Malaysia launches sports car

Malaysia launches sports car

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysia on Saturday launched its first locally built sports car, marking another milestone in the country's automotive industry.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad officiated at the launch of the two-seater TVR Chimaera.

The car is being built by TVR Sports (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd which was appointed by British car maker TVR Engineering Ltd as their first overseas manufacturer to produce the TVR sports car locally and to market it in the Asia-Pacific region.

Blackpool-based, privately owned TVR Engineering holds a 10- percent stake in the Malaysian operations.

Mahathir said he was proud that the TVR Chimaera was a genuine Malaysian-made sports car with the upgrading of engine, manufacturing of the frame, chassis and other parts done locally.

"What is most significant the car's body panel made from fiber glass was made locally," he said. "I'm quite sure the sports car venture will perform well."

Mahathir said the success of TVR Sports to produce the car was not only an achievement in the sports car industry but also proved the country's talents in the engineering field.

As the market for sports cars was limited, its production gave Malaysia the chance to learn the engineering, design, structural and other related features, he said.

The TVR Chimaera is priced at 240,000 ringgit ($96,000) for the 4.0 liter model and 266,360 ringgit ($106,540) for the 5.0 liter model.

TVR Sports will initially produce 10 cars a month and plans to increase the volume to 20 units a month by the end of the year. Sixty percent of production is earmarked for export.