Are you excited for the return of the TVR Griffith? We sure are—England’s rowdiest sports car company promises the all-new performance machine will be a jaw-dropper, engineered by Gordon Murray and powered by a Cosworth V8.
Problem is, TVR probably won’t be able to deliver cars by its previously-set target of “early 2019.” And for once, the issue has nothing to do with actual car building. Blame EU regulations for this one.
As Autocar reports, the problem stems from the Welsh government’s three-percent stake in the soon-to-be-revived-again car company. Since this tiny piece of TVR is now government-owned, the budding automaker is now subject to European Union rules.
All of which means that the construction and renovation work to be completed at TVR’s factory in Ebbw Vale, South Wales, must be held to EU government construction standards—including a rule that says the construction work must go out to bid across the entire EU, as opposed to being bid on simply by local or regional firms.
As Autocar tells it, construction can’t begin until the bidding process has been completed in January 2019. Which puts TVR’s intended early-2019 delivery date into jeopardy.
“It’s frustrating, that’s for sure,” TVR head honcho Les Edgar said to Autocar, noting that once a bid has been accepted, the factory will require about six months of construction and renovation work. Edgar did hint that some work could begin as early as March at a different facility on TVR property.
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