Peter Wheeler

Who was Peter Wheeler?

Peter Robert Wheeler was a chemical engineer from Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK, who owned the Blackpool-based TVR sports car company for 23 years.

Wheeler made his fortune supplying specialist equipment to the North Sea oil industry. After owning a TVR, he ended up buying the company in 1981. Wheeler sold TVR to Nikolai Smolenski in 2004 for around £15 million. Despite his background in chemistry, Peter Wheeler also contributed to the design of TVRs.

Under Wheeler's ownership, TVR moved from cars with Triumph and Ford engines to using the Rover V8, and later the Speed Eight and Speed Six designed for TVR by Al Melling. The cars produced under his control were typically stunning to look at, with incredible performance.

Wheeler died on 11 June 2009 after a long illness.

Evo Magazine's former editor Harry Metcalfe said of Wheeler: "Peter Wheeler was one of those larger-than-life characters I thought only existed in novels. He always seemed to excel at anything he turned his hand to, despite not always doing things the easy way. He might have been quietly spoken but he possessed formidable drive and incredible presence, qualities that helped him build TVR into what it was in its heyday."