Nikolai Smolenski isn't quite how I expected him to be. It's not his youth that's the surprise - TVR's sole shareholder is still only 26 - it's the way he wears it. When he bought TVR two years ago, the few pictures that emerged of the young Russian were unflattering. With a mass of unruly straw-coloured hair and a buttoned-up suit, he looked slightly, well, nerdy.
evo Car of the Year 2025: 12 best performance cars go head-to-head
It's time. 12 outstanding contenders and 15,000 miles on some of Europe's best roads, we embark on the ultimate trip to identify the best performance …