Wanna buy a sports car company? Only three careful owners, patchy service history.

Yes, TVR has staggered into yet another crisis - the firm has been placed into administration as a new owner is sought for the British sports car company.

Plans to move production abroad to reduce costs came to nothing and followed a failed bid to move the company to new premises near the original factory.

The uncertainty over TVR's future will only be resolved if a new owner can be found by administrators PKF (UK), which intends to sell the firm as a going concern.

Established in 1947, TVR was bought by Russian millionaire Nikolai Smolensky in 2004.