Trevor Wilkinson, TVR founder, dead at 85
TVR Grantura. Click above for model history and more photos.
Trevor Wilkinson, who founded the British sports car marque, TVR, has died at the age of 85 in Minorca, Spain, where he lived in retirement. Mr. Wilkinson had apparently been seriously ill, according to reports. He built his business in his hometown of Blackpool, and the company name, TVR, is just an abbreviation of his first name. It's first production car was the Grantura (above).
Wilkinson left TVR in 1962 but remained owner until 1965, when the first in a succession of subsequent bosses took the reins. The one constant, however, has been the name -- his name -- that Trevor Wilkinson gave the company all those years ago, which has since appeared on some pretty impressive cars along the way. Rest in peace, Mr. Wilkinson.[Sources: BBC, TVR Blog]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Avinash machado 11:00AM (6/08/2008)
The front end of the TVR Grantura above seems to resemble the Jaguar E-Type.
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Mobius_1 11:01AM (6/08/2008)
R.I.P. Mr TVR, your company has brought some awesome and crazy cars to this world
I still can't get enough of seeing the Cerbera 12's power to weight ratio (800 bhp/ton!)
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CarbonBlack 12:19PM (6/08/2008)
great TVR video
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7443217257826268462&q=topgear+tvr&ei=ZwZMSOvCGqX4qwP2t4W3DA&hl=en
RIP
-nick
Caroftheday.org 11:11AM (6/08/2008)
What a legacy Mr. Wilkinson!
My prayers and thoughts are with the family and friends.
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Corey Smith 11:12AM (6/08/2008)
Farewell Mr. Wilkinson - you and your company made some of the best looking cars to grace the roads.
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Michael 11:18AM (6/08/2008)
Rest in peace. TVRs have always been awesome.
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Derek 11:41AM (6/08/2008)
He looks very happy in that picture, I can't imagine many things better than founding an awesome sports car company. Two thumbs up and farewell Mr Wilkinson, you will be missed!
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Philip 5:06AM (6/09/2008)
TVR, a truly one off and impressive sports car from the north of England, his name and beautiful cars live on.
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Jeff Banks 2:03PM (6/08/2008)
I always loved TVR's because they weren't just another low volume sports car maker...the styling was completely different, they built their own engines and ignored any and all regulations mandating any form of safety equipment or traction control. They didn't just source a Ford V8 like De Tomaso. Awesome, awesome cars.
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cxvargas 7:49PM (6/08/2008)
RIP Mr Wilkinson. I remember the first time I saw a TVR at a small car park near Windsord Castle in 1998 and from that moment I started dreaming of owning a TVR. Maybe one day.
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mk 11:13AM (6/09/2008)
Indeed, Rest in Peace, Mr. Wilkinson.
It is sad to think that his namesake company is largely off the radar after the current russian-born owner pulled it from it's Blackpool home.
There were rumors of production re-starting in Italy, but the lack of coverage of any kind in the last few months or a year makes me wonder if there is anything happening with TVR anymore, which is a shame. They seemed to be coming into their own, and were starting to really improve their quality consistency, from what I had read.
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