Motorsport outfit TWR's name revived for bespoke sports car maker

The son of famed racing and automotive engineer Tom Walkinshaw has set up a new TWR firm that is intended to serve as a “world-class constructor of bespoke high-performance automobiles”.

Launched in Newbury, Berkshire by Fergus Walkinshaw, son of Tom, the new company will aim to channel the spirit, drive and ethos of the original Oxfordshire-based Tom Walkinshaw Racing company.

It's already working on a new project, previewed below, and has promised to reveal details soon. 

According to Walkinshaw, projects from the new TWR will “preserve and protect the analogue driving experience in a world where modern performance cars are governed by electronic systems”.

He also plans to “work with leading brands to help maximise the potential of their own products”. 

Walkinshaw said he has already assembled a highly skilled technical team, scouring the performance and motorsport engineering businesses to find the right people, some of whom worked for TWR in its previous incarnation.

He claims “great pride” in bringing back the traditions and objectives espoused by his father. “Ever since the original TWR business closed its doors, I longed to find a way to continue the family legacy,” he said.

Walkinshaw has been associated with motorsport for more than a decade and has been building his new TWR company since 2020 with a business partner, John Kane.

The objective is “to build an engineering company that will make cars, rather than a car maker that does engineering", he said. 

"There’s a big difference. We aim to build truly impressive and innovative automobiles, unconstrained by the rulebooks and the styling demands of OEMs.”

The original TWR business, founded in Kidlington in 1975, scored impressive successes in the road and racing business before folding in 2002 after what turned out to be an ill-advised association with the Arrows Formula 1 team.