For those of us hoping to see the brutally purist wares of British sportscar manufacturer TVR on American shores,
we have some dispiriting news: the company is laying off nearly half its staff, if only temporarily.
A TVR spokesperson has been quoted as saying the job-shedding is the result of poor winter sales, but we
can’t imagine the makers of raw-edged rear-wheel-drive powerhouses really expecting the marque to sell like so
many Subaru Foresters when the white flakes hit. Something is up.
This, despite the sizeable cash infusion and ambition of their new-ish young owner, Russian Nikolay Smolensky, who
purchased the company at a precocious age 23 (with an estimated wealth of $100 million dollars, he can afford such
things).
Word is that output at TVR’s Blackpool assembly has gone from a dozen cars a week to just two, which means
they aren’t even turning out a single example of more than half of their lineup on any given week.
Smolensky, we’re looking for an official Autoblog office runabout for quick nips down to the curry
shoptakeaway pizzeria, and your guys obviously could use the work, so how ’bout a nice
Tuscan Convertible? We’ll even let you pick the color.
[Source: BBC News]