was styled and built from aluminium, and painted British racing green . Although neither Wilkinson nor Pickard found the finished bodywork to be very aesthetically appealing, it was functional, and the two men conducted the first successful test drive on the runway at Squires Gate aerodrome in 1949. Later that year, TVR Number One was sold to Wilkinson's cousin for £325. It was later crashed and salvaged for parts. TVR Number Two began with
7316-409: The capability of the company's leadership. In an attempt to re-establish a distributor network in the United States, the factory accepted an order for two cars from Continental Motors in Washington, D.C. , which also happened to be the North American distributor for the Elva Courier. TVR had to have the cars returned to the UK when Continental Motors was shut down after its owner, Walter R. Dickson,
7440-413: The car for use in competition, although it was eventually registered for road use in 1952. Around this time, the car was refreshed: it received a new body style with a lower nose, and some different instrumentation and equipment (including a tachometer from a Supermarine Spitfire and Marchal headlamps from a Delage .) After the sale of the Number Two car, TVR began work on Number Three, which again used
7564-472: The car suitable for racing. The Shelby Mustang GT350 was created, with upgraded intake and exhaust manifolds, carburetor, rear axle and brakes installed at Shelby American's shop in California in place of the standard Ford parts. With work on the GT40 program and production of the GT350 beginning to ramp up Shelby American ran out of space at their shop in Venice, moving instead to an aircraft hangar at Los Angeles International Airport in 1965. The facility
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#17328516179887688-400: The car was quick enough to earn several awards. It was during these club events that one David Hives was introduced to the TVR management, and he would become a key TVR employee a decade later. Hives helped set up the production line at Griffith Motors in Syosset , New York. In the summer of 1953, Wilkinson and Pickard began working on the design of a new chassis, which was intended to accept
7812-441: The car was very competitive with the then-new Corvette Sting Ray Z06 , which was also making its racing debut. Cobras dominated the SCCA United States Road Racing Championship in 1963, but the car was less successful in the FIA World Sportscar Championship . The Cobra's open-top body simply wasn't aerodynamic enough to allow the car to reach the higher top speeds its hardtop coupe competitors were capable of, particularly
7936-400: The car's performance. In September of the same year, the Aitchison-Hopton company bought a controlling share of TVR. Before the end of the year, Hopton had appointed himself as chairman and renamed Layton Sport Cars to TVR Cars Ltd. Between September 1961 and February 1962, the number of orders for cars had been doubled, and most of the stock of finished cars had been sold. In January 1962,
8060-503: The chassis and components engineering. With renewed optimism about the future success of TVR, Wilkinson moved operations from the Beverley Grove garage to three buildings at Fielding's Industrial Estate in Hoo Hill, Layton, Blackpool . The buildings occupied by TVR Engineering were somewhat in poor state; holes in the glass roof panels admitted snow in the winter. Even before receiving his first chassis in June, 1956, Saidel had placed orders for two more chassis. TVR Engineering, bolstered by
8184-462: The company hired Ken Richardson as a competition manager, with the intent that he would lead TVR's attempts to enter international racing. In March, Hopton entered three Grantura Mk2As in the 12 Hours of Sebring . The lightweight cars were prepared by chief mechanic David Hives and competition mechanic Bob Hallett, although only one of them would actually finish the race (the other two retiring early with mechanical failure.) TVR directors began to doubt
8308-474: The company in spring 1963, and remained as marketing and sales director for the following two years. Many of the factory workers and some of the directors were persistent, remaining with the company in an attempt to return TVR to profitability. Early 1963 saw the creation of Grantura Plastics Ltd. , a company that handled the fiberglass moulding. Also in 1963, a new shareholder, Richard Barnaby, initiated talks with Major Tony Rolt of Ferguson Developments over
8432-511: The company was restructured. The US investor Ernest Stern took over the majority share. Trident then tried to reach the North American market with a revised version of the Clipper, but nothing came of it and only two cars were built. Engine problems in the cars, the oil crisis and the financial climate in the 1970s resulted in the company closing down in 1974. An attempt was made to restart production in 1976 but few cars were made before final closure in 1977. Most sources assume that Trident sold
8556-524: The company's creditors in December. TVR Cars Ltd. moved into receivership and much of its equipment, including body moulds, was moved to secure storage. Fortunately for the future of TVR, its associated company, Grantura Engineering Ltd., was still in business. Bernard Williams was able to convince the receivers of TVR Cars Ltd. to allow access to the body moulds as well as some partially finished body shells, and several cars were completed in late 1963 and early in 1964. Keith Aitchison again became involved with
8680-421: The company, although his influence had been diminished by the appointment of Moulds as the new manager. The already-strained relationship with Ray Saidel in New Hampshire was finally broken during negotiations between Saidel and TVR in May 1959. Derek Harris, the TVR chairman, attempted to pressure Saidel into purchasing fifty cars per year (rather than the previously agreed upon twenty-five.) Saidel walked out of
8804-450: The creation of the 1983 Dodge Shelby Charger , a two-door performance variant of the front-wheel drive Dodge Omni . For 1984 Shelby assisted with the Omni GLH , named by Shelby as an initialism for "Goes Like Hell". The front-wheel drive cars were powered by turbocharged four-cylinder engines , with design improvements more focused on handling than all-out power. With the success of the Shelby Charger and Omni GLH Carroll Shelby set up
8928-523: The damage done to the TVR reputation in the US by the poor build quality and poor reliability of Jack Griffith's V8-powered cars. After meeting the Lilleys, Sagerman agreed to be involved in importing TVRs to the US. In April 1967, he opened a small showroom and garage in Lynbrook, Long Island, and began importing TVRs as a full-time activity. Arthur and Martin Lilley were aware that the company's future depended on
9052-528: The designers at TVR created a fixed-head notchback coupe body. This body was fitted to the same semi-spaceframe chassis to create a car that became known as the TVR Coupe . As with previous models, it was offered with the choice of several engines, including the Ford 100E sidevalve, the Coventry Climax FWA, and the 1,489 cc (1.5 L) MGA engine. When the Ford sidevalve was selected, the customer had
9176-611: The development of the Dodge Viper , but Shelby Automobiles was defunct, just as Shelby American was 20 years earlier. Carroll Shelby founded the Shelby American Management Company in 1982 to manage his many other business ventures. His business associate and president of the company, Don Landy, floated the idea of creating an entirely new Shelby branded sports car in the mid-1990s. Landy approached General Motors' Cadillac division, which had recently begun production of
9300-565: The earlier chassis, the new design allowed for the seats to be mounted low (six inches from the ground) on either side of the backbone tunnel. The trailing arm suspension from the Volkswagen Beetle was used for both the front and rear suspension, setting the precedent of all-independent suspension for TVRs in the future. Later in that year, TVR Engineering received a letter (dated 29 August) from Ray Saidel in Manchester, New Hampshire . Saidel
9424-585: The end of 1965, Grantura Engineering was also insolvent. In addition to the TVR Grantura, the companies also had the Griffith 200 (later 400 ) in their range, which, with an unchanged body, was equipped with an eight-cylinder V-engine from Ford USA instead of a British four-cylinder engine. It was primarily intended for the North American market. In 1962, Brian Hopton, one of the owners of TVR Cars, commissioned
9548-458: The engine, gearbox, and other components from the Austin A40 (including the independent coil-spring front suspension and rear axle.) Significantly, it did not incorporate an upper body frame, and the engineers intended to provide the car for sale as a kit with a fiberglass body. Approximately twenty; these three cars used an RGS Atalanta body manufactured by special builder Richard G. Shattock. With
9672-519: The fact that this generation of the car was the second after the first Dellow -chassis Jomar.) Around this time, Bernard Williams, a motoring enthusiast who lived in Lytham St Annes , expressed interest in becoming involved in the company. By July 1955, he had been hired as the director of TVR Engineering. Wilkinson and Pickard were amenable to this because of their limited interest in financial and business administration; both were more interested in
9796-590: The factory at Hoo Hill. TVR went into liquidation in November of that year. In 1965, TVR produced four prototypes of a car named the Trident . It was powered by the same Ford V8 as was found in the Griffith, and the body was hand-built of aluminum and steel by Carrozzeria Fissore in Savigliano , Italy. The styling was the work of Trevor Fiore (born Trevor Frost ), who borrowed the shape from his previous styling exercise for
9920-513: The factory in exactly the same configuration. The extra exposure created by using the Sports Saloon in competition led to potential customers inquiring about the availability of other body styles. TVR sold kits with Microplas Mistal bodies, and at least two different styles from Rochdale Motor Panels & Engineering Ltd. The engines fitted were typically the Ford 1,172 cc (1.2 L) sidevalve or Austin A40 1,200 cc (1.2 L) OHV engines. There
10044-457: The failure as a tax loss to benefit his own engineering firm. In actuality, the directors decided on 30 October that the company would be dissolved and re-formed as Layton Sports Cars Ltd. When the new company began trading in December 1958, the directors voted to immediately inject £15,000 to expand the workforce and build stocks of car components. In February 1959, a sister company was formed under
10168-481: The first American constructor to win a title on the international scene at the FIA World Championships . Shelby American worked with Ford to re-engineer the GT40 for the '66 season, replacing the 289 cubic inch (4.7 L) engine with Ford's larger, more powerful 427 cu. in. (7.0 L) engine . The Mk II GT40 achieved great success, with Shelby American's wins at Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans earning Ford
10292-464: The first Mk1 cars to Ray Saidel in the United States, where they would be offered for sale as the "Jomar Coupe" or the "Jomar Gran Turismo Coupe", depending on which engine had been fitted. Some of these cars carried both the "Jomar" and "TVR" badging on the nose. A 1958 advertisement from Saidel Sports-Racing Cars offered two models. The Jomar Mk2 (with fibreglass or aluminum bodywork and the Climax engine)
10416-530: The first original TVR body style, which would be fitted on the Jomar-style chassis. The body shape was created with the use of two Microplas Mistral nose sections, one for the bonnet and one (reversed) for the rear. Although never officially named, this car is usually referred to as the TVR Open Sports . The first car, painted red and fitted with a Coventry Climax engine, was tested successfully by Wilkinson at
10540-409: The following year. The car featured a 3.2-liter V6 engine. From 2007 the concept was equipped with a 6.6-liter General Motors turbodiesel V8 engine. In 2014 the closed version was presented with the name Iceni Magna. The car has yet to be produced due to funding issues. Trident Cars' first model was the Clipper coupe. It was based on the 1965 TVR Trident prototype. Technically, Trident broke away from
10664-414: The following years. In 1949, TVR built its first original chassis. The Hotchkis-style rear suspension used the live axle from a Morris Eight , and the front suspension was of an independent trailing-arm design. The engine was a Ford 1,172 cc sidevalve from a 1936 van, tuned to 35 hp. Even before the car was bodied, it was crashed by the man hired to create the bodywork, Les Dale. After repairs,
10788-688: The further option of fitting a Shorrock supercharger . One of the Coupes was used by the factory as a demonstrator model, and was driven by Mike Hawthorn . On 10 January 1958, the TVR Coupe made its first public appearance at H & J Quick Ltd showroom in Manchester, England: "The designers are Mr. Trevor Wilkinson and Mr. Bernard Williams, who run the T.V.R. engineering company at Layton , Blackpool, and who have been making chassis for special car builders for some years. A little over two years ago they were asked by
10912-568: The home market distributors had gone out of business (Research Garage and David Buxton Ltd.), the Canadian government had imposed a 10% duty on cars imported from the United Kingdom, and the company discontinued its relationship with Dick Monnich, the US importer, because of his failure to pay for his orders. Factory workers were all laid off in October 1962, and Henry Moulds and Bernards Williams met with
11036-501: The importation of TVRs. This ultimately resulted in Sagerman establishing TVR Cars of America. TVR had no outstanding orders to fulfill, and significant outstanding debts towards suppliers. Additionally, members of previous work force had apparently stolen parts and damaged machinery out of spite when they were laid off. In the final days of 1965 and into early 1966, the new workforce gained confidence in management as it became apparent that
11160-461: The influx of sales, hired two more employees: Stanley Kilcoyne, a welder, and Josef Mleczek, a general components fitter. In the following years, Mleczek (nicknamed "The Pole") would become an expert fibreglass laminator, and would ultimately direct operation in TVR's body shop. Also around this time, Bernard Williams introduced a wealthy investor named Fred Thomas, who would join TVR as a director. In mid-1956, Wilkinson and Pickard undertook to create
11284-456: The initial three cars GM executives refused to sell them more rolling chassis , worried that the "Scaglietti Corvettes" would compete with GM's own car for sales. Shelby continued sports cars racing in the late 1950s, competed in Formula 1 for Aston Martin in 1958 and 1959, won the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 1960 USAC Road Racing Championship , but was forced into retirement following
11408-520: The intention of selling them under the Jomar name. He was not especially successful in selling the cars, and felt that one problem lay in the car's styling. Saidel wrote to the factory and suggested that the next model be styled as a fastback . The next model produced by TVR was the Grantura Mark 1, which used a fastback-style body over the existing chassis design (with the same trailing-arm independent suspension front and rear.) Engine options included
11532-424: The introduction of new, competitive models. Plans to put the Trident into full production were derailed when the Lilleys discovered that Bill Last had commandeered the rights to that design during the period of confusion between the previous TVR liquidation and the Lilley ownership. TVR engaged Carrozzeria Fissore to build the coachwork for the steel-bodied prototype TVR Tina. David Hives was very heavily involved with
11656-666: The ire of Wilkinson, who regarded Thurner as a professional competitor and who felt that he was being undermined by the company he originally created. By the middle of 1960, the factory employed forty-three workers, the Grantura Mk1 production was ending (with a total of 100 cars produced), and the Mk2 body shell design was nearly ready. TVR had distributors selling cars in the UK, including David Buxton Ltd. in Derby and Bill Last in Woodbridge, Suffolk . In January 1961, Keith Aitchison and Bryan Hopton (of
11780-452: The large engine. In a short period of time, David Hives at the Hoo Hill TVR factory built a second prototype that was better developed and better finished, as well as three engine-less cars destined for Griffith's business in New York. In March 1964, David Hives went to Long Island to assist Bob Cumberford in building a pattern and plug for the Griffith 600 series, and he also helped set up the production line with George Clark. Hives helped build
11904-410: The last lap and Gurney pushed it across the finish line, automatically disqualifying them. During the 1966 season Shelby and Ford were already developing a more advanced version of the GT40, known early in its development as the " J-car ". On August 17, 1966, only a couple months after the race at Le Mans, Ken Miles died at the wheel of a J-car while conducting high-speed testing at Riverside. The J-car
12028-405: The name Grantura Engineering Ltd. to avoid incurring the UK's Purchase Tax on sales of the cars (which were then still being offered as kits); Purchase Tax would not be applied to kit cars that were purchased from a different company than that which supplied the mechanical components. TVR received some positive publicity when Autocar magazine dedicated three pages in its March 1959 issue to
12152-406: The negotiations and made it clear in a letter to the factory, dated 18 June, that he felt TVR's expectations to be extremely unrealistic. By July 1959, the situation at TVR was dire; there were significant inconsistencies in pricing and in financial recordkeeping, stocks of components were not being properly managed, the factory did not employ enough skilled workers, and there were serious doubts about
12276-435: The new leadership when they saw Bryan Hopton's tendency to overextend the company's finances in motor racing, as well as on indulgences such as luxury transport and hotels. This ill-fated race outing at Sebring was the last in a series of events that led to the departure of Trevor Wilkinson, whose resignation was accepted by the board of directors on 5 April 1962. After both Wilkinson and Pickard left TVR, they together set up
12400-456: The possibility of developing a four-wheel drive V8 -powered TVR. Barnaby asked David Hives to make the chassis for such a car, which he did, although TVR did not have the funds available to commit to such a project in full. It was later revealed that Rolt had been discussing a similar project with Jensen Motors , which ultimately resulted in the Jensen FF . The company's recovery effort brought
12524-586: The purpose of striking a deal to import their chassis and install an American V8, but he was rebuffed until September 1961, when AC Cars of Britain replied in the affirmative. After the Bristol Aeroplane Company merged with English Electric and Vickers to form the British Aircraft Corporation , the newly spun-off Bristol Cars ceased production of their six-cylinder engine, which AC had been using in their Ace sports car. In need of
12648-405: The reason for this as “delivery difficulties” at Ford or a strike. The factory instead offered the Clipper with eight-cylinder engines from Chrysler starting in 1971. They had a displacement of 5576 cm³, produced around 300 bhp (304 hp, 224 kW) according to factory information and were coupled to a three-speed automatic transmission from Chrysler. The retail price in 1971 before tax was £3,398. It
12772-452: The same chassis and suspension design. Instead of the sidevalve Ford engine, it was fitted with the 1,200 cc 40 hp OHV four-cylinder engine from an Austin A40. This car was painted yellow, and in contrast to the rounded bodywork of the first and second cars, it was styled with a blunt nose and a squarish vertical panel as the grille. Driven by Wilkinson in a number of car club events (such as sprints and hillclimbs ) in 1952 and 1953,
12896-490: The same chassis design found on the first car, using the rear axle, springs, dampers, brakes, and steering from the Morris Eight, as well as the same sidevalve Ford engine. However, the front suspension design was changed to use wishbone control arms and a single transverse leaf spring. The bodywork was again constructed by Les Dale, and it was similar in appearance to the first car. An auto enthusiast local to Blackpool purchased
13020-768: The small-block and large-block AC Cobras , the Shelby GT350 and the GT500 Super Snake. Since 2005, Shelby American has released new models each year. In 1957 racing driver Carroll Shelby opened a sports car dealership in Dallas , with Dick Hall, selling Maseratis across the American Southwest . They raced Maseratis in the 1957 SCCA National Sports Car Championship , while across the Atlantic Brian Lister's Lister Motor Company enjoyed racing success after installing
13144-408: The summer of 1999, but initial build quality was very poor. Deliveries of finished cars did not resume until August, 2000. Venture Holdings was forced into bankruptcy by the bankruptcy of one of its other subsidiaries in 2003. Soon thereafter Carroll Shelby formed a new holding company called "Carroll Shelby International, Inc.", and it was taken public. A new Shelby Automobiles was also created as
13268-494: The third and fourth Tridents were under construction at the time, and they were put into storage. In the wake of the company's liquidation, TVR dealer Bill Last acquired the rights to the Trident by some means not viewed as legitimate by later TVR management. In 1966, Last established in Trident Cars Ltd and started building the car under the model name "Clipper". In late 1965, Arthur Lilley and his son Martin Lilley purchased
13392-399: The upcoming Trident project. The original TVR logo was designed in 1964 by Bob Hallett and John Baillie. It was subsequently updated in 2018 as part of an updated corporate identity delivered by Forge Design Consultancy, "suitable for both digital and print media - to support their international relaunch." Reliability problems and customer complaints began to mount through 1964. In 1964,
13516-526: The world, offering a diverse range of coupés and convertibles . The abbreviation TVR stems from the name of the company's owner Trevor Wilkinson, his first garage sporting the letters T, V, and R. The history of TVR can be divided into several eras, each of which is associated with the company's owner at the start of that period: Trevor Wilkinson (14 May 1923 – 6 June 2008) was born in Blackpool and left school at 14 to start an engineering apprenticeship at
13640-408: The year, Fissore built two more prototypes - a coupé and a convertible - but after the bankruptcy of Grantura Cars at the end of 1965, the Trident project was initially discontinued. Arthur and Martin Lilley, who took over the production facilities in Blackpool in November 1965 and incorporated them into the newly founded company TVR Engineering, initially assumed that they would also take over
13764-503: Was a Ford subsidiary at the time, and when the cars were returned by Hertz to Ford they were re-sold to the public as the " GT350H ". For 1967 Shelby installed the Ford 428 cu. in (7.0 L) engine in the Mustang, creating the "GT500". Revised front and rear fascias distinguished the 1967 Shelby Mustangs from the common Fords they were based on. Shelby ran a separate racing team, "Terlingua Racing", in
13888-584: Was a successful racing driver and owned the Merrimack Street Garage in Manchester. He indicated that he would be interested in purchasing a TVR chassis fitted with a Coventry Climax FWA engine. TVR completed the chassis in May 1956, and it had arrived in New Hampshire by June of that year, where it was given an aluminum body. This car was the first of several to be designated "Jomar Mk2" (the name being derived from Saidel's children, Joanna and Marc, and
14012-486: Was at least one instance of a car being fitted with the 1,489 cc (1.5 L) BMC B-Series engine (as fitted to the MG MGA ), and one chassis was built to accommodate a customer's 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -litre Lea-Francis engine. In 1955, the company started development of new semi-spaceframe chassis with a central backbone. This chassis used outriggers and a steel bulkhead to carry mounting points for doors. In contrast to
14136-513: Was building and racing Cobras and Daytonas, Ford introduced the new Mustang at the New York World's Fair in April, 1964. Ford vice-president Lee Iacocca promised that the car would be "a sports car suitable for street use or competition" in his introductory speech to the press. In reality the car's sporting credentials were somewhat lacking, and Iacocca hired Shelby American to develop a version of
14260-434: Was connected to an automatic transmission. Six or seven copies of this version were made. After restructuring the company, Trident introduced a revised version of the Clipper at the 1976 London Motor Show . It differed from the earlier models in that it had a differently designed front section and safety bumpers according to US specifications. The exhibit was equipped with a 223 hp eight-cylinder engine from Chrysler with
14384-407: Was convicted and jailed for defrauding his bank. An engineer (and earlier TVR customer) named John Thurner left his position at Rolls-Royce and joined TVR in November 1959, whereupon he was named Technical Director. Thurner's experience and enthusiasm were sought to help the company improve the Grantura and to streamline production, and he was given full control of Grantura development. This raised
14508-552: Was expiring. Shelby leased the building at 1042 Princeton Drive in April and founded his new company: Shelby American, Inc. Phil Remington , Scarab's chief engineer, was hired immediately by Shelby to continue working on the Cobra. Shelby American began racing the Cobra in the fall of 1962 with driver Bill Krause entered into the three-hour endurance race at the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix on October 13. Krause ultimately did not finish, having broken an axle shaft, but
14632-419: Was heard until the company presented a fifth prototype, again at Olympia, in 1967. Trident later began series production of the coupé in 1967, largely following Trevor Fiore's prototypes in terms of style. Over the years, different six and eight cylinder engines of British and US origin were installed; the respective vehicles were given different model names. In 1974, Trident temporarily stopped production. In 1975
14756-544: Was hired as the managing director in August 1964. His military background and strict enforcement of order and workday schedule prevented him from ingratiating himself with most of the factory workers. Knott subsequently hired Ralph Kissack, also from a military background, and whose family was involved with Peel Engineering Company on the Isle of Man . David Hives returned to the TVR factory in England on 1 September 1964. Immediately, he
14880-461: Was listed with the copy, only 930 lbs and "Outhandles Everything." The second model, the Jomar Coupe, a 1,712 cc (1.7 L). fixed-head sports car. These cars utilised the same chassis. In 1959, Motor Sport reported: The JOMAR COUPE is the result of a joint Anglo-American project. The firm of T.V.R. Engineering of Blackpool, England is responsible for the basic-designing and building of
15004-571: Was not mass-produced. The Venturer was the second and by far most successful variant of the Trident Coupé. It appeared in 1969. All examples were based on the extended chassis of the Triumph TR6, giving the car independent suspension all round by coil springs. The Venturer was equipped with a 3.0 litre (2,996 cc) version of the British Ford Essex six-cylinder engine. The power was transmitted by
15128-455: Was proposed by Averil Scott-Moncrieff, the wife of TVR director David "Bunty" Scott-Moncrieff.) In October 1958, TVR's debt with the bank was nearing £10,000. At that point in the year, the factory had completed as few as ten cars, and orders from the United States had almost ceased due to the lack of sales success there. All of this was of little concern to TVR director and financier Fred Thomas, as he had apparently intended to close TVR and use
15252-437: Was put onto building the Griffith 400 Series, which involved a lot of work at MIRA ( Motor Industry Research Association ). It also required working with Armstrong Patents to source the springs and dampers, Janspeed for the exhaust systems, and Kenlowe for the twin fan radiators. After six Months of working on the 400 series, Hives handed the car over to Chris Laurence to finish off development work so that he could concentrate on
15376-570: Was re-engineered with improved safety features and better aerodynamics, becoming the GT40 Mk IV . In 1967 the Mk IV won the only two races they entered, at Sebring and Le Mans. McLaren and Mario Andretti won the race at Sebring, while Gurney and A. J. Foyt won Le Mans, with McLaren and Mark Donohue in fourth. After the 1967 season the FIA changed the rules governing prototypes, and the 7.0 L engine used in
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