Al Melling
Encyclopedia
Al Melling is an automobile engineer
.
throughout the eighties which designed ladies’ fashion garments. As owner he became interested in the whole lifecycle of garment production and learned how to make the garments himself. As of 2010 he is part of a project to launch a fashion label based on his own brand – Wow! Melling.
Melling has had ambitions to launch a brand for over a decade. Melling’s factory and company were based in Rochdale
, Greater Manchester
, however the launch of the Wildcat unfortunately coincided with one of the worst recessions the automotive business has had. The company also had a major problem in finding employees with the level of skill to make the components – a problem which would have been solved by the purchase of TVR
. At this point, in an attempt to turn the business around, Mr and Mrs Melling decided to move everything to the Autodromo do Algarve in Portugal
, where a deal was completed on factory space. Sadly, at the end of negotiations Mrs Melling died.
saga from start to finish, and there has been much speculation on why the project never succeeded in the way it was expected to.
This project started when Melling was approached by an American, John Silseth II, who ran an investment brokerage business and was very enthusiastic about motorbikes. He met someone in London
who founded March racing cars
– Robin Herd
. Silseth suggested to him that he could get some manufacturers and a designer to make a world superbike using the March name – he then obtained the rights to it and decided it was perfect for the American market. Having done that he finalised a contract with Melling to design the engines for this range of superbikes and contacted a Formula One
team to produce the bike. Melling’s company went ahead and designed this range of engines, and after discussions with the Formula One
team, it became apparent that they were not capable of fulfilling their contract – and so this was transferred to the Melling team as well.
At this time, a real estate company run by the Aquilini
family in Vancouver
, who owned the rights to Norton motorcycles, approached Silseth to do a contract whereby the March bikes would carry the Norton name instead, and of course the Aquilini family
would draw royalties from production sales. The deal was completed and a year later the centenary of Norton came round – 1998. It was suggested by Melling, who was the Technical Director of Norton and a major shareholder, having invested £4.5M – that a special design of the motorbike should be produced.
Originally Melling was commissioned to design four Norton motorcycles – the Manx, the Nirvana, the Buffalo, and the Nemesis.
The 750cc in-line four motorcycle, to be called the Manx, was then on test – all the tooling having been completed. Melling suggested for the centenary that the new motorcycle should be a V8 – which was basically two 750cc joined in a V – becoming a 1500cc. It was also envisaged that this V8 engine could be made into a 2 litre engine, being ideal for small sports or racing cars. Thus, Melling designed a very special bike.
Unfortunately Norton motors failed - due to a pair of investors who withdrew lots of money from the company for their own means. Directly because of this the company lost great amounts of money for the other investors – including Melling. Not only investors lost out, as the hopes of motorcycle enthusiasts around the world were disappointed.
At this time there was a court case held for the appointment of blame in London, this was not attended by the certain two investors pulling out – and Melling was awarded all the rights of the project and possession of the tooling of the new Manx, Nirvana, Buffalo and Nemesis bikes.
The finished model of the Nemesis weighed 217 kg - Carl Fogarty
(the most successful world super bike rider of all time) rode it and stated that it was more compact and lighter than his Ducati race bike. Also, two of Hollywood’s most successful action movie stars bought a Nemesis for themselves. The prototype Nemesis and a test engine are now on view at the National Motorcycle Museum
in Birmingham, England.
– he became involved in Formula One
in 1989 and subsequently worked as a consultant to companies such as Lamborghini
, Chevrolet
, Leyton House Formula One and Benetton
. The breadth of experience he gained led him to become a general consultant from 1999, and finally leaving the sport in 2005.
In 1994 Melling was approached by the Managing Director of Lola racing cars
, who informed him he was developing a super sports car, and asked whether he would be interested in designing an engine for it. When he took on the design of the engine, he had lots of partners in various companies, electronic manufacturers, casting manufacturers etc., to produce tooling for the engines. The arrangement was always that providing that he got the contract to design an engine, they would finance the tooling, then develop and make the components necessary for the engine. So, the actual tooling cost was not borne by the manufacturer. This was very acceptable to Eric Broadley
due to the fact that he was going to get a new engine, providing he paid for the design and the suppliers got a production contract for the components. This arrangement worked very well with various manufacturers, the most prominent one at the time being TVR
sports cars. The design of the engine, a V12, which was designed specifically to take into account the rear streamlining of the car and the underneath of the car in the area of the defuser, and the various subcontractors started to manufacture the tooling. During this period Eric Broadley
was getting involved with a Formula One
car and he asked Melling if he could design a Formula One engine. He had already been in touch with Cosworth
for the supply of the HB engine and this was incredibly expensive bearing in mind that these engines were second-hand rebuilds. Mr Broadley’s attitude was that for this kind of money he could have his own engine, from Melling, and of course in terms of performance it would be more competitive. A deal was struck, and Melling completed the design and this again was given to the subcontractors, unfortunately Lola racing cars
omitted to pay Melling the design fees, and Melling then had no choice but to sue Lola racing cars. This resulted in Lola racing cars going into receivership and losses to Melling and his consortium of over £12M. The Formula One engine was completed and ran in various Formula One guise for a period of five years. It was as successful as any of its contemporaries. The rights for the V12 sports car engine were sold to Monte Carlo Automobile, and also to a company in America where that engine and the 4-valve Silk Cut Jaguar engine technology was used in design of the new Aston Martin
V12.
/Bentley
. It is not a well-kept secret that Melling has driven Bentleys for most of his adult life, and at one time had a collection of them. They came to an agreement, along with Mr John Richards (who had very close connections with Prince Philip), that they would organise a consortium to finance a buyout bid of Rolls Royce
– this being offered for sale by the Vickers Group.
During the course of obtaining the funds the sale being operated by Lasard’s of London, a business plan was organised by Melling for the future of the company. This was accepted by the consortium, and a meeting was arranged with the shareholders for the following Friday morning to put forward an offer. They were also informed that an offer was going to be made by BMW
/VW
, and another offer by Ford had already been rejected.
The overriding reason for the consortium was not just to try and keep the company under British ownership, but the fact that whoever owned it would have control of the pricing of the luxury car market – and it was important to have that control in Britain.
It was all agreed and the funds were laid out in a Swiss bank where the consortium raised £550M, and the meeting with Lasard’s and the shareholders was to have been at 11.30am on the following Friday morning.
However, when they arrived at this time BMW/VW had already met with them, and their offer had been immediately accepted. This caused great consternation with not only the consortium, but many other influential people in Britain.
After Melling’s bid to secure Rolls Royce lost out to a German buyer, he was asked by other members of his consortium to build a new luxury car that would be quintessentially British, and fill the void left by sale of Rolls Royce/Bentley. Momentum gathered behind this idea as certain members of the British establishment, including a central member of the British nobility, gave their support.
Melling proceeded to design the car, called the Melling Xavier, and make deals to form another technical consortium to fit the car – including Cartier
, Asprey's
and Alfred Dunhill. Unfortunately, the project fell apart after some time, leaving Melling with a V12 engine which was completed and running, but could not be put to commercial use – and so he suffered hefty financial losses.
's V12 engine which helped Jaguar win Le Mans
four years on the run, and he has always wanted his own car in the world's most exciting road race. "The sale of the Hellcat would enable me to take a team to Le Mans but doing so has proved elusive" he said.
Rochdale
based MCD designed the AJP8 and AJP6 which TVR developed into the TVR Speed Six engine
– a high-torque, 24 valve canted straight six – which was cheaper to produce and more refined for road cars. Although TVR carried out further extensive in house development of the engines, these landmark power plants proved that MCD could finally produce an engine. MCD's work ranged from outboard motors and motorcycle engines to the still born Formula One
engine. The F1 engine, which features four vales and three tiny MCD designed spark plugs per cylinder, fell behind in its schedule leading to the Mastercard Lola
formula one team not qualifying for the 1997 season.
Designer Al Melling and his team of skilled draftsmen have tried promising F1 engine designs on several occasions. Working for Scott Russell Engines, a conventional 90-degree V8 was built and tested but never got into a Grand Prix car. Another design, purely on paper, was to have been a wide 165-degree angle V12 to be built with General Motors
support but GM withdrew and the project died. Melling's V10 design that was ultimately intended for the MasterCard Lola
GP unfortunately never appeared in 1997 leaving the team to run with customer Ford EC V8 engines. This project sank together with the Lola GP team in the beginning of 1997.
In the late 90's, Norton Motorcycles, Inc. utilized the classic Norton name and had at its heart one of Al Melling’s engines designed to be innovative, powerful and reliable. The power output figures for both the Nemesis and its cruiser-like sibling, the Nirvana reflected Norton's focus on the power and efficiency in its engine designs. The sport-oriented Nemesis contained a 1500 cc V8 engine with a claimed 235 hp and 111 ft.lbf of torque. This horsepower figure significantly surpassed the horsepower-per-litre derived from Yamaha
's R-1, for example. Unfortunately, like many of Al Melling's ventures, the project was under resourced and subsequently shelved before full production was achieved. The Norton name has since been resurrected by an entirely new consortium which plan to see the brand back in showrooms and race circuits.
Al Melling has long dreamt of owning the TVR brand and in 2007 made an attempt to bid for it. A successful bid may have created a platform for the production of the Hellcat.
car is said to have 1175 hp delivered by a 6-litre V10 engine with the block and heads milled from solid billets of aluminium rather than cast. Taking influence from TVRs, the car is front-engined with rear-wheel-drive using a fibreglass monocoque body and box section steel chassis, independent wishbone suspension and a six speed trans-axle, from the Chevrolet Corvette
. Its weight is estimated at 1,200 kg, with 60 mi/h coming up in an F1-rivalling 2.8 seconds, and a Vmax of 200 mph-plus. Melling planned a GT1 version to challenge Aston Martins, Vipers and Corvettes at Le Mans in 2007. The cabin is race-inspired with deep bucket seats, harnesses and carbon trim. The plan was for only 50 a year to be produced by Melling Consultancy Design's factory in Rochdale, Lancashire, and sold through one national dealer. So far, the Hellcat and its power plant remain on the drawing board.
An early concept car made on the chassis of the TVR Cerbera
and powered by a standard TVR
AJP8, underwent tests in California, the biggest market being in the United States, but the car is expected to sell all over the world. Melling is quoted to have said: "A market survey revealed the Hellcat would look best in silver, so you can have it any colour – as long as it is silver."
At the launch of the "AJP8 Hellcat" code named JS1, Melling said: “The Hellcat would be the climax of my career – the car I've been working towards all my life. One day, God willing, one of my designs will be in production”
is a high performance roadster, and the newest addition to the Melling portfolio. The first prototype was completed in 2008 and production is scheduled in America and the UK in 2009. The Wildcat is powered by either the 4.5 litre AJP8 V8 producing 440BHP or a tuned 5.7 litre version of the Chevrolet small-block V8 producing over 450 bhp. Styling is similar to the TVR Griffith, but it is a new car from the ground up. Initially a proposed 150 units will be completed a year with production starting in 2009.
The smaller of the bikes – The Monos (which is Greek for ‘The Only One’) – has an engine size of approximately 2.5 litres. The Titan – a copy of a bike that Melling made purely for himself initially, where he sculpted the cylinders of the engine to look like the American fighter planes of the Second World War. The engine on the Titan is 4.5 litres and it totally different to other engines of bikes in a similar category – it stands completely on its own in terms of concept.
How the Monos came into being: At that time Melling had a contract to redesign the Indian Motorcycle
engine in America. He acquired one of the Indian Chief motorcycles and he was quite appalled with some of the design features and especially the engine. He redesigned the engine, to the benefit of Indian Motorcycles and also advised them on various aspects of the bike. At the same time he had a contract to design a similar V twin engine for a new company; Viper Motorcycles in Minnesota. After extensive evaluations of the Indian engine, various Harley Davidson and other American engines, he designed a completely new engine for Viper – which was very successful and is still in production.
In this context he decided to design a range of completely motorcycles – the first of which is named after his yacht – Monos. Subsequently his company began production on this range of heavy cruiser motorcycles similar to Viper/Indian/Harley Davidson.
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
.
Fashion Design
At the beginning of the eighties he became involved in the fashion industry. He owned a company in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
throughout the eighties which designed ladies’ fashion garments. As owner he became interested in the whole lifecycle of garment production and learned how to make the garments himself. As of 2010 he is part of a project to launch a fashion label based on his own brand – Wow! Melling.
Melling has had ambitions to launch a brand for over a decade. Melling’s factory and company were based in Rochdale
Rochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, however the launch of the Wildcat unfortunately coincided with one of the worst recessions the automotive business has had. The company also had a major problem in finding employees with the level of skill to make the components – a problem which would have been solved by the purchase of TVR
TVR
thumb|right|240px|TVR No.2, the oldest surviving TVR, located at [[Lakeland Motor Museum, Newby Bridge, Cumbria]]TVR was an independent British manufacturer of sports cars. Until 2006 it was based in the English seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, but has since split up into several smaller...
. At this point, in an attempt to turn the business around, Mr and Mrs Melling decided to move everything to the Autodromo do Algarve in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, where a deal was completed on factory space. Sadly, at the end of negotiations Mrs Melling died.
Norton
There was no little amount of controversy surrounding the whole NortonNorton
-England:*Norton, County Durham*Norton, Hertfordshire*Norton, Kent*Norton, Northamptonshire*Norton, Nottinghamshire*Norton, Runcorn, Cheshire*Norton, Suffolk*Norton, Dudley, West Midlands*Norton, Worcester, Worcestershire*Norton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire...
saga from start to finish, and there has been much speculation on why the project never succeeded in the way it was expected to.
This project started when Melling was approached by an American, John Silseth II, who ran an investment brokerage business and was very enthusiastic about motorbikes. He met someone in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
who founded March racing cars
March Engineering
March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...
– Robin Herd
Robin Herd
Robin Herd is an English engineer, designer and businessman.Herd graduated from St Peter's College, Oxford with a double first in physics and engineering, before joining the Royal Aircraft Establishment in 1961 as a design engineer on the Concorde supersonic aircraft project...
. Silseth suggested to him that he could get some manufacturers and a designer to make a world superbike using the March name – he then obtained the rights to it and decided it was perfect for the American market. Having done that he finalised a contract with Melling to design the engines for this range of superbikes and contacted a Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
team to produce the bike. Melling’s company went ahead and designed this range of engines, and after discussions with the Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
team, it became apparent that they were not capable of fulfilling their contract – and so this was transferred to the Melling team as well.
At this time, a real estate company run by the Aquilini
Francesco Aquilini
Francesco Aquilini is the Managing Director of Vancouver-based Aquilini Investment Group. He is the current owner of the Vancouver Canucks and Rogers Arena....
family in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, who owned the rights to Norton motorcycles, approached Silseth to do a contract whereby the March bikes would carry the Norton name instead, and of course the Aquilini family
Francesco Aquilini
Francesco Aquilini is the Managing Director of Vancouver-based Aquilini Investment Group. He is the current owner of the Vancouver Canucks and Rogers Arena....
would draw royalties from production sales. The deal was completed and a year later the centenary of Norton came round – 1998. It was suggested by Melling, who was the Technical Director of Norton and a major shareholder, having invested £4.5M – that a special design of the motorbike should be produced.
Originally Melling was commissioned to design four Norton motorcycles – the Manx, the Nirvana, the Buffalo, and the Nemesis.
The 750cc in-line four motorcycle, to be called the Manx, was then on test – all the tooling having been completed. Melling suggested for the centenary that the new motorcycle should be a V8 – which was basically two 750cc joined in a V – becoming a 1500cc. It was also envisaged that this V8 engine could be made into a 2 litre engine, being ideal for small sports or racing cars. Thus, Melling designed a very special bike.
Unfortunately Norton motors failed - due to a pair of investors who withdrew lots of money from the company for their own means. Directly because of this the company lost great amounts of money for the other investors – including Melling. Not only investors lost out, as the hopes of motorcycle enthusiasts around the world were disappointed.
At this time there was a court case held for the appointment of blame in London, this was not attended by the certain two investors pulling out – and Melling was awarded all the rights of the project and possession of the tooling of the new Manx, Nirvana, Buffalo and Nemesis bikes.
The finished model of the Nemesis weighed 217 kg - Carl Fogarty
Carl Fogarty
Carl 'Foggy' Fogarty is the most successful World Superbike racer of all time in terms of the number of championships and number of race wins...
(the most successful world super bike rider of all time) rode it and stated that it was more compact and lighter than his Ducati race bike. Also, two of Hollywood’s most successful action movie stars bought a Nemesis for themselves. The prototype Nemesis and a test engine are now on view at the National Motorcycle Museum
National Motorcycle Museum
There are National Motorcycle Museums in a number of countries. Some of the better known are:*National Motorcycle Museum , Solihull, West Midlands, England.*National Motorcycle Museum , Anamosa, Iowa, USA....
in Birmingham, England.
Formula One
Melling is now listed in the Who’s Who of Formula OneFormula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
– he became involved in Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
in 1989 and subsequently worked as a consultant to companies such as Lamborghini
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like...
, Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
, Leyton House Formula One and Benetton
Benetton Formula
Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from to . The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for...
. The breadth of experience he gained led him to become a general consultant from 1999, and finally leaving the sport in 2005.
In 1994 Melling was approached by the Managing Director of Lola racing cars
MasterCard Lola
MasterCard Lola is a former Formula One team that contested one race in the 1997 Formula One season. It quickly withdrew from the sport after failing to qualify in its sole race...
, who informed him he was developing a super sports car, and asked whether he would be interested in designing an engine for it. When he took on the design of the engine, he had lots of partners in various companies, electronic manufacturers, casting manufacturers etc., to produce tooling for the engines. The arrangement was always that providing that he got the contract to design an engine, they would finance the tooling, then develop and make the components necessary for the engine. So, the actual tooling cost was not borne by the manufacturer. This was very acceptable to Eric Broadley
Eric Broadley
Eric Broadley MBE is a British entrepreneur, engineer, and founder and former chief designer of Lola Cars, the motor racing manufacturer and engineering company. He is arguably one of the most influential automobile designers of the post-war period, and over the years Lola has had a hand in many...
due to the fact that he was going to get a new engine, providing he paid for the design and the suppliers got a production contract for the components. This arrangement worked very well with various manufacturers, the most prominent one at the time being TVR
TVR
thumb|right|240px|TVR No.2, the oldest surviving TVR, located at [[Lakeland Motor Museum, Newby Bridge, Cumbria]]TVR was an independent British manufacturer of sports cars. Until 2006 it was based in the English seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, but has since split up into several smaller...
sports cars. The design of the engine, a V12, which was designed specifically to take into account the rear streamlining of the car and the underneath of the car in the area of the defuser, and the various subcontractors started to manufacture the tooling. During this period Eric Broadley
Eric Broadley
Eric Broadley MBE is a British entrepreneur, engineer, and founder and former chief designer of Lola Cars, the motor racing manufacturer and engineering company. He is arguably one of the most influential automobile designers of the post-war period, and over the years Lola has had a hand in many...
was getting involved with a Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
car and he asked Melling if he could design a Formula One engine. He had already been in touch with Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
for the supply of the HB engine and this was incredibly expensive bearing in mind that these engines were second-hand rebuilds. Mr Broadley’s attitude was that for this kind of money he could have his own engine, from Melling, and of course in terms of performance it would be more competitive. A deal was struck, and Melling completed the design and this again was given to the subcontractors, unfortunately Lola racing cars
MasterCard Lola
MasterCard Lola is a former Formula One team that contested one race in the 1997 Formula One season. It quickly withdrew from the sport after failing to qualify in its sole race...
omitted to pay Melling the design fees, and Melling then had no choice but to sue Lola racing cars. This resulted in Lola racing cars going into receivership and losses to Melling and his consortium of over £12M. The Formula One engine was completed and ran in various Formula One guise for a period of five years. It was as successful as any of its contemporaries. The rights for the V12 sports car engine were sold to Monte Carlo Automobile, and also to a company in America where that engine and the 4-valve Silk Cut Jaguar engine technology was used in design of the new Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
V12.
Rolls Royce/Bentley Bid
Melling was approached by Professor Donald Longmore, a dedicated British patriot and a very keen fan of Rolls RoyceRolls-Royce Motors
Rolls-Royce Motors was created from the de-merger of the Rolls-Royce car business from Rolls-Royce Limited in 1973. The original Rolls-Royce Limited had been nationalised in 1971 due to the financial collapse of the company, caused in part by the development of the RB211 jet engine...
/Bentley
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...
. It is not a well-kept secret that Melling has driven Bentleys for most of his adult life, and at one time had a collection of them. They came to an agreement, along with Mr John Richards (who had very close connections with Prince Philip), that they would organise a consortium to finance a buyout bid of Rolls Royce
Rolls-Royce Motors
Rolls-Royce Motors was created from the de-merger of the Rolls-Royce car business from Rolls-Royce Limited in 1973. The original Rolls-Royce Limited had been nationalised in 1971 due to the financial collapse of the company, caused in part by the development of the RB211 jet engine...
– this being offered for sale by the Vickers Group.
During the course of obtaining the funds the sale being operated by Lasard’s of London, a business plan was organised by Melling for the future of the company. This was accepted by the consortium, and a meeting was arranged with the shareholders for the following Friday morning to put forward an offer. They were also informed that an offer was going to be made by BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
/VW
Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group is a German multinational automobile manufacturing group. , Volkswagen was ranked as the world’s third largest motor vehicle manufacturer and Europe's largest....
, and another offer by Ford had already been rejected.
The overriding reason for the consortium was not just to try and keep the company under British ownership, but the fact that whoever owned it would have control of the pricing of the luxury car market – and it was important to have that control in Britain.
It was all agreed and the funds were laid out in a Swiss bank where the consortium raised £550M, and the meeting with Lasard’s and the shareholders was to have been at 11.30am on the following Friday morning.
However, when they arrived at this time BMW/VW had already met with them, and their offer had been immediately accepted. This caused great consternation with not only the consortium, but many other influential people in Britain.
After Melling’s bid to secure Rolls Royce lost out to a German buyer, he was asked by other members of his consortium to build a new luxury car that would be quintessentially British, and fill the void left by sale of Rolls Royce/Bentley. Momentum gathered behind this idea as certain members of the British establishment, including a central member of the British nobility, gave their support.
Melling proceeded to design the car, called the Melling Xavier, and make deals to form another technical consortium to fit the car – including Cartier
Cartier SA
Cartier S.A., commonly known as Cartier , is a French luxury jeweler and watch manufacturer. The corporation carries the name of the Cartier family of jewellers whose control ended in 1964 and who were known for numerous pieces including the "Bestiary" , the diamond necklace created for Bhupinder...
, Asprey's
Asprey
Asprey is a British luxury brand with a heritage that dates back to 1781. The brand offers an extensive range of gifts, jewellery, watches, leather, silver, bone china, crystal and rare books, all available in its flagship New Bond Street store. Asprey was once the destination for crowns,...
and Alfred Dunhill. Unfortunately, the project fell apart after some time, leaving Melling with a V12 engine which was completed and running, but could not be put to commercial use – and so he suffered hefty financial losses.
Melling Consultancy Design, (MCD)
His team played a part in TWRTom Walkinshaw Racing
Tom Walkinshaw Racing , was an auto racing team and engineering firm founded in 1976 by touring car racer Tom Walkinshaw.-History:TWR started by modifying BMW 3.0 CSLs, but soon was contracted to head Mazda's works program in the British Touring Car Championship. The TWR developed RX-7, with Win...
's V12 engine which helped Jaguar win Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
four years on the run, and he has always wanted his own car in the world's most exciting road race. "The sale of the Hellcat would enable me to take a team to Le Mans but doing so has proved elusive" he said.
Rochdale
Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale
The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...
based MCD designed the AJP8 and AJP6 which TVR developed into the TVR Speed Six engine
TVR Speed Six engine
The TVR Speed Six was the name of a normally aspirated straight-6 engine manufactured by TVR, and used in several of their cars including the TVR Tuscan, TVR Cerbera, TVR Tamora, TVR T350 and TVR Sagaris....
– a high-torque, 24 valve canted straight six – which was cheaper to produce and more refined for road cars. Although TVR carried out further extensive in house development of the engines, these landmark power plants proved that MCD could finally produce an engine. MCD's work ranged from outboard motors and motorcycle engines to the still born Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
engine. The F1 engine, which features four vales and three tiny MCD designed spark plugs per cylinder, fell behind in its schedule leading to the Mastercard Lola
MasterCard Lola
MasterCard Lola is a former Formula One team that contested one race in the 1997 Formula One season. It quickly withdrew from the sport after failing to qualify in its sole race...
formula one team not qualifying for the 1997 season.
Designer Al Melling and his team of skilled draftsmen have tried promising F1 engine designs on several occasions. Working for Scott Russell Engines, a conventional 90-degree V8 was built and tested but never got into a Grand Prix car. Another design, purely on paper, was to have been a wide 165-degree angle V12 to be built with General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
support but GM withdrew and the project died. Melling's V10 design that was ultimately intended for the MasterCard Lola
MasterCard Lola
MasterCard Lola is a former Formula One team that contested one race in the 1997 Formula One season. It quickly withdrew from the sport after failing to qualify in its sole race...
GP unfortunately never appeared in 1997 leaving the team to run with customer Ford EC V8 engines. This project sank together with the Lola GP team in the beginning of 1997.
In the late 90's, Norton Motorcycles, Inc. utilized the classic Norton name and had at its heart one of Al Melling’s engines designed to be innovative, powerful and reliable. The power output figures for both the Nemesis and its cruiser-like sibling, the Nirvana reflected Norton's focus on the power and efficiency in its engine designs. The sport-oriented Nemesis contained a 1500 cc V8 engine with a claimed 235 hp and 111 ft.lbf of torque. This horsepower figure significantly surpassed the horsepower-per-litre derived from Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
's R-1, for example. Unfortunately, like many of Al Melling's ventures, the project was under resourced and subsequently shelved before full production was achieved. The Norton name has since been resurrected by an entirely new consortium which plan to see the brand back in showrooms and race circuits.
Al Melling has long dreamt of owning the TVR brand and in 2007 made an attempt to bid for it. A successful bid may have created a platform for the production of the Hellcat.
1175bhp 6-litre V10-powered Sports Car
Al Melling's concept, The HellcatMelling Hellcat
The Melling Hellcat is a concept sports car designed by engine expert Al Melling explicitly to be the fastest street legal car in the world. It was introduced in February 2007 and is scheduled to come out in 2012. It claims to reach top speeds of up to...
car is said to have 1175 hp delivered by a 6-litre V10 engine with the block and heads milled from solid billets of aluminium rather than cast. Taking influence from TVRs, the car is front-engined with rear-wheel-drive using a fibreglass monocoque body and box section steel chassis, independent wishbone suspension and a six speed trans-axle, from the Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...
. Its weight is estimated at 1,200 kg, with 60 mi/h coming up in an F1-rivalling 2.8 seconds, and a Vmax of 200 mph-plus. Melling planned a GT1 version to challenge Aston Martins, Vipers and Corvettes at Le Mans in 2007. The cabin is race-inspired with deep bucket seats, harnesses and carbon trim. The plan was for only 50 a year to be produced by Melling Consultancy Design's factory in Rochdale, Lancashire, and sold through one national dealer. So far, the Hellcat and its power plant remain on the drawing board.
An early concept car made on the chassis of the TVR Cerbera
TVR Cerbera
The TVR Cerbera is a sports car manufactured by TVR between 1996 and 2003. The name is derived from Cerberus the three-headed beast of Greek legend that guarded the entrance of Hades....
and powered by a standard TVR
TVR
thumb|right|240px|TVR No.2, the oldest surviving TVR, located at [[Lakeland Motor Museum, Newby Bridge, Cumbria]]TVR was an independent British manufacturer of sports cars. Until 2006 it was based in the English seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, but has since split up into several smaller...
AJP8, underwent tests in California, the biggest market being in the United States, but the car is expected to sell all over the world. Melling is quoted to have said: "A market survey revealed the Hellcat would look best in silver, so you can have it any colour – as long as it is silver."
At the launch of the "AJP8 Hellcat" code named JS1, Melling said: “The Hellcat would be the climax of my career – the car I've been working towards all my life. One day, God willing, one of my designs will be in production”
Melling Wildcat
The Melling WildcatMelling Wildcat
The Melling Wildcat is a V8 powered sports car produced by engine specialist Al Melling in Rochdale, UK.- History :The Wildcat was conceived by designer Al Melling to fill the gap left by defunct British marques such as TVR, Marcos and others...
is a high performance roadster, and the newest addition to the Melling portfolio. The first prototype was completed in 2008 and production is scheduled in America and the UK in 2009. The Wildcat is powered by either the 4.5 litre AJP8 V8 producing 440BHP or a tuned 5.7 litre version of the Chevrolet small-block V8 producing over 450 bhp. Styling is similar to the TVR Griffith, but it is a new car from the ground up. Initially a proposed 150 units will be completed a year with production starting in 2009.
Cruiser Bikes
The engines in these bikes are very unique and sought after by custom bike builders due to them being manufactured from solid billets of aluminium instead of castings – so they are very easy to polish.The smaller of the bikes – The Monos (which is Greek for ‘The Only One’) – has an engine size of approximately 2.5 litres. The Titan – a copy of a bike that Melling made purely for himself initially, where he sculpted the cylinders of the engine to look like the American fighter planes of the Second World War. The engine on the Titan is 4.5 litres and it totally different to other engines of bikes in a similar category – it stands completely on its own in terms of concept.
How the Monos came into being: At that time Melling had a contract to redesign the Indian Motorcycle
Indian (motorcycle)
Indian is an American brand of motorcycles. Indian motorcycles were manufactured from 1901 to 1953 by a company in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, initially known as the Hendee Manufacturing Company but which was renamed the Indian Manufacturing Company in 1928. The Indian factory team took the...
engine in America. He acquired one of the Indian Chief motorcycles and he was quite appalled with some of the design features and especially the engine. He redesigned the engine, to the benefit of Indian Motorcycles and also advised them on various aspects of the bike. At the same time he had a contract to design a similar V twin engine for a new company; Viper Motorcycles in Minnesota. After extensive evaluations of the Indian engine, various Harley Davidson and other American engines, he designed a completely new engine for Viper – which was very successful and is still in production.
In this context he decided to design a range of completely motorcycles – the first of which is named after his yacht – Monos. Subsequently his company began production on this range of heavy cruiser motorcycles similar to Viper/Indian/Harley Davidson.
Some completed projects
- Camshaft designs for numerous Formula One engines
- Complete design of G.M. of 3.5l, 165deg V12 engine
- Feasibility study of Formula One engine for PorschePorschePorsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
, design consultations on Formula One engines with Matra (3l V12), RenaultRenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
(3.5l V10), FerrariFerrariFerrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
(3l F12 – 3.5l V12), and LamborghiniLamborghiniAutomobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like...
(3.5l V12) - Major development of Judd (3.5l V8) for Leyton House
- Design of turbo-supercharging systems for Alfa RomeoAlfa RomeoAlfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
, BBC, Brown Boveri, and turbo-intake system for very successful Japanese V6 Formula One engine - Design and development of Scott Russell 3.5l, 32 valve V8, 660 bhp obtained on standard fuel
- Design consultant to Motori ModerniMotori ModerniMotori Moderni was a Formula One engine manufacturer from 1985 through 1987. It was established by the experienced Italian engine designer Carlo Chiti....
- VW and RenaultRenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
Formula Three engines - Design of F3000 AJP V8
- Feasibility study of Indy car engine for PorschePorschePorsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
- Design work for T.W.R.’s World Championship winning Jaguar sohc 24 valve V12 engines
- Complete design of 48valve, 4 camshaft cylinder heads of 7l engine in initial Jaguar XJ-220 sports car
- Feasibility study for normally aspirated Type 962 engine for Porsche
- Aluminium V8 for IMSA racing car
- 4valve per cylinder head for British Leyland
- Design of 7l, 48valve, V12 engine for Monte Carlo Super Car
- Consultation on design of 16valve engines for G.M.
- Complete design, development and management of turnkey project for AJP8 and AJP12 automotive engines for use in TVR sports car
- Design of 1100cc four-cylinder, 16-valve, air/oil cooled engine for Japanese superbike
- Calculations and valve-gear design on 4-stroke engines for very large Japanese manufacturer of motorcycles
- 750cc inline four engine for Norton
- 1500cc Nemesis V8
- Designed arguably the biggest power-steering system in the world for CaterpillarCaterpillar Inc.Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...
/Tiger Engineering in Perth, Australia. It utilised hydraulic cylinders of 8” diameter. The vehicle was for work in open-cast coalmines Chile and Alaska. For the Alaska vehicle, heating tapes were fitted to the hydraulic cylinders against the extreme cold weather. The total system was specially designed by Melling and his team for Tiger Engineering. - Plus various consultancy and design work for Indian Motorcycles, TriumphTriumph Motorcycles LtdTriumph Motorcycles Ltd is the largest surviving British motorcycle manufacturer, which was established in 1984 by John Bloor after the original manufacturer Triumph Engineering went into receivership...
, Viper Motorcycles, HondaHondais a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
, SuzukiSuzukiis a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Hamamatsu, Japan that specializes in manufacturing compact automobiles and 4x4 vehicles, a full range of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles , outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines...
, BMW, ChryslerChryslerChrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
, Aston MartinAston MartinAston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
, Rolls Royce and Bentley.