Out of the Woodwork 2007
Carlisle, PA: May 17-19, 2007
Report
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Although the preliminary forecasts called for a solid chance of rain, the TVR Car Club North America’s annual event, ‘Out of the Woodwork’ 2007 turned out to be a nice weekend, with only a couple of light sprinkles to get in the way. So fears of a repeat of “Wetwork 2005” were allayed although it appeared some people were put off from coming by thoughts of rain, as well as actual rain which blanketed some of the coastal areas in the eastern US. As we arrived Thursday afternoon, there was already a decent complement of TVRs at the Hotel Carlisle and cars continued to roll in during the evening. A chilly Friday morning greeted us with threats of rain, but the skies started clearing off a bit and the scheduled driving tour through the Pennsylvania countryside was held and all reports from participants were that the driving tour was a definite hit. We want to thank Bill Shover of the Triumph Club in Central Pennsylvania for leading the tour and we look forward to keeping this on the schedule for next year. By Friday evening, the hotel parking lot was getting fairly full with TVRs and support vehicles. After a nice dinner, many members gathered in the hospitality suite where, a surprise birthday party for TVRCCNA member Kash Biddle was held to celebrate his 50th birthday, and his entry into “Old Man-hood”. The gathering was treated to a wonderful array of gag gifts sent for the occasion by Mrs. Kash Biddle, and another group of gag gifts by the ‘Canadian Brotherhood’, including a plaque making Kash an “Honorary Canadian”. A birthday cake was also provided to cap off the celebration. Saturday morning dawned with nice weather once again and cars started filling up the TVR portion of the showfield at the Carlisle Fairgrounds. In fact, we ran out of space for the 2500M category as, once again, it was the most plentiful of the TVR models present, followed by the 280i. There was also a nice representation of the “newer” TVRs including V8 wedges, S2s and “new” Griffiths. And, on the other end of the chronological spectrum, we had some original Griffiths, Granturas, Vixens, 2500s and 3-litre TVRs. We did not get an official count of TVRs on hand but it did not quite make the 52 number that we had last year for our first year at the Carlisle venue. Saturday evening, festivities got underway with the annual club banquet and a nice buffet prepared by the dining staff at the Hotel Carlisle. Then, the awards ceremony commenced and awards were presented for the various classes at the car show earlier in the day. |
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The awards were as follows:
| Early TVR (Grantura through Vixen): |
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| Griffith & Tuscan V8: |
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| 2500: |
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| 2500M: |
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| 3000 Series: |
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| Tasmin/280i: |
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| Late TVR (350i through Chimaera): |
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| Best of Show: |
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| Woodwork Support Award: |
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| Woodworker Awards: |
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| Longest Distance Driven in a TVR: |
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| Longest Distance Travelled: |
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| The Trevor Award: (the club’s top award presented for outstanding contributions to the club and its membership) |
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TVR's Future Outlined by Speaker at Banquet
After the awards, our special guest for the weekend, Adam Burdette, one of the two new managing directors of TVR Global, spoke to the group. Burdette outlined the plans of the new group, explaining how and where TVRs will be built in the future and that the North American market will be one of the key components to this plan.
Burdette said the game plan of TVR Global is to “work smarter, more cost effectively and with a wider range than ever before”. He went on to say this would be accomplished through a process called “production partnering”. He said they will be working with some of the most prestigious names in the automotive industry to build the new TVR, while maintaining the essence of the classic brand. That plan includes the following:
- Bodies and chassis to be manufactured by Hi-tech Automotive of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, who currently produce the bodies and chassis for the Superperformance line of Cobra and Cobra Daytona Coupe replicas and who have won accolades in the motoring press for their quality;
- The engines will be produced by Ricardo, a highly respected powertrain specialist in England. Ricardo will be building the Generation 2 version of the Speed 6 engine, which will be completely redesigned from the pistons up. They will feature a new twin-cam, 4 valve with variable timing design, all controlled through the new Bosch engine management system, that features a driver-selective traction control and ABS system, both of which are firsts for TVR.
- The interiors for the new TVRs will be provided by I.M. Kelly of Britain, internationally known for hand leathercraft skills for more than 30 years. Kelly has been creating well-appointed interiors for McLaren, Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin.
- After all that work, the chassis, body, interior, engine, etc will be shipped to Bertone in Turin, Italy for final assembly and for shipment to customers throughout the world. TVR joins the list of Bertone clients that include Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Maserati and Alfa Romeo.
Burdette went on to outline the plans for dealerships throughout the world. He said TVR Global will consist of a network of 30 exclusive, high-end dealerships in the United States and Canada. There will also be dealers in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand as well as Hong Kong, Mainland China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Middle East, Europe and the UK. The plan is for this network of dealers to offer approximately 4,000 TVRs that TVR Global plans to manufacture in the year 2008.
He said each new TVR will feature the Speed 6 Mk. II engine, with engine output increased to 400 bhp. These cars will be built to worldwide homologation standards, including Euro V and California Air Resources Board (CARB) requirements. In addition to the Bosch electronics system with traction control and dual airbags, each TVR will also have a bespoke DVD-based navigation system with full touch-screen programming by Alpine.
In addition, Burdette said TVR Global will be sending out an electronic newsletter monthly to TVR owners, car clubs and members of the TVR Team, which will not only keep TVR people up to date with the latest developments but it will be interactive so that owners and enthusiasts can discuss their needs and wants with each other and the company.
Burdette closed by saying he looks forward to working with everyone and to involvement with the TVRCCNA in North America.