world automotive

While most of the cars we see on the road are mass-produced, by major automobile manufacturers there are a few cars built in limited quantities for special purposes. There are even a few small custom building-manufacturing companies that are the dream come true accompanied by the sweat and hard work of one individual. Such a company was TVR, founded by Trevor Wilkinson, back in 1947. The company was housed in Blackpool, England and specialized in the production of sports/racing cars.

Each car was designed by stylists at the Blackpool plant and completely custom built on the premises. The bodies were made of fiberglass with a full FIA rib cage. Even the seats were hand-sewn by seamstresses on site.

The company also sponsored a one-make racing series billed as the TVR Tuscan Challenge.

One limited production car, designed specifically for this race, was the TVR Tuscan Racer or Speed 8. This was a convertible with a fiberglass body mounted over a tubular steel chass. It was powered by a 4441 cc Rover V8 engine and had a Borg Warner T5.5 manual transmission.

The TVR's were soon billed as "one of the world's most powerful performance cars." In 2005, the company ceased to be the culmination of a British dream as it was purchased by the 24-year-old Russian millionaire Nikolai Smolensky.

Another dream was the Dauer Racing 962 LM. This car is also somewhat of a mystery as it is not certain just how many were built although Dauer claimed he could produce fifty. Jochen Dauer was the founder of the Dauer Racing Team who had already tasted success in the World Sportcar Championship and IMSA.

Regardless of production figures, the 962 was unique in that it was a racing car converted for road use. It has also been described as "One of the most spectacular supercars ever built."

It was styled by Achim Storz, a former employee of Porsche Design. And the Porsche 962 was actually the inspiration for the entire car. It was equipped with a Le Mans spec 2994 c.c watercooled flat-six with dohc per bank operating 4 valves per cylinder. It was capable of producing 730 hp at 7,600 rpm and 517 lbft at 5,000 rpm. According to Dauer it could accelerate 0 to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds and 120 mph in 7.2 seconds. It weighed 1080 kg.

The body was very similar to the Porsche Group C racer, being a Kevlar body mounted over a steel tubular space frame. It had large diameter wheels and tires.

But a problem that was never overcome in the road use conversion was cabin size. Racing cars are designed to accommodate one person, the driver. Street cars, at minimum, must seat a driver and at least one passenger. Although Dauer crammed two seats into the cabin, it was so crowded that the passenger's shoulder would come in contact with the driver's. The driver's head came close to touching the window and there was little leg room. Finally, one had to detach the steering wheel to enter and exit the vehicle. This is true of racing cars.

While the car had excellent forward vision, rear vision was poor. Like a truck, there was no rear window and the driver had to depend on side mirrors for a rear view. This would make it a choice for the driver who valued speed and performance over comfort and convenience.

However, both the cars and their creators serve as examples of what a single individual with a dream can achieve.