Some more positive coverage of the Eva.

regards (and I hope the link works !)

(edit:- just tried it and it did work - amazed myself!)

John

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/picturegalleries/7954644/New-Morgan-Eva-GT-in-pictures.html

Ello chaps.

Im not actually new, bit of a serious lurker truth me told. Im not a massive fan of the Aero 8, but only because I was left drooling by the GTN when it came out. I saw Charlies car was available last yr and was sorely tempted to follow through but for reasons various bottled it. I was mahoooosively tempted again with the SuperSports, but again the stars didnt line up right.

See, my trouble with modern cars is, well, frankly Ive got a lot of issue to be honest.

1. I see no reason for them to weigh so much. It offends me. TVR managed to avoid them weighing a lot, Morgan still do.

2. I loathe dull designs. TVR avoided that, Morgan still do.

3. I see no reason why a car cant do everything. My TVRs managed to do that, be competent sports cars, competent GT cars, competent every day cars and then sometimes loony machines. I used my Griff and my Sagaris as my everyday commuter cars. Morgans do that aswell.

4. Special. I need a car to feel special.

With the demise of TVR, choice become a bit knackered. Jag make blunted instruments these days. Porsche produce God awful interiors. BMW even worse. What makes a chap's heart sing? The choices are very limited. Fortunately Morgan still understands what drives blokes to buy cars with their hearts. I cant gaurantee Ill purchase one, I have a long standing interest in the Evora and the S comming out + some tweaks should see it at the 400pony mark which makes it the car it should always have been,

But at least its good that we now have the option and choice. Long live the British eccentric.

Hello!

In response to point 1, TVR never had to homologate for the American market. The amount of effort that has to go into crash and pedestrian protection is *insane* and this is what makes a lot of 'normal' cars look similar and weigh a lot. Also need to balance materials vs cost vs weight. TVRs are partially light because of the body work but glassfibre has more than a couple of downfalls - bringing me back to crash protection. Let's face it, crash in a Griff and you'd be lucky to walk out of it in one piece whereas in even a modern supermini the amount they can withstand is incredible.

Not what people like to hear from petrolheads but I'd take saving lives over minimising weight any day of the week and I'm glad the standards/regulation are so high nowadays. Not saying it's perfect but I think it does more good than harm.

At the same time customer demand for luxury has increased and people expect air con units that can chill you even when the car is at full tilt on a hot summer's day. People expect having good hi-fis, comfy seats with lots of adjustment, high grade plastics, so on and so forth. It all adds weight and there's only so many places you can trim without a car costing a fortune.

As for number 4, I think you're being a bit unfair. Porsche make God awful interiors? Do they? They're not the most exciting but their quality is undeniable, as attested to the sheer number of the things running round in perfect working order. The new Panamera/Cayenne have really swish interiors. As for BMW, well, they're a large scale manufacturer so there has to be commonality in parts and design language. That's why firms like TVR go bump and why BMW make big profits even in a recession. I really like BMW interiors FWIW and they feel hewn from granite, even in the 1 series.

And I wouldn't call the XKR a blunted instrument, not sure how you can argue against something with 500+bhp/lb ft, ability to do everything and undercut Aston's efforts by £10k minimum. They're a really desirable car.

<<TVRs are partially light because of the body work>>

Glass reinforced plastic is actually heavier than metal. (Griffs aren't particularly light any way mine was quoted at 1060Kg,but actually weighed nearer 1150kg)

<<but glassfibre has more than a couple of downfalls - bringing me back to crash protection. Let's face it, crash in a Griff>>

The Griff had to adhere to the same regs as any other car of it's period.

<<Porsche make God awful interiors? Do they? They're not the most exciting but their quality is undeniable>>

I tried very hard to persuade my wife to swap her SLK for a 993 C2 Cab with 18k miles on the clock, she liked the car, but said that she could not live with the acres of black plastic

But in general, I take your point I drove TVR's for 9 years as my company cars, I suspect I would find them a little too raw now. But I do find the current obsession with HP over driving dynamics a bit strange, 500 bhp is a bit daft isn't it?

Brian

Some interesting points Maverix, and I agree with most of them. It's funny how many petrolheads follow the same train of thought when it comes to seeking individuality. I've looked at 911's on and off over time and the majority have visually uninspiring interiors. Porsche seem to favour carrying the colour theme to everything, so it's all a bit too much. Especially the blandness of grey and the intensity of red. I don't mind black but relentless black would take a bit of living with!!!!!!
I've liked TVR since the seventies, but the stars have never aligned for me. I missed a 2500M to get married, and now, they (all TVR's) just fall short of the 'must have' bar. I really don't know why. It's the visuals that just don't quite hit the spot for me, although the T350 comes very close.
In the end I like the trad Morgan too much to consider much else......

Having had a TVR as have several friends and coleagues... the Morgans dont come even close on the running costs of TVR's!!

Not so good to trade quality engineering for weight saving and individuality.... generally it does not look so good when on the back of a low loader.

Guess in part that's responsivble for the jelly mold aspect of some modern sports/performance cars.

Not that any of it matters. Work has required 40,000miles in the last year, so a £540 Ebay bargain barge diesel Passat with 200,000 mies already on was purchased to be my daily stead. Hence the steadily growing itchy fingers to have a proper car again, though I will say Ive absolutely grown to love the Barge It take a complete kicking on a weekly basis and keeps on ticking. Indestructible!

A farming friend of mine had a TVR Vixen that was written off when a bull sat on the bonnet, another case of the customer doing the r&d, I'm sure Porsche/Merc test for this occurance

I like your posts

Magistrate: " Mr Bull you are charged with willfull destuction of property, namely one TVR Vixen"
Mr. Bull: " M'Lud if you examine the cctv footage you will see I was staionary at the time and was in fact rear-ended by said TVR [snort]"
Magistrate: "what a load of old bull!"


sorry..