Wednesday 7th June 2006
Nikolai Smolenski isn't quite how I expected him to be. It's not his youth that's the surprise - TVR's sole shareholder is still only 26 - it's the way he wears it. When he bought TVR two years ago, the few pictures that emerged of the young Russian were unflattering. With a mass of unruly straw-coloured hair and a buttoned-up suit, he looked slightly, well, nerdy.
Today, however, he's sporting an army-crop hairstyle and some very sharp casual clothing, as if he's been set upon by Trinny and Susannah. Yet in demeanour he remains slightly shy and modest, in a way that somehow doesn't tally with a man who also runs a private bank with 12,500 employees.
Smolenski isn't here to talk banking, though. In fact it's a stipulation of the interview that we talk only about TVR and Britain as a car-making base, so no personal questions and no photos (he hates photos).
It's an appropriate time to talk TVR, of course, as the company is rumoured to have produced as few as two cars a week during parts of the winter, has laid off a big chunk of its workforce, and will soon depart its traditional home of Bristol Avenue in Blackpool. Should we be worried about the future of Britain's most heroic car brand?
The way Smolenski tells it, it's actually a time for optimism. 'The press has blown-up the factory move out of all proportion,' he insists. 'The thought of moving production out of the UK has crossed my mind, but then I'm always thinking of new possibilities because you have to; it doesn't mean that they will all come to pass.
'If TVRs weren't built over here, how could they then be British cars? Besides, there's nothing wrong with British labour costs, they're fine when you're not mass-producing cars.'
When he gets to the specifics of what new models we might expect from TVR, Smolenski's face radiates passion. 'For the moment we will have to develop variants within the existing range, but we're also working on something wilder. We're developing a V12 engine to power a modernised version of the Speed 12.
I'd like the car to have carbonfibre bodywork for lightness and rigidity, but currently the price is too high due to heavy demand from the aeronautics industry.'
Ambitious plans to move TVR into global markets have accelerated the establishment of proper development processes, with hot-weather testing in Dubai and cold-weather trials in Russia. Work is well underway to make the cars compliant with Euro IV emissions standards and to provide them with the necessary on-board diagnostics (OBD) systems to enable them to be homologated throughout Europe. Investigations are also being made into how to prepare cars for the US market, and there have been enquiries from South East Asia and China to set up distribution networks.
Smolenski realises that there are still quality issues to sort out. He's implemented quality-control systems and replaced underperforming suppliers - moves that have reduced warranty claims to 30 per cent of what they were before he took over.
But even if everything takes off the way he'd like, Smolenski says he'll restrict production to 5000 cars a year to retain exclusivity. He also wants to keep them affordable. 'I want TVRs to be the fastest road cars you can buy, but I don't want you to have to choose between a car and a mortgage.'
Anti-lock brakes and traction control will soon appear on TVRs, and in collaboration with an outside specialist, possibly Ricardo, TVR is developing its own semi-sequential gearbox. 'How many small sports car makers can boast their own engine and gearbox?' asks Smolenski in a rare break from his innate modesty.
Other plans include a loose agreement with Noble to share information on sales, marketing and development, and the establishment of multi-franchise dealerships to enable TVR to have a presence in areas that couldn't support a one-marque operation.
Smolenski becomes particularly animated when outlining his thoughts on a British sports car race championship. 'Imagine TVR, Noble, Morgan, maybe even Lotus, racing together in a series with budgets limited to make it competitive.' And he's keen for TVR to be involved in endurance racing, supporting privateer teams: 'But we'd have to do it properly and be in it to win.'
Smolenski would also like to branch out into powerboats, sees potential for a second British motorbike manufacturer and can imagine TVR engines powering other madly fast vehicles such as jetskis and ATVs.
Before any of that, though, there's the main act to attend to. 'I am willing to work very hard to ensure TVR survives,' states Smolenski, 'but I will not compromise on quality or performance.' Hallelujah to that.
